Take a game-day spin around the AHL ice with latest from around the American Hockey League in today’s Morning Skate.
Complete Schedule || Playoff Brackets || Today’s Scoreboard || League Leaders
Tonight’s Previews
Game 6 – 6:00 ET (STJ leads series, 3-2)
AHL Live, Rogers TV (St. John’s), WSWB-TV 38 (Wilkes-Barre)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scored three times in the final 7:30 of regulation on Saturday night and sent the Eastern Conference Finals back to St. John’s with a 4-2 victory over the IceCaps in Game 5… St. John’s still holds a 3-2 lead in the series, and is 4-1 all-time at Mile One Centre with a chance to close out a series; the only loss came in Game 6 vs. Wilkes-Barre in 2012… The Penguins are 23-12 (.657) all-time when facing postseason elimination, including 9-2 in their last 11… Zach Sill (1-2-3) scored the game-winning goal with 15.8 seconds remaining in regulation in Game 5… Chuck Kobasew (8-6-14) scored twice and Andrew Ebbett (2-6-8) notched two assists as both returned to the lineup from injury… Simon Despres (2-7-9) also had two assists, and former IceCaps forward Spencer Machacek (1-4-5) notched his first goal of the playoffs… Will O’Neill (2-11-13), who had a goal and an assist for St. John’s in Game 5, was suspended for tonight’s game as a result of a match penalty incurred on Saturday… With two more assists in Game 5, Andrew Gordon (8-8-16) now has 2-6-8 in the series and 7-9-16 in 17 career playoff games vs. Wilkes-Barre… Peter Mannino (9-7, 2.59, .902) made 19 saves to help end the Penguins’ three-game losing streak… Michael Hutchinson (10-5, 1.72, .942) stopped 30 of 33 shots for the IceCaps in Game 5, and has now allowed eight goals on 148 shots (.946) in the series… St. John’s was 2-for-6 on the power play in Game 5 and was 6-for-20 (30.0 percent) in the three games in Wilkes-Barre, but enters tonight having gone 140:01 without an even-strength goal… The Penguins were 0-for-7 with the man advantage on Saturday and are scoreless on their last 30 power plays, including 0-for-27 in this series.
Eastern Conference Finals – Series “M” (best-of-7)
4-St. John’s IceCaps vs. 6-W-B/Scranton Penguins | Series Snapshot
Game 1 – Sat., May 24 – W-B/Scranton 3, ST. JOHN’S 2
Game 2 – Sun., May 25 – ST. JOHN’S 2, W-B/Scranton 1
Game 3 – Wed., May 28 – St. John’s 5, W-B/SCRANTON 0
Game 4 – Thu., May 29 – St. John’s 2, W-B/SCRANTON 1
Game 5 – Sat., May 31 – W-B/SCRANTON 4, St. John’s 2
Game 6 – Tue., June 3 – W-B/Scranton at St. John’s, 6:00
*Game 7 – Wed., June 4 – W-B/Scranton at St. John’s, 6:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
Game 7 – 8:30 ET (Series tied, 3-3)
AHL Live, Leafs TV, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (Sirius 207, XM 211)
For the fourth time in the last five years, the Western Conference championship will be decided in a Game 7 as Texas hosts Toronto tonight for the right to play for the Calder Cup… Carter Ashton scored twice and Drew MacIntyre made 36 saves to lift the Marlies to a 3-1 win in Game 6 last night… Ashton (4-4-8) had recorded just one assist in the first five games of the series… Peter Holland (6-8-14) tallied two assists in Game 6, tying him with T.J. Brennan (6-8-14) and Jerry D’Amigo (6-8-14) for the Marlies’ playoff scoring lead… MacIntyre (10-3, 1.85, .946) made 30-plus saves for the seventh time this postseason, and improved his save percentage to .943 in the conference finals vs. Texas… Curtis McKenzie (2-7-9) scored on the Stars’ eighth and final power play of the night with 3:25 remaining in Game 6, ending a 10-game goal drought for the Red Garrett Award winner as the AHL’s outstanding rookie in 2013-14… The goal also snapped Texas’s 0-for-22 slide with the man advantage… The Stars are now 3-for-33 (9.1 percent) on the power play in the series; the Marlies are 6-for-23 (26.1 percent)… Cristopher Nilstorp (8-4, 2.15, .913) stopped 22 of 25 shots in the Game 6 loss… Texas’s Travis Morin (4-11-15) is bidding to become the seventh consecutive regular-season AHL MVP to reach the Calder Cup Finals, following Tyler Johnson (2013), Cory Conacher (2012), Corey Locke (2011), Keith Aucoin (2010), Alexandre Giroux (2009) and Jason Krog (2008)… The Stars have outshot the Marlies, 230-142, through six games, but have been outscored, 18-14… MacIntyre has allowed one goal on 71 shots in the first period during the series (.986), while the Marlies have taken a 1-0 lead within the game’s first 10 minutes in all six contests… MacIntyre’s save percentage by period in the series drops to .934 in the second and .915 in the third… Nilstorp has an .865 save percentage in the first period vs. Toronto and a .908 mark in the second, but has given up just one goal on 38 shots faced in the third period (.974)… Texas is 3-3 all-time when facing elimination, but this is the Stars’ first elimination game ever on home ice… The Marlies are 7-5 all-time when facing elimination, including 3-2 on the road… Both teams are 2-0 in Game 7’s (see below)… Tonight’s game will be televised on Leafs TV and will air on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (Sirius 207, XM 211).
