AHL Morning Skate: May 25

Complete Schedule || Playoff Brackets || Scoreboard || League Leaders || Series Previews

nor  tor
Game 5 – 7:00 ET (TOR leads series, 3-1)
TV: Rogers TV (Toronto), Cox Channel 3/703 (OKC), ESPN America (UK/Northern Europe)
Webcast: AHL Live

Toronto can punch its ticket to the Calder Cup Finals with a victory in Game 5 vs. Oklahoma City tonight… The Marlies, 5-1 at home this postseason, upped their series lead to 3-1 with a 3-0 victory in Game 4 on Wednesday night… Ben Scrivens (10-2, 1.66, .942) made 30 saves for his second shutout of the series and third of the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs, but his first at Ricoh since Oct. 26 vs. Abbotsford… Philippe Dupuis (4-8-12), Nicolas Deschamps (3-8-11) and Jerry D’Amigo (8-4-12) were the Marlies’ goal-scorers in Game 4… Dupuis has 2-4-6 and a plus-6 rating in the series, while Deschamps shows 2-4-6 and a plus-4… D’Amigo is now tied with teammate Matt Frattin (8-3-11) and Norfolk’s Alexandre Picard for the league lead with eight playoff goals, and is alone at the top with a plus-12 rating… Yann Danis (8-5, 2.37, .900) stopped 10 of 12 shots in Game 4 before being relieved at the start of the third period by David LeNeveu, who made his first postseason appearance since 2008 with Hartford… Chris VandeVelde (5-0-5) has scored five goals in his last eight games for Oklahoma City… Magnus Paajarvi (2-8-10) leads the Barons with 1-3-4 in the series… OKC is 6-1 this postseason when leading scorer Mark Arcobello (5-8-13) notches a point… The Barons have been shut out three times in the playoffs and five times in their last 17 games going back to the regular season… Toronto killed off all three Oklahoma City power plays in Game 4 and is 22-for-24 (91.7 percent) in the series and 55-for-58 (94.8 percent) for the playoffs… The Barons have lost as many as three straight games (excluding shootouts) only once this season — a four-game slide from Jan. 6-14… Toronto is 6-0 in the playoffs when scoring first; Oklahoma City is 8-1… No team has finished off a Western Conference Finals series in its first chance to clinch since Milwaukee swept Grand Rapids in 2006… The last Maple Leafs affiliate to reach the Calder Cup Finals was St. John’s in 1991-92.

Western Conference Finals – Series “N” (best-of-7)
1-Oklahoma City Barons vs. 2-Toronto Marlies

Game 1 – Thurs., May 17 – Toronto 5, OKLAHOMA CITY 0 || Recap
Game 2 – Fri., May 18 – OKLAHOMA CITY 5, Toronto 1 || Recap
Game 3 – Mon., May 21 – TORONTO 5, Oklahoma City 3 || Recap
Game 4 – Wed., May 23 – TORONTO 3, Oklahoma City 0 || Recap
Game 5 – Fri., May 25 – Oklahoma City at Toronto, 7:00 
*Game 6 – Mon., May 28 – Toronto at Oklahoma City, 8:00 
*Game 7 – Wed., May 30 – Toronto at Oklahoma City, 8:00
   *if necessary… All times Eastern

nor  stj
Norfolk wins series, 4-0

Eastern Conference Finals – Series “M” (best-of-7)
1-Norfolk Admirals vs. 2-St. John’s IceCaps

Game 1 – Thurs., May 17 – NORFOLK 6, St. John’s 1 || Recap
Game 2 – Sat., May 19 – NORFOLK 3, St. John’s 1 || Recap 
Game 3 – Mon., May 21 – Norfolk 1, ST. JOHN’S 0 (OT) || Recap
Game 4 – Tue., May 22 – Norfolk 4, ST. JOHN’S 0 || Recap


From Calder to Stanley

Game 6 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Finals goes tonight with New Jersey holding a 3-2 series lead over the New York Rangers… AHL graduates accounted for 17 points in Game 5, including seven goals and 10 assists… Former Philadelphia Phantoms forward Claude Giroux continues to lead the NHL in playoff scoring with 17 points, and is tied with former AHL All-Star Daniel Briere with eight goals… Dustin Brown and Zach Parise, teammates at the 2005 AHL All-Star Classic, have seven goals apiece… Former Manchester Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Quick leads the NHL with 12 wins, a 1.54 GAA and a .946 save percentage this postseason.


By the Numbers

9 – Since 2007, subsequent losses suffered in the Western Conference Finals by the first team to reach three wins:

2007 – Hamilton led Chicago, 3-0… Lost Game 4 before winning series in five
2008 – Chicago led Toronto, 3-0… Lost Game 4 before winning series in five
2009 – Manitoba led Houston, 3-0… Lost Games 4 and 5 before winning series in six
2010 – Hamilton led Texas, 3-2… Lost Games 6 and 7
2011 – Houston led Hamilton, 3-0… Lost Games 4, 5 and 6 before winning series in seven


On This Date

May 25, 2009 – Hershey and Manitoba both advance to the Calder Cup Finals… Chris Bourque‘s shorthanded goal in the third period snaps a tie and sends the Bears to a 5-2 win in Game 5 over Providence, while Michael Grabner nets the game-winner on a third-period power play to give the Moose a 3-1 win over Houston in Game 6.

May 25, 2005Joe Corvo tallies a goal and an assist as Chicago earns a spot in the Calder Cup Finals with a 4-1 win over Manitoba, completing a four-game sweep.

May 25, 2002Rick DiPietro stops 15 of 16 shots as Bridgeport evens up the 2002 Calder Cup Finals with a 2-1 win over Chicago in Game 2.

May 25, 2001Marty Murray records a goal and two assists to lead Saint John to a 4-3 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and a 3-2 lead in the Calder Cup Finals.

May 25, 1998Neil Little makes 29 saves as Philadelphia earns the Western Conference championship and a spot in the Calder Cup Finals with a 3-0 victory at Albany in Game 6, the Phantoms’ seventh straight road win.

May 25, 1997 – Up 3-0 in the conference finals, Hamilton drops a 5-3 decision to Albany in Game 4 as Patrik Elias (1g, 2a) and Sergei Brylin (1g, 1a) pace the River Rats’ offense.

May 25, 1996 – Rochester advances to the Calder Cup Finals with a 6-5 overtime win over Syracuse in Game 5 of their conference final.

May 25, 1994 – Olaf Kolzig turns aside 49 of 50 shots as Portland takes a 3-1 series lead in the Calder Cup Finals with a 2-1 win over Moncton in double overtime.

May 25, 1992Martin Lapointe nets the game-winning goal in Adirondack’s 3-1 victory at St. John’s, giving the Red Wings a 3-2 series lead 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.