AHL Morning Skate: 5.17.22

A1-Charlotte Checkers vs. A6-Bridgeport Islanders
(Charlotte wins series, 3-1)

Game 1 – Charlotte 3, BRIDGEPORT 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Charlotte 7, BRIDGEPORT 6 (2OT) | Recap
Game 3 – Bridgeport 3, CHARLOTTE 2 | Recap
Game 4 – CHARLOTTE 4, Bridgeport 0 | Recap

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

A1-Charlotte Checkers vs. A2-Springfield Thunderbirds
Game 1 – Sunday, 3:05 ET,

Game 1 – Sun., May 22 – Charlotte at Springfield, 3:05
Game 2 – Wed., May 25 – Charlotte at Springfield, 7:05
Game 3 – Sat., May 28 – Springfield at Charlotte, 6:00
*Game 4 – Sun., May 29 – Springfield at Charlotte, 6:00
*Game 5 – Tue., May 31 – Springfield at Charlotte, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

N1-Utica Comets vs. N5-Rochester Americans
Game 4 – Tonight, 7:05 ET,
(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

GAME NOTES
Rochester hosts Utica tonight looking to do something they haven’t done in 18 years: celebrate a Calder Cup Playoff series win in front of their home fans... The Amerks’ last clinching win on home ice came in the second round of the 2004 postseason when they completed a four-game sweep of the Hamilton Bulldogs... Rochester took a 2-1 series lead with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 3 on Sunday afternoon, as Arttu Ruotsalainen (6-3-9) scored his league-leading sixth goal of the postseason (and second OT winner) on a power play with 1:39 gone in OT... All four of the Amerks’ wins this postseason have come in overtime... Peyton Krebs (0-8-8) recorded two more assists in Game 3, and Aaron Dell (4-1, 3.20, .885) made 30 saves... A.J. Greer (4-1-5) has scored a goal in each game of the series for the Comets... Fabian Zetterlund (1-3-4) tallied a goal and an assist in Game 3, and Graeme Clarke (1-0-1) scored a goal in his postseason debut... Utica is 3-for-5 on the power play in the series; Rochester is 2-for-4... Attendance for Game 3 was 10,741, the largest crowd for a game at Blue Cross Arena since Dec. 30, 2005.

N2-Syracuse Crunch vs. N3-Laval Rocket
Game 5 – Tonight, 7:00 ET,
(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

GAME NOTES
Syracuse and Laval square off in the decisive Game 5 of their North Division semifinal series tonight at Upstate Medical University Arena... The Crunch extended the series with a 3-0 road win on Saturday... Hugo Alnefelt made 24 saves in relief of an injured Max Lagace in Game 4; it was the first postseason appearance for the 20-year-old Alnefelt, a third-round pick by Tampa Bay in the 2019 NHL Draft... Cole Koepke (2-1-3), Remi Elie (3-0-3) and Anthony Richard (3-2-5) scored for the Crunch... Cayden Primeau (2-1, 2.05, .939) made 34 saves for the Rocket in the loss... Game 4 was Syracuse’s first postseason shutout since 2013, and Laval’s first shutout loss at Place Bell since Dec. 14, 2019... The Crunch are 3-for-14 (21.4 percent) on the power play in the series, while the Rocket are 4-for-15 (26.7 percent)... Syracuse is 2-5 all-time in winner-take-all games; their most recent was a Game 7 win over Toronto in 2017... Laval, in the Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time, has never previously faced elimination.

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

C1-Chicago Wolves vs. C3-Milwaukee Admirals
Game 1 – Saturday, 8:00 ET,

Game 1 – Sat., May 21 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 8:00
Game 2 – Sun., May 22 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 4:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 25 – Chicago at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 4 – Fri., May 27 – Chicago at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 5 – Sun., May 29 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 4:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

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

P1-Stockton Heat vs. P3-Colorado Eagles
Game 1 – Monday, 9:30 ET,

Game 1 – Mon., May 23 – Colorado at Stockton, 9:30
Game 2 – Tue., May 24 – Colorado at Stockton, 9:30
Game 3 – Fri., May 27 – Stockton at Colorado, 9:05
*Game 4 – Sun., May 29 – Stockton at Colorado, 9:05
*Game 5 – Tue., May 31 – Stockton at Colorado, 9:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern

A promising season for the Ontario Reign is over, and it brought raw emotion from someone who has won the Calder Cup and wanted another one.

After finishing third overall in the American Hockey League with a 41-18-5-4 record (.669) and sweeping the San Diego Gulls in first round, Ontario found the Colorado Eagles to be too much of an obstacle in the teams’ Pacific Division semifinal series. Colorado completed a three-game sweep Sunday night in Ontario with a 5-2 win and will take on the Stockton Heat in the Pacific Division Finals.

“We wish the playoffs [had been] longer,” said star forward Martin Frk to the LA Kings Insider. Frk, a Calder Cup champion with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2017, finished sixth in regular-season scoring in the AHL, posting 73 points (40 goals, 33 assists) in just 58 games.

“That’s why you play,” Frk continued. “You play for the playoffs, [to] win the championship. But not everyone can win it, and [the Eagles] were just better. I don’t even know what to say. It’s hard to find any words.”

Milwaukee Admirals goaltender Iaroslav Askarov is now under contract to the parent Nashville Predators.

On Monday the Predators signed the 19-year-old Askarov, the 11th pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, to a three-year entry-level contract that activates next season.

Askarov signed a professional tryout deal with Milwaukee on May 3 following his season in Russia playing in the Kontinental Hockey League (SKA St. Petersburg) and the second-division Vysshaya Hockey League (VHL) with SKA-Neva St. Petersburg. He also played with Russia at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Iowa Wild fans could see an NHL first-round pick in net next season as well as the team bids to return to the Calder Cup Playoffs after missing out this season.

Goaltender Jesper Wallstedt signed his three-year entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild on Monday. Minnesota selected Wallstedt 20th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft.

This season, the 19-year-old Wallstedt led the Swedish Hockey League with a 1.98 GAA in 22 games with Lulea. He was also selected to represent Sweden at the World Junior Championship, where he was 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .962 save percentage, including a 48-save shutout against Slovakia.

Wallstedt’s signing adds another young goaltender to the Minnesota prospect pipeline. This season Iowa relied heavily on veteran Zane McIntyre down the stretch, while also using prospects Dereck Baribeau (15 games) and Hunter Jones (nine games) in net.

― Patrick Williams

ALUMNI WATCH

The Stanley Cup Playoffs resume tonight when the Second Round gets underway... Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe, the AHL’s scoring champion playing for Syracuse in 2018-19, finished second in the NHL in first-round scoring with 12 points, including three game-winning goals (two in overtime)... Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel led the league with eight goals during the first round... Calgary’s Jacob Markstrom, a Calder Cup finalist with Utica in 2015, led the league with a 1.53 GAA... Jake Oettinger had a league-best .954 save percentage.

In action at the 2022 IIHF World Championship yesterday, Morgan Geekie, a Calder Cup champion with Charlotte in 2019, notched a goal and an assist to help Canada to a 5-1 win over Slovakia... Two-time AHL All-Star Rudolfs Balcers recorded two assists in Latvia’s 3-2 win over Norway... Marc Michaelis, who notched 13 points in 22 games with the Toronto Marlies this season, tallied to assists as Germany edged France, 3-2... Jussi Olkinuora made 29 saves for Finland in a 4-1 win over the United States.

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.