AHL Morning Skate: 5.16.22


A1-Charlotte Checkers vs. A6-Bridgeport Islanders
Game 4 – Tonight, 7:00 ET, AHLTV
(Charlotte leads series, 2-1)

Game 1 – Charlotte 3, BRIDGEPORT 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Charlotte 7, BRIDGEPORT 6 (2OT) | Recap
Game 3 – Bridgeport 3, CHARLOTTE 2 | Recap
Game 4 – Mon., May 16 – Bridgeport at Charlotte, 7:00
*Game 5 – Wed., May 18 – Bridgeport at Charlotte, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
Charlotte takes another crack at closing out Bridgeport when the teams hit the ice for Game 4 at Bojangles’ Coliseum tonight... The road team has won each of the first three games of the series, with the Islanders staving off elimination in a 3-2 victory on Saturday afternoon... Simon Holmstrom (3-1-4) scored with 4:37 remaining in regulation to break a 1-1 tie and send Bridgeport to its first regulation win in a postseason game since 2010; each of its previous four playoff W’s had come in overtime... Chris Terry (2-4-6) had a goal and an assist and Austin Czarnik (3-7-10) added two assists, giving the Holmstrom-Terry-Czarnik trio a combined 17 points through the first three games of the series... After allowing four goals on nine shots in less than 13 minutes of Game 2, Cory Schneider (3-1, 2.40, .924) made 32 saves in the Game 3 win... Aleksi Heponiemi (1-1-2) and Zac Dalpe (4-0-4) scored for the Checkers, and Cale Fleury (0-3-3) notched an assist for his sixth consecutive AHL game... Charlotte is 2-for-9 on the power play in the series, while Bridgeport is 1-for-9.


A2-Springfield Thunderbirds vs. A4-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
(Springfield wins series, 3-0)

Game 1 – SPRINGFIELD 4, W-B/Scranton 1 | Recap
Game 2 – SPRINGFIELD 6, W-B/Scranton 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Springfield 7, W-B/SCRANTON 6 | Recap


N1-Utica Comets vs. N5-Rochester Americans
Game 4 – Tuesday, 7:05 ET, AHLTV
(Rochester leads series, 2-1)

Game 1 – UTICA 6, Rochester 3 | Recap
Game 2 – Rochester 4, UTICA 3 (OT) | Recap
Game 3 – ROCHESTER 4, Utica 3 (OT) | Recap
Game 4 – Tue., May 17 – Utica at Rochester, 7:05
*Game 5 – Thu., May 19 – Rochester at Utica, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern


N2-Syracuse Crunch vs. N3-Laval Rocket
Game 5 – Tuesday, 7:00 ET, AHLTV
(Series tied, 2-2)

Game 1 – SYRACUSE 5, Laval 3 | Recap
Game 2 – Laval 3, SYRACUSE 2 | Recap
Game 3 – LAVAL 4, Syracuse 1 | Recap
Game 4 – Syracuse 3, LAVAL 0 | Recap
Game 5 – Tue., May 17 – Laval at Syracuse, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern


C1-Chicago Wolves vs. C4-Rockford IceHogs
(Chicago wins series, 3-0)

Game 1 – CHICAGO 6, Rockford 2 | Recap
Game 2 – CHICAGO 4, Rockford 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Chicago 4, ROCKFORD 1 | Recap


C2-Manitoba Moose vs. C3-Milwaukee Admirals
(Milwaukee wins series, 3-2)

Game 1 – MILWAUKEE 3, Manitoba 2 | Recap
Game 2 – MILWAUKEE 2, Manitoba 1 | Recap
Game 3 – MANITOBA 5, Milwaukee 2 | Recap
Game 4 – MANITOBA 7, Milwaukee 3 | Recap
Game 5 – Milwaukee 2, MANITOBA 1 | Recap


P1-Stockton Heat vs. P4-Bakersfield Condors
(Stockton wins series, 3-0)

Game 1 – STOCKTON 3, Bakersfield 1 | Recap
Game 2 – STOCKTON 3, Bakersfield 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Stockton 6, BAKERSFIELD 4 | Recap


P2-Ontario Reign vs. P3-Colorado Eagles
(Colorado wins series, 3-0)

Game 1 – COLORADO 10, Ontario 1 | Recap
Game 2 – COLORADO 5, Ontario 4 (OT) | Recap
Game 3 – Colorado 5, ONTARIO 2 | Recap

 

“That's going to hurt for a while,” Manitoba Moose head coach Mark Morrison said after his club’s promising season ended Sunday afternoon.

Up against the Milwaukee Admirals in the teams’ Central Division semifinal series, the Moose had come away winless in Games 1 and 2 despite dominating play. But back on Winnipeg ice, the they had rallied to take Games 3 and 4 and push the Admirals themselves into an elimination game.