Western Conference Finals – Series “N” (best-of-7)
1-Texas Stars vs. 3-Toronto Marlies | Series Snapshot
Game 1 – Fri., May 23 – Toronto 5, TEXAS 1
Game 2 – Mon., May 26 – TEXAS 6, Toronto 3
Game 3 – Wed., May 28 – Texas 3, TORONTO 2
Game 4 – Thu., May 29 – TORONTO 4, Texas 1
Game 5 – Sat., May 31 – Texas 2, TORONTO 1
Game 6 – Mon., June 2 – Toronto 3, TEXAS 1
Game 7 – Tue., June 3 – Toronto at Texas, 8:30
*if necessary… All times Eastern
Game 7 Histories
Texas and Toronto meet tonight in the 158th winner-take-all game and the 89th Game 7 in Calder Cup Playoff history… Home teams are 48-40 (.545) all-time in Game 7’s… Since 1992, teams are 47-12 (.797) in Game 7’s when scoring the first goal… Eleven Game 7’s in history have gone to overtime, the last being Hamilton’s triple-overtime win over Manitoba in 2011… Every AHL postseason since 1991 has had at least one Game 7… Both the Stars and Marlies are 2-0 all-time in Game 7’s.
Texas Stars (2-0)
2010 Western Conference Finals – Texas 4, HAMILTON 2
2010 Western Conference Semifinals – Texas 6, CHICAGO 5 (OT)
Toronto Marlies (2-0)
2008 North Division Finals – TORONTO 3, Syracuse 2
2008 North Division Semifinals – TORONTO 2, San Antonio 1
Quick Strikes
Toronto has scored the game’s first goal in all 13 of its playoff contests… In the last nine, that goal has come within the first 10 minutes of the game:
Game 1 at Milwaukee – 17:46, 1st
Game 2 at Milwaukee – 18:51, 1st
Game 3 vs. Milwaukee – 17:31, 2nd
Game 1 at Chicago – 10:54, 1st
Game 2 at Chicago – 1:04, 1st
Game 3 vs. Chicago – 5:26, 1st
Game 4 vs. Chicago – 7:51, 1st
Game 1 at Texas – 3:11, 1st
Game 2 at Texas – 4:22, 1st
Game 3 vs. Texas – 9:16, 1st
Game 4 vs. Texas – 1:36, 1st
Game 5 vs. Texas – 0:41, 1st
Game 6 at Texas – 8:45, 1st
To the Max
Texas captain Maxime Fortunus ranks 11th in AHL history with 109 career playoff games played… Here are the top 10:
159 – Bryan Helmer
128 – Boyd Kane
123 – Ken Gernander
120 – Fred Glover
118 – Alexandre Giroux
115 – Jody Gage
112 – Les Duff
112 – Willie Marshall
112 – Mike Nykoluk
110 – Darren Haydar
The 3-1 Hole
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is trying to join 18 other teams in AHL history who have come back to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 3-1… The Penguins are already on the list twice:
2013 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins def. Providence Bruins (trailed 3-0)
2011 – Manitoba Moose def. Lake Erie Monsters
2011 – Binghamton Senators def. Manchester Monarchs
2010 – Abbotsford Heat def. Rochester Americans
2008 – Toronto Marlies def. Syracuse Crunch
2005 – Cincinnati Mighty Ducks def. Milwaukee Admirals
2004 – Rochester Americans def. Syracuse Crunch
2004 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins def. Bridgeport Sound Tigers
2000 – Hartford Wolf Pack def. Providence Bruins
1997 – Hershey Bears def. Springfield Falcons
1992 – Rochcester Americans def. Binghamton Rangers
1991 – Springfield Indians def. Fredericton Canadiens
1989 – Adirondack Red Wings def. Hershey Bears (trailed 3-0)
1973 – Virginia Wings def. Hershey Bears
1960 – Rochester Americans def. Cleveland Barons (trailed 3-0)
1949 – Providence Reds def. Hershey Bears
1947 – Hershey Bears def. Pittsburgh Hornets
1946 – Buffalo Bisons def. Cleveland Barons
Comeback Kings
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has a .657 winning percentage all-time when facing playoff elimination, the second-best mark in AHL history among teams with at least five postseason appearances:
.682 – Chicago Wolves (15-7)
.657 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (23-12)
.610 – Providence Bruins (25-16)
