AHL Quick Hits is now the Morning Skate… Every morning, take a spin around the AHL ice with recaps and previews, news and notes, facts and figures, and the top headlines from around the American Hockey League.
MONDAY’S SCORES:
No games scheduled
SUNDAY’S SCORES:
Game 3 – Chicago 5, IOWA 3 (CHI leads, 2-1)
Game 2 – Hamilton 3, MANITOBA 2 (HAM leads, 2-0)
SUNDAY’S THREE STARS:
1. Carey Price stops 41 of 43 shots to lead Hamilton to a 2-0 series lead over Manitoba.
2. Regular-season MVP Darren Haydar adds three more points in Chicago’s Game 3 win at Iowa.
3. Matt D’Agostini nets the winning goal to cap the Bulldogs’ third-period rally past the Moose.
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE (all times ET):
Game 3 – Manchester at Providence, 7:05 (Series tied, 1-1)
Game 3 – Manitoba at Hamilton, 7:30 (HAM leads, 2-0)
Game 4 – Chicago at Iowa, 8:05 (CHI leads, 2-1)
2007 CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS:
Atlantic Division Final – Series "I" (best-of-7)
A1-Manchester Monarchs vs. A3-Providence Bruins || Preview
Game 1 – Tue., May 1 – Providence 6, MANCHESTER 3
Game 2 – Wed., May 2 – MANCHESTER 4, Providence 1
Game 3 – Tue., May 8 – Manchester at Providence, 7:05
Game 4 – Wed., May 9 – Manchester at Providence, 7:05
Game 5 – Sat., May 12 – Providence at Manchester, 7:35
*Game 6 – Mon., May 14 – Manchester at Providence, 7:05
*Game 7 – Wed., May 16 – Providence at Manchester, 7:05
East Division Final – Series "J" (best-of-7)
E1-Hershey Bears vs. E2-W-B/Scranton Penguins || Preview
Game 1 – Wed., May 2 – HERSHEY 4, W-B/Scranton 3
Game 2 – Fri., May 4 – HERSHEY 4, W-B/Scranton 3 (2OT)
Game 3 – Sat., May 5 – Hershey 2, W-B/SCRANTON 0
Game 4 – Wed., May 9 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 5 – Fri., May 11 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 6 – Sat., May 12 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 7 – Mon., May 14 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 7:00
North Division Final – Series "K" (best-of-7)
N1-Manitoba Moose vs. N3-Hamilton Bulldogs || Preview
Game 1 – Sat., May 5 – Hamilton 2, MANITOBA 1
Game 2 – Sun., May 6 – Hamilton 3, MANITOBA 2
Game 3 – Tue., May 8 – Manitoba at Hamilton, 7:30
Game 4 – Sat., May 12 – Manitoba at Hamilton, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sun., May 13 – Manitoba at Hamilton, 3:00
*Game 6 – Mon., May 14 – Hamilton at Manitoba, 8:30
*Game 7 – Wed., May 16 – Hamilton at Manitoba, 8:30
West Division Final – Series "L" (best-of-7)
W2-Chicago Wolves vs. W4-Iowa Stars || Preview
Game 1 – Wed., May 2 – CHICAGO 7, Iowa 0
Game 2 – Fri., May 4 – Iowa 5, CHICAGO 4
Game 3 – Sun., May 6 – Chicago 5, IOWA 3
Game 4 – Tue., May 8 – Chicago at Iowa, 8:05
Game 5 – Thu., May 10 – Chicago at Iowa, 8:05
*Game 6 – Sat., May 12 – Iowa at Chicago, 8:00
*Game 7 – Mon., May 14 – Iowa at Chicago, 8:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
GAME NOTES (all times ET):
Game 3 – Manchester at Providence, 7:05 (Series tied, 1-1)
After five days off, Manchester and Providence resume their Atlantic Division Final with Game 3 tonight at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center… Barry Brust spelled Jason LaBarbera in Game 2 and made 31 saves as the Monarchs evened the series with a 4-1 victory… Marty Murray, who captained Saint John to the Calder Cup championship in 2001, recorded two goals and an assist in that win… The Bruins’ David Krejci has a point in 15 of his last 16 games going back to Mar. 30, and leads the AHL with 12 postseason assists… Krejci has also been assessed a penalty in seven straight games… Manchester scored five goals in four games in Providence during the regular season, but managed a 2-1-1-0 record… The Bruins lost two of their three home games in the first round vs. Hartford.
