CALDER CUP UPDATE:
All four division finals are in action tonight, beginning with Game 2 in the North between Grand Rapids and Manitoba (7:00 ET)… The Moose opened the series with a 3-1 win last night, as Wade Flaherty made 30 saves to lead Manitoba to its fifth straight victory… Flaherty improved his career Calder Cup Playoff record to 32-16… Moose rookie Mike Brown ended a 30-game drought with a first-period goal… Josh Green and Alexandre Burrows also scored for Manitoba and David Brine recorded two assists, his first two pro points… Eric Manlow scored the lone goal for the Griffins, who have lost three of their last four home games… Jiri Hudler had an assist for his team-high eighth point of the postseason.
Milwaukee hosts Houston in Game 2 of the West Division Final tonight (7:00 CT) following Thursday’s 5-4 victory… Jordin Tootoo scored the winning goal with 13.9 seconds left in the opener, his second goal in as many games since rejoining the Admirals from Nashville… Darren Haydar remains tied for the AHL playoff scoring lead with 14 points, including six multiple-point efforts in eight postseason games… Houston’s checking line of Joel Ward (2g, 1a), Josh Olson (1g, 2a) and ex-Admiral Bryan Lundbohm (3a) combined for nine points on the night… The Aeros have surrendered seven third-period goals in their five playoff games.
In the Atlantic, Portland returns to home ice for Game 3 against Hartford (7:05 ET), with the series even at one game apiece… The Wolf Pack are coming off an overtime win on Thursday night; all three of Portland’s losses this postseason have been in OT… Chad Wiseman tallied the deciding goal 3:22 into the extra period in Game 2… Alexandre Giroux recorded a goal and an assist for the Wolf Pack, extending his scoring streak to eight games (5g, 7a)… Ryan Shannon scored his fourth goal of the series for the Pirates, and Zenon Konopka’s assist gave him a point in 20 straight games, dating back to the regular season… Hartford has won seven of its last nine road contests, while Portland has won six of eight at home.
After holding on for a 5-4 win in Game 1, Hershey can put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton back behind the eight-ball with another victory in Game 2 tonight (7:05 ET)… The Penguins, 2-15 in the opening two games of their last nine playoff series, nearly clawed back from a four-goal deficit on Thursday night… Colin Forbes scored twice for the Bears in Game 1 after being held without a point in the division semis vs. Norfolk… Former Penguin Kris Beech recorded two assists, giving him points in 11 straight games (9g, 10a)… Wilkes-Barre’s special teams scored two shorthanded goals in Game 1, but the Pens remain last in the AHL on the power play this postseason (5/46, 10.9 percent).
Atlantic Division — Series "I" (best-of-7)
A1-Portland Pirates vs. A2-Hartford Wolf Pack
Game 1 – Tue., May 2 – Portland 6, HARTFORD 2
Game 2 – Thu., May 4 – HARTFORD 3, Portland 2 (OT)
Game 3 – Sat., May 6 – at Portland, 7:05
Game 4 – Sun., May 7 – at Portland, 7:05
Game 5 – Thu., May 11 – at Portland, 7:05
*Game 6 – Sun., May 14 – at Portland, 7:05
*Game 7 – Wed., May 17 – at Hartford, 7:00
East Division — Series "J" (best-of-7)
E1-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. E2-Hershey Bears
Game 1 – Thu., May 4 – Hershey 5, WILKES-BARRE 4
Game 2 – Sat., May 6 – at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05
Game 3 – Sun., May 7 – at Hershey, 5:00
Game 4 – Tue., May 9 – at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 5 – Fri., May 12 – at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05
*Game 6 – Sun., May 14 – at Hershey, 7:30
*Game 7 – Tue., May 16 – at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05
North Division — Series "K" (best-of-7)
N1-Grand Rapids Griffins vs. N3-Manitoba Moose
Game 1 – Fri., May 5 – Manitoba 3, GRAND RAPIDS 1
Game 2 – Sat., May 6 – at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 3 – Tue., May 9 – at Manitoba, 8:30
Game 4 – Thu., May 11 – at Manitoba, 8:30
*Game 5 – Sat., May 13 – at Manitoba, 8:30
*Game 6 – Mon., May 15 – at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 7 – Tue., May 16 – at Grand Rapids, 7:00
West Division — Series "L" (best-of-7)
W1-Milwaukee Admirals vs. W2-Houston Aeros
Game 1 – Thu., May 4 – MILWAUKEE 5, Houston 4
Game 2 – Sat., May 6 – at Milwaukee, 8:00
Game 3 – Sun., May 7 – at Houston, 7:05
Game 4 – Tue., May 9 – at Houston, 8:35
*Game 5 – Wed., May 10 – at Houston, 8:35
*Game 6 – Sat., May 13 – at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 7 – Mon., May 15 – at Milwaukee, 8:00
All times Eastern… *if necessary
ALUMNI WATCH:
In Stanley Cup Playoff action on Friday night, Derek Roy tied a Sabres playoff record with five points (2g, 3a) in Buffalo’s 7-6 overtime win over Ottawa in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series… Ilya Bryzgalov made 29 saves for his second consecutive shutout and 2003 Calder Cup finalist Francois Beauchemin recorded two assists as Anaheim posted a 5-0 win in Game 1 vs. Colorado.
BY THE NUMBERS:
29 — Points (13 goals, 16 assists), along with a plus-19 rating, combined for the Wilkes-Barre trio of Ryan Stone, Jonathan Filewich and Maxime Talbot this postseason… The rest of the Penguins roster has accounted for 24 points (8g, 16a) and a minus-11.
AHL ON B2 NETWORKS:
B2 Networks brings all the action of the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs to your computer with live video webcasts of every game… Click here for details.
