Photo: Mike Zitek
The Colorado Eagles’ Jacob MacDonald has set an all-time American Hockey League record for goals in a season by a defenseman, establishing the new standard with two goals in Wednesday night’s 4-2 loss at Ontario.
MacDonald tied the record with his 30th goal of the season at 8:09 of the third period, and added his 31st less than five minutes later to surpass the mark set by AHL Hall of Famer John Slaney while playing for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 1999-2000.
MacDonald’s 31 goals are nearly double the total of Bakersfield’s Connor Carrick, who ranks second in the league with 17 goals this season. MacDonald also has 24 assists this season to lead all AHL blueliners with 55 points in 62 games for Colorado.
A 10th-year pro from Portland, Ore., MacDonald has totaled 99 goals and 149 assists for 248 points in 339 career AHL games with the Eagles, San Jose Barracuda, Springfield Thunderbirds, Binghamton Devils, Albany Devils and Springfield Falcons. He was voted a First Team AHL All-Star in 2017-18 and a Second Team All-Star in 2019-20.
MacDonald, undrafted out of Cornell University, has gone on to play 135 games in the NHL with Florida, Colorado and San Jose, collecting 10 goals and 17 assists.
