AHL Morning Skate: May 18

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

tor  gr
Game 5 – 7:00 ET, AHL Live (GR leads series, 3-1)
Eyeing their first trip to the Western Conference Finals since 2006, Grand Rapids takes a 3-1 series lead into tonight’s Game 5 at Van Andel Arena after pulling away for a 4-1 win over Toronto last night… For the first time in the series, the Marlies got on the board first in Game 4 when Carter Ashton (2-2-4) put a bad-angle shot past Griffins goalie Petr Mrazek (6-3, 1.90, .920)… Tomas Jurco (4-3-7) tied the game early in the second period, and then assisted on the game-winning goal by Landon Ferraro (2-7-9) midway through the third… Ferraro now has a point in five straight contests (2-6-8)… Jeff Hoggan (3-3-6) and Jan Mursak (4-3-7) scored empty-net goals in the final minute to seal the win for Grand Rapids, which has now scored 25 goals in its last five games… Riley Sheahan (1-7-8) registered two assists for the second straight game… Toronto’s Drew MacIntyre (4-3, 2.94, .911) stopped 32 of 34 shots in last night’s loss… The Griffins are 6-7 in their AHL history with a chance to close out a playoff series, including a Game 5 win over Toronto in 2006… The Marlies are 5-4 all-time when facing elimination, including a successful comeback from 3-1 down to eliminate Syracuse in 2008… Grand Rapids is 4-for-22 (18.2 percent) on the power play in the series; Toronto is 2-for-17 (11.8 percent).

Western Conference Semifinal – Series “L” (best-of-7)
2-Toronto Marlies vs. 3-Grand Rapids Griffins

Game 1 – Fri., May 10 – Grand Rapids 7, TORONTO 0
Game 2 – Sat., May 11 – TORONTO 4, Grand Rapids 2
Game 3 – Wed., May 15 – GRAND RAPIDS 5, Toronto 4
Game 4 – Fri., May 17 – GRAND RAPIDS 4, Toronto 1
Game 5 – Sat., May 18 – Toronto at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 6 – Tue., May 21 – Grand Rapids at Toronto, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 22 – Grand Rapids at Toronto, 7:00
   *if necessary… All times Eastern

pro  wbs
Game 5 – 7:05 ET, AHL Live (PRO leads series, 3-1)
Down 3-0 in the series and 1-0 in Game 4, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scored three times in 11:32 during the second period and pulled out a 3-1 win over Providence last night… Warren Peters (3-0-3), Riley Holzapfel (3-2-5) and Chad Kolarik (4-2-6) had the goals for the Penguins, with captain Joey Mormina (0-6-6) assisting on all three… Mormina, who entered the postseason with 1-1-2 in 51 career Calder Cup Playoff games, leads all AHL defensemen with six playoff assists… Brad Thiessen (2-1, 1.37, .945), getting his second consecutive start after relieving Jeff Zatkoff during Game 2, made 31 saves… Carter Camper (8-5-13) extended his scoring streak to eight games with the Bruins’ only goal… Niklas Svedberg (6-3, 3.16, .898) stopped 19 shots and saw his six-game winning streak come to an end… The Penguins were 1-for-2 on the power play in Game 4, improving to 5-for-15 (33.3 percent) in the series… The Pens were also 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, and have snuffed out eight straight Bruins man-advantages after Providence’s 4-for-8 start to the series… Wilkes-Barre improved to 18-11 all-time when facing elimination… Providence dropped to 17-9 with a chance to wrap up a series, ending a streak of nine straight wins in that situation since its previous loss in 2000.

Eastern Conference Semifinal – Series “I” (best-of-7)
1-Providence Bruins vs. 5-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Game 1 – Fri., May 10 – PROVIDENCE 8, W-B/Scranton 5
Game 2 – Sat., May 11 – PROVIDENCE 4, W-B/Scranton 2
Game 3 – Wed., May 15 – Providence 2, W-B/SCRANTON 1 (OT)
Game 4 – Fri., May 17 – W-B/SCRANTON 3, Providence 1
Game 5 – Sat., May 18 – Providence at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 6 – Mon., May 20 – W-B/Scranton at Providence, 7:05
*Game 7 – Wed., May 22 – W-B/Scranton at Providence, 7:05
   *if necessary… All times Eastern

About Last Night…
The Syracuse Crunch made some history last night, finishing the first four-game sweep in franchise history and advancing to the conference finals for the first time in 17 years with a 5-2 win over Springfield… While top guns Tyler Johnson (7-7-14) and Ondrej Palat (4-11-15) were held off the scoresheet in Game 4, J.T. Wyman (2-3-5) scored twice and defenseman Mark Barberio (3-1-4) and Matt Taormina (1-5-6) found the net also… Syracuse, the 10th team in AHL history to start a postseason with at least seven straight wins, outscored the Falcons 18-7 in the series… Veteran defenseman Bryan Helmer was in the Falcons’ lineup for the first time this postseason, extending his AHL record with his 159th career Calder Cup Playoff game played… In its 4-1 win, Grand Rapids outshot Toronto 36-18, and is now averaging a league-best 36.67 shots per contest this postseason… The Griffins have outshot their opponent in all nine of their playoff games; the Marlies have been outshot in all seven of theirs… Wilkes-Barre/Scranton held Providence forwards Chris Bourque (5-8-13) and Jamie Tardif (7-3-10) without a point for the second consecutive game in last night’s 3-1 victory… In NHL action, 2011 Calder Cup Playoffs MVP Robin Lehner made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut and stopped 20 of 21 shots in 38 minutes of work during Ottawa’s 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh.

The 3-1 Hole
Seventeen teams in AHL history have come back to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 3-1, including seven in the last decade:

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

It’s Been Done Before

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are looking to do what two teams have pulled off in league history… Of the 126 teams to trail a best-of-seven series 3-0 (including this postseason), the Penguins are one of 44 (34.9 percent) to even force a Game 5… Only the 1960 Rochester Americans (vs. Cleveland) and the 1989 Adirondack Red Wings (vs. Hershey) came all the way back to win the series:

1960 Semifinals
Game 1 – Cleveland 2, ROCHESTER 0
Game 2 – Cleveland 2, ROCHESTER 1
Game 3 – CLEVELAND 7, Rochester 5
Game 4 – Rochcester 5, CLEVELAND 3
Game 5 – ROCHESTER 4, Cleveland 1
Game 6 – Rochester 5, CLEVELAND 3
Game 7 – ROCHESTER 4, Cleveland 1

1989 Southern Division Finals
Game 1 – Hershey 4, ADIRONDACK 3
Game 2 – Hershey 5, ADIRONDACK 3
Game 3 – HERSHEY 1, Adirondack 0
Game 4 – Adirondack 6, HERSHEY 3
Game 5 – ADIRONDACK 3, Hershey 2 (OT)
Game 6 – Adirondack 4, HERSHEY 2
Game 7 – ADIRONDACK 2, Hershey 1 (OT)

Working Overtime
There have been 12 overtime games played in the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs so far… Road teams are 9-3:

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)
*May 1 – Toronto 3, ROCHESTER 2 (Will Acton, 5:14)
*May 2 – Syracuse 4, PORTLAND 3 (Ondrej Palat, 19:43)
*May 4 – Springfield 4, MANCHESTER 3 (Nick Drazenovic, 8:06)
May 9 – Oklahoma City 2, TEXAS 1 (Anton Lander, 1:28)
May 15 – Providence 2, W-B/SCRANTON 1 (Carter Camper, 0:31)

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.