Game 3 – Manitoba at Hamilton, 7:30 (HAM leads, 2-0)
Hamilton brings a 2-0 series lead home for Game 3 of the North Division Final vs. Manitoba tonight… The Bulldogs got goals from Maxim Lapierre and Matt D’Agostini 65 seconds apart early in the third period to pull out a 3-2 win in Game 3 on Sunday… Lapierre’s goal was his fifth of the postseason, one off the league lead shared by Manitoba’s Jason Jaffray… Carey Price, Hamilton’s 19-year-old goaltender, has won four straight starts and is coming off a 41-save effort in Game 3… Manitoba has killed off 31 consecutive shorthanded situations away from home, a streak that spans eight road games going back to the third period of a 3-2 win in Omaha on Mar. 31… Only five teams have ever won a best-of-seven Calder Cup Playoff series after losing the first two games at home.
Game 4 – Chicago at Iowa, 8:05 (CHI leads, 2-1)
Chicago took a 2-1 series lead over Iowa in the West Division Final with a 5-3 win in Sunday’s Game 3… Darren Haydar had two goals and an assist in the victory, giving him seven points in the series and 30 points in 13 meetings with Iowa this season (8g, 22a)… Wolves rookie Jordan LaVallee has scored three goals in the series and four in the postseason… After recording a goal and an assist in Game 3, Stars forward Joel Lundqvist has eight points in six games in these Calder Cup Playoffs… Only eight of the 24 goals scored in the series have come with the teams skating five-a-side (CHI 6, IOW 2).
Darren Haydar, the AHL’s postseason scoring leader in 2004 and 2006, continues to climb up the league’s all-time playoff scoring leaderboards again this spring:
| Points | Goals | Assists | |||||
| 1. Willie Marshall | 119 | 1. Jody Gage | 51 | 1. Willie Marshall | 71 | ||
| 2. Jody Gage | 110 | 2(t). Willie Marshall | 48 | 2. Mike Nykoluk | 62 | ||
| 3. Fred Glover | 104 | 2(t). Fred Glover | 48 | 3. Domenic Pittis | 61 | ||
| 4. Bob Solinger | 92 | 4. Brad Smyth | 46 | 4. Jody Gage | 59 | ||
| 5(t). Gordie Clark | 90 | 5. Gordie Clark | 42 | 5. Fred Glover | 56 | ||
| 5(t). Glenn Merkosky | 90 | 6(t). Bob Solinger | 39 | 6(t). Fred Thurier | 53 | ||
| 7. Steve Maltais | 88 | 6(t). Glenn Merkosky | 39 | 6(t). Bob Solinger | 53 | ||
| 8. Darren Haydar | 87 | 6(t). Darren Haydar | 39 | 8. Don Biggs | 52 | ||
| 9(t). Fred Thurier | 85 | 9(t). Michel Picard | 37 | 9(t). Steve Maltais | 51 | ||
| 9(t). Brad Smyth | 85 | 9(t). Steve Maltais | 37 | 9(t). Glenn Merkosky | 51 | ||
| 11(t). Darren Haydar | 48 | ||||||
| 11(t). Gordie Clark | 48 |
MORNING HEADLINES:
BULLDOGS SITTING PRETTY
Garry McKay,
OK, let’s recap. The Hamilton Bulldogs eliminate the Rochester Americans in six games and then go into
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON? WALTER’S WORKING ON IT
Lindsay Kramer, NHL.com
Tuesdays were usually tune-up days for Providence center Ben Walter this season. That was when he set aside time to call his father, Ryan. Ben would talk about his game, what he wanted to accomplish and how he was going about chasing his goals. The reach out was a logical one. Ryan played 1,003 games in the NHL, mostly with Montreal and Washington. But these days, that sort of thing is ancient history. More important to Ben’s cause is that since his retirement Ryan has crafted a career as a motivational author and speaker. What others paid for, Ben got for free. Assuming, of course, that Ben, a tender 22, appreciates that good advice is good advice, even if it comes from your pop. … Link
PENGUINS GIVE A TRY AT BOWLING OVER ADVERSITY
Kelly Tomlinson,
