Hunter Shinkaruk is happy to be a part of his first American Hockey League All-Star Classic experience.

Hunter Shinkaruk is happy to be a part of his first American Hockey League All-Star Classic experience.

The Utica Comets' lone All-Star representative was all smiles Sunday, even if he wasn't met with exactly the nicest ovation from the rival Crunch fans at the Oncenter War Memorial arena.

"(The reaction) was kind of funny. I heard it was going to happen just because of what happened last year with the Syracuse guys in Utica," Shinkaruk said. "But, it was a good experience."

The 21-year-old forward did his part for the Eastern Conference in three events, but it wasn't quite enough as the Western Conference picked up a 19-14 victory in the Skills Competition.

Shinkaruk turned in a time of 14.7 seconds during the Fast Skater event, which was best among East players. He combined with Syracuse's Mike Angelidis and former Comets player Dustin Jeffrey for a goal in the Pass and Score event and was one of two players to score against Rockford goalie Michael Leighton in the final round.

"The fact that I got one was nice," said Shinkaruk, whose family attended the event.

Shinkaruk said he was impressed by Hartford's Ryan Graves, who had the fastest shot of the night and third-fastest in event history at 103.4 miles per hour. Graves and Shinkaruk had stalls next to each other in the team locker room.

"That's pretty hard. I don't know if I can hit 80," said Shinkaruk with a laugh and a smile. "But, really, there so many good players here. It's cool to be on the ice with all of them."

New Hartford resident Jimmy Rayhill also took part in the event. The 14-year-old, who plays for the Syracuse Nationals, was one of four youth participants whose points counted in Sunday's event.

"I was extremely nervous at first," Rayhill said. "After getting the first event out of the way, it was a ton of fun. It was a great atmosphere."

Rayhill helped his West team early, combining with teammate John Beecher to earn a point in their heat in the relay event. Rayhill closed out his night by hitting all four targets on eight attempts in the Accuracy event and received a loud cheer from the crowd.

"I was kind of hoping to hit the four targets," said Rayhill, who turned in a lap of 15.9 seconds in the Fastest Skater event. "I just wanted to help the team win."

The AHL teams were even at 9 heading into final event of the night, but the West totaled 10 goals during the breakaway relay, and Bakersfield goalie Laurent Brossoit stoned all six West players in the first round. Manitoba rookie goaltender Eric Comrie also stopped 17 of 19 shots to help the West.

The festivities continue Monday with the All-Star Challenge. That event has undergone some change from recent years.

Four teams - one each from the Atlantic, North, Central and Pacific divisions - will play a six-game round-robin. Games will last 9 minutes with play changing from 4-on-4 to 3-on-3 at the midway mark of each game. The top two teams when round robin play concludes will square off in the final - a 6-minute, 3-on-3 game.

The event starts at 7 p.m. and will be televised on Time Warner Cable Sports (Channel 26) in the Utica area.

“I'm really excited for this opportunity,” Shinkaruk said of his experience. “It's a huge honor.”

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