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Game 7 – 6:00 ET, AHL Live, (Series tied, 3-3)
The first Game 7 of the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs pits the St. John’s IceCaps against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals on the line… While this is obviously the first Game 7 for the first-year IceCaps, it’s the third AHL Game 7 ever played in St. John’s; the St. John’s Maple Leafs were 0-2, losing to Hamilton in 1997 and to the Adirondack Red Wings in the finale of the 1992 Calder Cup Finals… Wilkes-Barre is 6-1 all-time in winner-take-all games and 4-1 in Game 7’s… Having already staved off elimination twice with wins in Games 5 and 6, the Penguins are bidding to become the 18th team in AHL history to win a series after trailing 3-1… Zach Sill (3-1-4) scored the go-ahead goal with 14:19 left in the third period last night to send Wilkes-Barre to a 4-2 win in Game 6… Jason Williams (3-9-12), Cal O’Reilly (5-3-8) and Paul Thompson (2-1-3) also scored for the Penguins, and Brad Thiessen (6-5, 2.06, .909) stopped 29 of 31 shots… Patrice Cormier (3-0-3) and Raymond Sawada (2-2-4) scored for the IceCaps, who got 27 saves from Eddie Pasquale (6-4, 2.24, .927)… The Penguins are 4-for-24 on the power play (16.7 percent) in the series after last night’s 2-for-6 effort… St. John’s was 2-for-5 in Game 5 and is now 5-for-21 (23.8 percent) for the series… Wilkes-Barre improved to 17-10 all-time when facing elimination, including 3-0 this postseason… This will be the 85th Game 7 in Calder Cup Playoff history… Tonight’s winner moves on to face the Norfolk Admirals beginning Thursday night.
From Calder to Stanley
There’s a Game 7 in the NHL tonight also, with the New York Rangers hosting the Washington Capitals for the right to move on… Rangers Marc Staal, Daniel Girardi and Brandon Dubinsky all played in a Game 7 during the first round of the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs with the Hartford Wolf Pack, a 2-1 win over Manchester… John Mitchell played in two Game 7’s for the Toronto Marlies during the 2008 AHL postseason, and scored the winning goal in a 3-2 victory over Syracuse in the second round… John Tortorella was 1-1 in Game 7’s as head coach of the Rochester Americans; the win came vs. Portland in the 1996 Calder Cup Finals… Keith Aucoin and John Carlson were on the winning end of a Game 7 with Hershey three years ago tonight (see On This Date below)… Mike Green and Brooks Laich helped Hershey to a Game 7 win over Portland in the 2006 AHL conference finals.
By the Numbers
45-39 – Record of home teams all-time in AHL Game 7’s… Road teams are 6-3 since 2010.
17 – Calder Cup Playoff Game 7’s that have gone into overtime… Road teams are 8-3 in Game 7 overtime contests since 1992.
6 – Series, of the 11 completed this postseason, that have ended on an overtime goal, tied for the most ever in a single playoff year (1996).
On This Date
May 12, 2011 – Erik Condra, Kaspars Daugavins and Andre Benoit all tally a goal and two assists as Binghamton blitzes Charlotte, 7-4, in the opener of the Eastern Conference Finals.
May 12, 2009 – Michal Neuvirth becomes the first goaltender in AHL history to record shutouts in Games 6 and 7 of a series, leading Hershey to the conference finals with a 3-0 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton… Keith Aucoin scores the winning goal for the Bears.
May 12, 2004 – Kari Lehtonen stops 43 of 44 shots as Chicago avoids elimination with a 2-1 win at Milwaukee in Game 5 of the West Division Finals.
May 12, 1998 – Dan Cloutier makes 52 saves, Derek Armstrong scores and Marc Savard adds two assists as Hartford keeps its season alive with a 4-1 win at Worcester in Game 6 of their division final series.
May 12, 1984 – Bud Stefanski scores his second overtime goal of the series as the Maine Mariners take a 3-2 victory and a 3-1 series lead over Rochester in the Calder Cup Finals.
AHL Live
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2012 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.