Nero had a fiddle. Todd Richards has a bowling ball. Or does he? At first blush, Richards’ decision to call off what might be the next-to-last practice of the season and take his team bowling appears to be a frivolous waste of time. But actually, it was more of a last-gasp, Hail Mary, desperation ploy by the Penguins’ coach, whose team trails Hershey 0-3 in the best-of-seven East Division finals. “It was a day to get away, not think about hockey and just enjoy each other,” Richards said. “(Coming back on Hershey) is going to be about playing for each other, playing for the group. For me, it was getting out for a little bit of a team bonding thing.” … Link
SACCO GETS PROMOTED TO COACH MONSTERS
Dennis Manoloff, Cleveland Plain Dealer
Joe Sacco will not ask much of his players. "I want them to show up on time and prepared, and to com pete every shift," he said. "If they do that, we’ll be fine." Sacco was named coach of the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters on Monday. The Monsters, who begin play at The Q in the fall, are the top affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche. The Monsters are owned by a group led by Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cavaliers. Sacco, 38, had been an assist ant coach the past two seasons for the Avalanche’s AHL affiliates in
DUBIELEWICZ RE-SIGNS, WILL BACK UP DIPIETRO
Greg Logan, Newsday
No one can call Wade Dubielewicz a "career minor-leaguer" anymore. The goaltender who saved the Islanders’ playoff berth with four straight wins at the end of the regular season has been signed to a one-year, one-way deal to serve as the backup goaltender next season behind Rick DiPietro. When Mike Dunham suffered through some rough outings after DiPietro suffered two concussions in a 12-day span in March, Dubielewicz, who spent most of the past four seasons playing for Bridgeport in the AHL, got his chance. Switching to a backup role will be a big change for Dubielewicz, who played in the AHL All-Star game [this] season. … Link
ALUMNI WATCH:
Mikael Samuelsson scored both Detroit goals in the Red Wings’ 2-0 series-clinching win over San Jose last night.
Matthew Lombardi had a hat trick and 2005 AHL All-Star Mike Cammalleri scored twice as Canada defeated the United States, 6-3, in the preliminary round finale at the 2007 World Championships in Russia yesterday.
Bridgeport’s Frans Nielsen and Milwaukee’s Kim Staal each had an assist as Denmark earned its first win in World Championships play, 5-2 over Italy.Worcester’s Dimitri Patzold made 18 saves, backstopping Germany to a 6-5 win over Belarus and a ninth-place finish.
BY THE NUMBERS:
17 – Teams that have rallied from 0-2 series deficits to win a best-of-7 in the Calder Cup Playoffs… Manitoba, which faces that task against Hamilton, accomplished the feat in the first round of last year’s playoffs vs. Syracuse.
ON THIS DATE:
May 8, 1999 – John Spoltore‘s second overtime goal of the series gives Providence a 5-4 win over Hartford and a 3-0 lead in their New England Division final.
May 8, 1985 – John Newberry scores 12:28 into the second OT period as Sherbrooke advances to the Calder Cup Final with a 6-5 win at Maine.
May 8, 1981 – Maine advances to the Finals for the third time in four years as current Portland assistant coach Bruce Crowder scores in overtime of Game 7 for a 4-3 win over New Brunswick.
May 8, 1974 – Hershey wins the Calder Cup with a 4-3 win over the Providence Reds in Game 5 at Hersheypark Arena.
ON THE AIR:
B2 Networks brings AHL action to your computer, web-enabled cell phone or PDA throughout the Calder Cup Playoffs with live video webcasts of nearly every AHL game… Visit caldercup.com for details.
