Peters helps rally West in AHL skills competition

Charlotte Checkers goalie Justin Peters keyed a furious rally with several big saves to help lead the Western Conference to a 12-11 victory over the Eastern Conference in the 2013 Pepsi American Hockey League All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I.

Peters and his Western goalie mates Barry Brust (Abbotsford Heat) and Petr Mrazek (Grand Rapids Griffins) combined to stop the last 14 attempts by the Eastern Conference in the H&R Block Breakaway Relay.

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The outstanding defensive display enabled the West to rally from a 7-2 deficit. West forwards Mark Arcobello (Oklahoma City Barons) and Martin St. Pierre (Rockford Ice Hogs) scored the final two goals to close out the scoring and provide the West a one-goal victory.

Peters, a second-round pick (No. 38) of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2004, earned the CCM Top Goaltender award after stopping 17 of 19 shots. The 26-year-old goalie was perfect in both the breakaway relay (six saves) and the Pepsi Pass and Score event (three saves).

Buffalo Sabres prospect Brayden McNabb (Rochester Americans) of the West became the fifth player in the skills competition's 18-year history to reach the century mark in the CCM Hardest Shot contest, winning with a blast of 101.8 miles-per-hour. Matt Fraser (Texas Stars), a top prospect for the Dallas Stars, took the crown in the Pepsi Accuracy Shooting event, shattering four of five targets.

Phoenix Coyotes prospect Chris Summers, a defenseman for the Portland Pirates, had a record-setting performance in the CCM Fastest Skater event when he finished his lap around the rink in 13.324 seconds for the East. Summers' mark bested the second-fastest time in the event set moments earlier by the Houston Aeros' Jason Zucker (13.550) of the Minnesota Wild.

The East also received a solid performance in the Sher-Wood Puck Control Relay behind Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Mark Barberio of the Syracuse Crunch and Boston Bruins prospect Trent Whitfield of the Providence Bruins. Both players won their individual heats.

In the EA Sports NHL 13 Rapid Fire contest, East goaltenders Robin Lehner (Ottawa Senators) of the Binghamton Senators, Curtis McElhinney (Columbus Blue Jackets) of the Springfield Falcons and Niklas Svedberg (Boston Bruins) of Providence combined to stop 23 of 30 shots taken by the West.

The players will return to Dunkin' Donuts Center on Monday in the AHL 2013 All-Star Game scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.