Division finals continue this afternoon

CALDER CUP UPDATE:
Portland regained the lead in the Atlantic Division Finals with a 4-3 overtime win over visiting Hartford last night… The Pirates, who had lost 10 of its previous 11 playoff trips to OT over the last decade, can push the Wolf Pack to the brink of elimination with another victory in Game 4 tonight (7:05 ET)… Jani Hurme made 33 saves and Bruno St. Jacques found the net with 2:54 gone in the extra frame to give Portland its first playoff OT win since 2000… Curtis Glencross had a goal and an assist for the Pirates, Ryan Shannon scored his fifth goal of the series and Zenon Konopka extended his scoring streak to 21 games with an assist on the game-winner… Alexandre Giroux scored twice and Daniel Girardi picked up a goal and two assists for Hartford.

Following last night’s 5-0 defeat to Hershey, its ninth straight loss in a Game 2, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton finds itself in an 0-2 hole for the fifth series in a row… The Penguins have rallied from 0-2 down to win three times in the last three years, but now head to the Giant Center, where the Bears are 29-9-4 this season… Game 3 of the East Division Finals is this afternoon (5:00 ET) as Hershey looks to improve on its 6-0 playoff record… Eric Fehr scored twice and Frederic Cassivi made 19 saves for his second career AHL playoff shutout… Mike Green assisted on each of the Bears’ three power-play goals in Game 2… Hershey has scored exactly five goals in each of its last five games.

The scene in the West Division Finals shifts to the Toyota Center in Houston for Game 3 this evening (6:05 CT) with the Aeros facing an 0-2 series deficit after Milwaukee rolled to a 7-0 win in Game 2 last night… Scottie Upshall opened the scoring 5:26 into the game, rookie defenseman Shea Weber picked up two goals and an assist, Jordin Tootoo recorded a natural hat trick and Pekka Rinne made 32 saves for the shutout… All four of those Admirals were less than a week removed from being in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the parent Nashville Predators… Fourteen of Milwaukee’s 18 skaters recorded at least one point in last night’s game… It was the Aeros’ worst playoff loss since a 7-0 defeat to Chicago in 2002.

The North Division finalists get a couple of days off after splitting the series’ first two games in Grand Rapids over the weekend… The Griffins took a much-needed 3-2 decision from Manitoba in last night’s Game 2… Jiri Hudler and Valtteri Filppula scored 79 seconds apart early in the third period, two of Grand Rapids’ three power-play goals on the night… