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 6 – Tuesday, 7:00 ET – AHL Live free-view, SiriusXM 91
(GR leads series, 3-2)
Follow @griffinshockey Follow @SyracuseCrunch Tweet #GRvsSYR
Grand Rapids and Syracuse get one more day to regroup before the Calder Cup Finals resume tomorrow evening… The Crunch scored five times in the opening period and beat Grand Rapids, 5-1, to spoil the Griffins’ celebration plans in Game 5 on Saturday night… Syracuse is 2-7 on the road during these playoffs and now must win twice at Van Andel Arena, where the Griffins are a perfect 9-0 in the postseason… Crunch forward Yanni Gourde leads all scorers with 2-6-8 in the first five games of the Finals… Gourde and Cory Conacher both have eight-game scoring streaks for Syracuse, combining for 12-20-32 and a plus-18 rating over that span… Ben Street (4-1-5), Tomas Nosek (3-2-5) and Tyler Bertuzzi (2-3-5) lead the Griffins with five points each in the series… This is the first Calder Cup Finals series to reach six games since the 2013 meeting between these same two teams.
2017 Calder Cup Finals – Series “O” (best-of-7)
Grand Rapids Griffins vs. Syracuse Crunch | Finals Infographic
Game 1 – Fri., June 2 – GRAND RAPIDS 3, Syracuse 2 | Recap/Highlights
Game 2 – Sat., June 3 – GRAND RAPIDS 6, Syracuse 5 (2OT) | Recap/Highlights
Game 3 – Wed., June 7 – SYRACUSE 5, Grand Rapids 3 | Recap/Highlights
Game 4 – Fri., June 9 – Grand Rapids 3, SYRACUSE 2 | Recap/Highlights
Game 5 – Sat., June 10 – SYRACUSE 5, Grand Rapids 1 | Recap/Highlights
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
Comeback Plans
Only four teams in Calder Cup Finals history have won Games 6 and 7 of the series to win the championship:
1987 – Rochester Americans def. Sherbrooke, 4-3 (trailed 3-2)
1949 – Providence Reds def. Hershey, 4-3 (trailed 3-1)
1947 – Hershey Bears def. Pittsburgh, 4-3 (trailed 3-1)
1946 – Buffalo Bisons def. Cleveland, 4-3 (trailed 3-1)
Calder Cup Finals History (1992-2016)
2016 – Lake Erie Monsters 4, Hershey Bears 0
2015 – Manchester Monarchs 4, Utica Comets 1
2014 – Texas Stars 4, St. John’s IceCaps 1
2013 – Grand Rapids Griffins 4, Syracuse Crunch 2
2012 – Norfolk Admirals 4, Toronto Marlies 0
2011 – Binghamton Senators 4, Houston Aeros 2
2010 – Hershey Bears 4, Texas Stars 2
2009 – Hershey Bears 4, Manitoba Moose 2
2008 – Chicago Wolves 4, W-B/Scranton Penguins 2
2007 – Hamilton Bulldogs 4, Hershey Bears 1
2006 – Hershey Bears 4, Milwaukee Admirals 2
2005 – Philadelphia Phantoms 4, Chicago Wolves 0
2004 – Milwaukee Admirals 4, W-B/Scranton Penguins 0
2003 – Houston Aeros 4, Hamilton Bulldogs 3
2002 – Chicago Wolves 4, Bridgeport Sound Tigers 1
2001 – Saint John Flames 4, W-B/Scranton Penguins 2
2000 – Hartford Wolf Pack 4, Rochester Americans 2
1999 – Providence Bruins 4, Rochester Americans 1
1998 – Philadelphia Phantoms 4, Saint John Flames 2
1997 – Hershey Bears 4, Hamilton Bulldogs 1
1996 – Rochester Americans 4, Portland Pirates 3
1995 – Albany River Rats 4, Fredericton Canadiens 0
1994 – Portland Pirates 4, Moncton Hawks 2
1993 – Cape Breton Oilers 4, Rochester Americans 1
1992 – Adirondack Red Wings 4, St. John’s Maple Leafs 3
Reading List
Crunch rookie roommates go from bicycles to ice skates during ‘commute’ (Syracuse.com)
Game 5 loss to test Griffins’ resilience in return home (Detroit News)
Groulx, players give fans a stick tap for playoff support (Syracuse.com)
Griffins learn lesson in Syracuse, aim to clinch Calder Cup (Detroit Free Press)
Working Overtime
There have been 18 overtime games played in the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs so far:
June 3 – GRAND RAPIDS 6, Syracuse 5 (Ben Street, 27:02)
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
About the Calder Cup
The Calder Cup is named for Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL (1917-43) and one of the driving forces behind the formation of the American Hockey League.
While the AHL’s history dates back to the fall of 1936, the Calder Cup trophy was first awarded in 1938 to the Providence Reds for winning the second International-American Hockey League championship. (In 1996, George Parsons of the Syracuse Stars was presented the Calder Cup in a ceremony at the Onondaga County War Memorial; it is believed the Stars never received a trophy for their 1937 championship.)
In 2001, the trophy’s base was changed to include two tiers of plaques, which feature the rosters of each of the last 20 Calder Cup champions; the plaques from the first 60 champions are on display in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The entire trophy now stands 24 inches tall and weighs 28 pounds. The bowl, made of sterling silver, is 12 inches high and eight inches in diameter; the base is made of Brazilian mahogany.
Alumni Watch
In Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final last night, Patric Hornqvist scored with 1:35 left in regulation to send Pittsburgh to a 2-0 win over Nashville and its second consecutive championship… 2004 AHL All-Star Chris Kunitz, who assisted on the winning goal, won his fourth career Stanley Cup… 2017 AHL All-Rookie forward Jake Guentzel (13-8-21) finished the postseason tied for the NHL record for points by a rookie… Matt Murray, the AHL’s outstanding rookie and outstanding goaltender in 2014-15, made 27 saves for his second straight shutout to close out the series.
On This Date
June 12, 2015 – Nic Dowd scores twice, Nick Shore tallies a goal and two assists and Manchester doubles up Utica, 6-3, to take a 3-1 series lead in the Calder Cup Finals.
June 12, 2013 – Jan Mursak scores the go-ahead goal with 4:49 left in regulation and Grand Rapids takes a 3-0 Finals series lead with a 4-2 win over Syracuse.
June 12, 2009 – In front of 15,003 fans at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, the Hershey Bears wrap up their 10th Calder Cup championship with a 4-1 win over Manitoba in Game 6 of the Finals… Rookie goaltender Michal Neuvirth is named playoffs MVP.
June 12, 2003 – Johan Holmqvist makes 31 saves and Houston shuts out Hamilton, 3-0, to win the Calder Cup in Game 7 in front of 17,428 fans at Copps Coliseum — at the time the largest playoff crowd in AHL history.
Calder Cup Finals on AHL Live
The American Hockey League and NeuLion, Inc., are making video streaming of all seven games of the 2017 Calder Cup Finals available for viewing at no charge from AHL Live via desktop, laptop, mobile device or tablet… To watch free on AHL Live, simply visit ahllive.com from any desktop computer, log in with your AHL Live account (or create a new one), select the Finals All-Access Pass and enter the promo code FINALS17 to access all of the action of the AHL’s championship series featuring the calls of the Griffins’ Bob Kaser and the Crunch’s Dan D’Uva… You can watch on your desktop or laptop through ahllive.com, or download the official AHL Live app from iTunes or Google Play to watch on your mobile device or tablet.