But a 2-1 loss in Game 5 closed out a season in which the Moose had earned a second-place finish in the tough Central Division and impressed Morrison with a strong and cohesive team-oriented approach that felt a long playoff run was possible.

“This is a disappointing loss just because everybody did feel like that,” Morrison said. “I think the players, the organization, everybody felt like that. It’s hard to put together a group that was that tight to get along and wanted to win.”

After finishing eighth overall in the AHL during the regular season with a 41-24-5-2 record and outshooting Milwaukee in the series 193-106, the Moose perhaps did not seem like a team that would exit the postseason early. But this week the Moose will be packing their bags at their Bell MTS Iceplex practice facility before scattering across the globe.

“That’s why it’s so hard to deal with right now,” said captain Jimmy Oligny, a former Admiral. “We were just so close, everybody, and that’s why it’s so hard to take right now.

“We were such a tight group. We believed we could go so much further than that.”

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins can relate to Manitoba’s feelings.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s season also ended Sunday afternoon in a hectic 7-6 loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds in Game 3 of the teams’ Atlantic Division semifinal series. The Penguins saw Springfield undo their 4-1 lead with five unanswered goals.

The loss capped an eventful week for the Penguins, who had fended off the archrival Hershey Bears in overtime of Game 3 of their best-of-three opening-round series last Monday. After two road losses in Springfield, Wilkes-Barre found new life Sunday with a four-goal first period against Charlie Lindgren, one of the top goaltenders in the AHL and someone who had frustrated them with 50 saves in Game 1.

Though the Penguins’ playoff time was somewhat short, head coach J.D. Forrest believes that they can take lessons from the experience.

“It’s a razor-sharp wire that you’re dancing on in the playoffs,” Forrest said. “You know, from the first game into this game, everything’s tight, magnified. Where we were in December and how we finished up... I think that says volumes about the growth of our young players, about the leadership of our veterans, just in general the way that the team adapted and evolved and continued to get better.

“I think when you look back on the season that some of the guys went through a rough patch to get [to the postseason]. But hopefully they understand that they came out of this better players, better people, more experienced pros, and that’ll take us further in the next playoff push.”

Rochester Americans hero Arttu Ruotsalainen sent the Blue Cross Arena into a frenzy Sunday night, pounding a right-circle one-timer past Utica Comets goaltender Akira Schmid for a 4-3 overtime win in Game 3 of the teams’ North Division semifinal series.

Ruotsalainen’s league-leading sixth playoff goal ― and second OT winner ― gave the Amerks a 2-1 series lead and put the Comets up against elimination going into Tuesday’s Game 4 showdown in Rochester.

But what was Ruotsalainen’s view of his power-play goal?

[Peyton] Krebs made an incredible pass,” Ruotsalainen said. “I closed my eyes, made a shot, hoped for the best, and it went in.”

The Chicago Wolves received some opposing support for the remainder of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Rockford IceHogs captain Garrett Mitchell was generous in his praise of the Wolves after Chicago completed a three-game sweep in the teams’ Central Division semifinal series Sunday. The Wolves will face the Milwaukee Admirals in the Central Division Finals.

“They’ve got a pretty good team,” Mitchell said via IceHogs TV after the season-ending loss. “With the season they had, they’ve proved that, and hopefully they make a run.”

Of course, Mitchell’s well wishes for the Wolves will be short-lived. The veteran defenseman signed a contract extension with the IceHogs that will keep him in Rockford through at least next season.

Patrick Williams

ALUMNI WATCH

In last night’s Stanley Cup Playoff Game 7 action, Mika Zibanejad recorded a goal and two assists and Igor Shesterkin made 42 saves as the New York Rangers rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory over Pittsburgh... 2012-13 AHL Rookie of the Year Tyler Toffoli scored for Calgary in their 3-2 overtime victory over Dallas... Jake Oettinger made 64 saves in the loss for the Stars.

In action at the 2022 IIHF World Championship yesterday, Janis Moser, who had 12 points in 18 AHL games with Tucson in 2021-22, had a goal and two assists as Switzerland defeated Denmark, 6-0... 2016 Calder Cup champion Josh Anderson recorded a goal and an assist for Canada in a 6-1 win over Italy... Mathis Olimb scored twice in Norway’s 4-3 shootout win over Great Britain... Alexandre Texier notched a goal and an assist to help France to a 2-1 win over Kazakhstan... Kieffer Bellows and Adam Gaudette scored to help the United States to a 3-2 overtime win over Austria... Rasmus Asplund scored twice for Sweden in a 5-3 win over the Czech Republic.

Watch the Calder Cup Playoffs on AHLTV
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2022 Calder Cup championship. AHLTV features live streaming of every AHL game in high definition on desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile devices, as well as OTT platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV. A subscription is just $29.99 for the entire postseason, or just $8.99 for a day pass. Visit AHLTV.com for details.