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 || Series Previews
Tonight’s Previews
Game 3 – 7:00 ET, AHL Live (TOR leads series, 2-0)
Toronto has Rochester on the brink of a first-round sweep for the second year in a row following wins in Games 1 and 2 back at Ricoh Coliseum… Since the start of the 2011-12 season, the Marlies have won 21 of 25 regular-season and playoff meetings with the Americans, and Toronto is 21-4-0-2 in its last 27 visits to the Blue Cross Arena… Marlies forward Greg Scott followed his four-goal performance in Game 1 on Saturday with an assist on Mike Zigomanis‘s game-winning goal in Game 2 on Sunday… Scott’s seven career Calder Cup Playoff goals have been scored over two games; he had a hat trick at Abbotsford on May 8, 2012… Jerry D’Amigo, who recorded 5-1-6 in Toronto’s three-game sweep of Rochester last year, has chipped in with 1-3-4 through the first two games of this series… Marlies goalie Drew MacIntyre (2-0, 1.51, .949) now owns a 29-22 record with a 1.94 GAA and a .928 save percentage in his Calder Cup Playoff career… Zemgus Girgensons (2-0-2) scored twice for the Amerks in the Game 1 loss… Rochester has lost seven of its last nine home playoff games, dating back to 2005… The Marlies won their first five road playoff games last year before losing their final three… Toronto is 4-for-15 on the power play in the series; Rochester is 0-for-11.
Western Conference Quarterfinals – Series “F” (best-of-5)
2-Toronto Marlies vs. 7-Rochester Americans
Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 27 – TORONTO 6, Rochester 3 | Recap
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 28 – TORONTO 2, Rochester 0 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 1 – Toronto at Rochester, 7:00
*Game 4 – Thurs., May 2 – Toronto at Rochester, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 4 – Rochester at Toronto, 3:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
Game 3 – 7:00 ET, AHL Live (Series tied, 1-1)
Grand Rapids gained a split of the first two games of the series in Houston; now the series moves to Van Andel Arena, where the Aeros have won five of their last six visits… Tomas Jurco (2-0-2) scored twice and Tomas Tatar (1-0-1) once in the Griffins’ 3-2 win in Game 2 on Sunday… Petr Mrazek (1-1, 2.02, .920) took a shutout into the final five minutes of regulation and finished with 19 saves for his first career playoff win… Justin Fontaine (3-1-4) and Brian Connelly (1-1-2) each had a goal and an assist for Houston in Game 2, and Darcy Kuemper (1-1, 1.51, .957) followed his Game 1 shutout with a 31-save effort… Jason Zucker and Marco Scandella, who both played for Houston earlier in the series, made their Stanley Cup Playoff debuts with Minnesota on Tuesday night.
Western Conference Quarterfinals – Series “G” (best-of-5)
3-Grand Rapids Griffins vs. 6-Houston Aeros
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 26 – HOUSTON 3, Grand Rapids 0 | Recap
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 28 – Grand Rapids 3, HOUSTON 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 1 – Houston at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 4 – Fri., May 3 – Houston at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 4 – Houston at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
Game 3 – 7:00 ET, AHL Live (Series tied, 1-1)
Oklahoma City scored five unanswered goals on Saturday night and evened its first-round series with a 5-2 win over Charlotte… Mark Arcobello (3-2-5), who finished the regular season tied for third in the AHL in scoring, notched the final three goals of Game 2 for the Barons to cap a four-point night… Defenseman Randy Jones (1-2-3) tallied three points, including the first goal of his 63-game professional playoff career… Jonathan Cheechoo (1-1-2) had a goal and an assist and Josh Green (1-3-4) and Toni Rajala (0-3-3) added two assists each… Yann Danis (1-1, 2.92, .905) stopped 33 shots in the victory… Brody Sutter (2-1-3), whose second goal of Game 1 on Friday was the overtime winner for Charlotte, assisted on Sean Dolan‘s goal on Saturday night… Zach Boychuk (2-0-2) scored for the second straight night for the Checkers.