.609 – Manitoba Moose (14-9)
.583 – Moncton Hawks (7-5)
Working Overtime
There have been 15 overtime games played in the 2014 Calder Cup Playoffs so far:
Apr. 23 – Springfield 3, PROVIDENCE 2 (Andrew Joudrey, 2:21)
Apr. 23 – Texas 3, OKLAHOMA CITY 2 (Mike Hedden, 5:35)
Apr. 25 – Providence 2, SPRINGFIELD 1 (Matt Fraser, 3:54)
Apr. 25 – W-B/Scranton 3, BINGHAMTON 2 (Anton Zlobin, 8:40)
Apr. 25 – Chicago 4, ROCHESTER 3 (Dmitrij Jaskin, 1:06)
Apr. 25 – Grand Rapids 2, ABBOTSFORD 1 (Ryan Sproul, 39:26)
Apr. 26 – BINGHAMTON 4, W-B/Scranton 3 (Stephane Da Costa, 11:07)
Apr. 26 – Texas 3, OKLAHOMA CITY 2 (Brendan Ranford, 15:04)
Apr. 30 – W-B/SCRANTON 3, Binghamton 2 (Chuck Kobasew, 7:32)
Apr. 30 – NORFOLK 1, Manchester 0 (Maxime Sauve, 14:51)
May 13 – NORFOLK 3, St. John’s 2 (Andre Petersson, 13:10)
May 14 – W-B/Scranton 5, PROVIDENCE 4 (Simon Despres, 26:32)
May 14 – TORONTO 4, Chicago 3 (Jerry D’Amigo, 3:28)
May 16 – PROVIDENCE 3, W-B/Scranton 2 (Cory Kane, 6:31)
May 16 – Texas 3, GRAND RAPIDS 2 (Chris Mueller, 3:18)
Eastern Conference Finals History
The Richard F. Canning Trophy is presented each season to the playoff champions of the AHL’s Eastern Conference… Here are the results of the Eastern Conference Finals since the league split into two conferences in 1995-96:
2013 – Syracuse Crunch 4, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 1
2012 – Norfolk Admirals 4, St. John’s IceCaps 0
2011 – Binghamton Senators 4, Charlotte Checkers 0
2010 – Hershey Bears 4, Manchester Monarchs 2
2009 – Hershey Bears 4, Providence Bruins 1
2008 – W-B/Scranton Penguins 4, Portland Pirates 3
2007 – Hershey Bears 4, Manchester Monarchs 0
2006 – Hershey Bears 4, Portland Pirates 3
2005 – Philadelphia Phantoms 4, Providence Bruins 2
2004 – W-B/Scranton Penguins 4, Hartford Wolf Pack 3
2003 – Hamilton Bulldogs 4, Binghamton Senators 1
2002 – Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4, Hamilton Bulldogs 3
2001 – Saint John Flames 4, Providence Bruins 1
2000 – Hartford Wolf Pack 4, Providence Bruins 3
1999 – Providence Bruins 4, Fredericton Canadiens 2
1998 – Saint John Flames 4, Hartford Wolf Pack 1
*1997 – Hamilton Bulldogs 4, Albany River Rats 1
*1996 – Portland Pirates 4, Saint John Flames 3
*known as Northern Conference
Western Conference Finals History
The Robert W. Clarke Trophy is presented each season to the playoff champions of the AHL’s Western Conference… There have been eight different conference champions in the last eight years; either Texas (2010) or Toronto (2012) will end that streak… Here are the results of the Western Conference Finals since the league split into two conferences in 1995-96:
2013 – Grand Rapids Griffins 4, Oklahoma City Barons 3
2012 – Toronto Marlies 4, Oklahoma City Barons 1
2011 – Houston Aeros 4, Hamilton Bulldogs 3
2010 – Texas Stars 4, Hamilton Bulldogs 3
2009 – Manitoba Moose 4, Houston Aeros 2
2008 – Chicago Wolves 4, Toronto Marlies 1
2007 – Hamilton Bulldogs 4, Chicago Wolves 1
2006 – Milwaukee Admirals 4, Grand Rapids Griffins 0
2005 – Chicago Wolves 4, Manitoba Moose 0
2004 – Milwaukee Admirals 4, Rochester Americans 1
2003 – Houston Aeros 4, Grand Rapids Griffins 3
2002 – Chicago Wolves 4, Houston Aeros 1
2001 – W-B/Scranton Penguins 4, Hershey Bears 0
2000 – Rochester Americans 4, Hershey Bears 0
1999 – Rochester Americans 4, Philadelphia Phantoms 2
1998 – Philadelphia Phantoms 4, Albany River Rats 2
*1997 – Hershey Bears 4, Springfield Falcons 3
*1996 – Rochester Americans 4, Syracuse Crunch 1
*known as Southern Conference
AHL Live
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2014 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.
