Take a game-day spin around the AHL ice with latest news and notes from the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs in today’s AHL Morning Skate.
Playoff Brackets | Today’s Scoreboard | League Stats
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Game 1 – Friday, 7:00 ET – AHL Live
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The 2017 Calder Cup Finals get underway on Friday night when Grand Rapids hosts Syracuse in Game 1… In AHL history, teams that win Game 1 of the Finals have gone on to win the championship 61 of 80 times (76.3 percent).
2017 Calder Cup Finals – Series “O” (best-of-7)
Grand Rapids Griffins vs. Syracuse Crunch
Game 1 – Fri., June 2 – Syracuse at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 2 – Sat., June 3 – Syracuse at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 3 – Wed., June 7 – Grand Rapids at Syracuse, 7:00
Game 4 – Fri., June 9 – Grand Rapids at Syracuse, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., June 10 – Grand Rapids at Syracuse, 7:00
*Game 6 – Tue., June 13 – Syracuse at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., June 14 – Syracuse at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
Middle of the Pack
Syracuse, which was 12th in the overall AHL standings in 2016-17, is just the seventh team ever to make the Finals without finishing the regular season among the league’s top 10:
2011 – Binghamton Senators (12) defeated Houston (6), 4-2
2007 – Hamilton Bulldogs (11) defeated Hershey (1), 4-1
2004 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (14) lost to Milwaukee (1), 4-0
2002 – Chicago Wolves (16) defeated Bridgeport (1), 4-1
1997 – Hamilton Bulldogs (15) lost to Hershey (2), 4-1
1996 – Portland Pirates (13) lost to Rochester (9), 4-3
Working Overtime
There have been 17 overtime games played in the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs so far:
May 21 – PROVIDENCE 2, Syracuse 1 (Jordan Szwarz, 8:28)
May 14 – Hershey 3, PROVIDENCE 2 (Madison Bowey, 1:58)
May 11 – Hershey 2, PROVIDENCE 1 (Chris Bourque, 7:14)
May 10 – San Jose 4, SAN DIEGO 3 (Timo Meier, 17:40)
May 7 – HERSHEY 3, Providence 2 (Travis Boyd, 5:44)
May 5 – San Diego 3, SAN JOSE 2 (Kevin Roy, 0:38)
*May 2 – SAN JOSE 2, Stockton 1 (Ryan Carpenter, 8:52)
*Apr. 28 – TORONTO 2, Albany 1 (Justin Holl, 46:43)
*Apr. 28 – SYRACUSE 2, St. John’s 1 (Gabriel Dumont, 2:18)
*Apr. 26 – Grand Rapids 3, MILWAUKEE 2 (Kyle Criscuolo, 10:03)
Apr. 26 – TORONTO 3, Albany 2 (Colin Greening, 0:45)
Apr. 26 – Lehigh Valley 2, HERSHEY 1 (Chris Conner, 1:49)
Apr. 23 – Charlotte 4, CHICAGO 3 (Connor Brickley, 9:28)
Apr. 23 – W-B/Scranton 6, PROVIDENCE 5 (Derrick Pouliot, 7:49)
Apr. 22 – Syracuse 4, ST. JOHN’S 3 (Tye McGinn, 30:37)
Apr. 21 – GRAND RAPIDS 4, Milwaukee 3 (Tomas Nosek, 9:32)
Apr. 21 – Hershey 1, LEHIGH VALLEY 0 (Nathan Walker, 7:38)
*clinched series
Alumni Watch
Ninety-four percent of the players heading to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final are graduates of the American Hockey League (infographic)… Only three players combined on the rosters of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators did not come through the AHL (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Mike Fisher)… Game 1 of the Final is tonight in Pittsburgh.
On This Date
May 29, 2016 – Hershey advances to the franchise’s 23rd Calder Cup Finals with a 3-2 win at Toronto.
May 29, 2004 – Matt Murley’s overtime goal gives Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 2-1 Game 7 win over Hartford and sends the Penguins to the Calder Cup Finals.
May 29, 1994 – The first-year Portland Pirates win the Calder Cup with a 4-1 victory over the Moncton Hawks.
May 29, 1992 – The Adirondack Red Wings defeat the St. John’s Maple Leafs, 5-2, to complete a seven-game Calder Cup Finals in which the road team won every game.
AHL Live
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2017 Calder Cup championship. AHL Live brings AHL action to your desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet all season long with live video webcasts and free highlights of every AHL game… Visit ahllive.com for details.