Western Conference Quarterfinals – Series “H” (best-of-5)
4-Charlotte Checkers vs. 5-Oklahoma City Barons
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 26 – Charlotte 4, OKLAHOMA CITY 3 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 27 – OKLAHOMA CITY 5, Charlotte 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 1 – Oklahoma City at Charlotte, 7:00
Game 4 – Fri., May 3 – Oklahoma City at Charlotte, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 4 – Oklahoma City at Charlotte, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
Game 3 – 8:30 ET, AHL Live (Series tied, 1-1)
Magnus Hellberg‘s 23-save shutout on Saturday night helped Milwaukee to a 2-0 win over Texas and evened the teams’ conference quarterfinal series at one game apiece… For Hellberg (1-1, 1.37, .955), it was his third shutout in his last four starts going back to the end of the regular season… Rookie Austin Watson (1-0-1), the Admirals’ leading goal-scorer in the regular season with 20, netted the game-winning goal at 12:04 of the second period in Game 2… Mike Moore (1-0-1) found an empty net in the final minute of play for his first career playoff goal… Cristopher Nilstorp (1-1, 1.38, .941) stopped 19 of 20 shots in the Game 2 loss for Texas after a 29-save effort in Friday’s Game 1 overtime victory… Saturday marked the Stars’ first shutout loss on the road since a 2-0 defeat in Hamilton on Feb. 12, 2012.
Western Conference Quarterfinals – Series “E” (best-of-5)
1-Texas Stars vs. 8-Milwaukee Admirals
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 26 – Texas 3, MILWAUKEE 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 27 – MILWAUKEE 2, Texas 0 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 1 – Milwaukee at Texas, 8:30
Game 4 – Fri., May 3 – Milwaukee at Texas, 8:30
*Game 5 – Sat., May 4 – Milwaukee at Texas, 8:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
0-2 Comebacks
Entering this postseason, 70 of the 79 teams to take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five Calder Cup Playoff series have gone on to win the series. The nine who came back:
2002, St. John’s Maple Leafs def. Lowell Lock Monsters
2001, Providence Bruins def. Hartford Wolf Pack
1997, Springfield Falcons def. Portland Pirates
1997, Providence Bruins def. Worcester IceCats
1969, Quebec Aces def. Cleveland Barons
1967, Rochester Americans def. Cleveland Barons (lost first two at home)
1965, Hershey Bears def. Baltimore Clippers
1954, Hershey Bears def. Pittsburgh Hornets (lost first two at home)
1952, Providence Reds def. Cleveland Barons
Working Overtime
Seven of the first 16 games played this postseason have required overtime:
Apr. 26 – Texas 3, Milwaukee 2 (Brett Ritchie, 11:44)
Apr. 26 – Charlotte 4, Oklahoma City 3 (Brody Sutter, 3:06)
Apr. 27 – Springfield 2, Manchester 1 (Cody Bass, 10:36)
Apr. 27 – W-B/Scranton 3, Binghamton 2 (Chad Kolarik, 8:18)
Apr. 27 – Syracuse 4, Portland 3 (Richard Panik, 6:36)
Apr. 28 – Hershey 5, Providence 4 (Jon DiSalvatore, 3:05)
Apr. 28 – Springfield 3, Manchester 2 (Cody Bass, 18:44)
Did You Know?
Game-winning goal scorer Bryan Bickell and winning goaltender Corey Crawford were two of nine former Rockford IceHogs in the Chicago Blackhawks’ lineup for their playoff opener vs. Minnesota last night.
AHL Live
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2013 Calder Cup championship. AHL Live brings AHL action to your computer all season long with live video webcasts and highlights of every AHL game, as well as behind-the-scenes features and interviews in the Video On Demand section… Visit ahllive.com for details.
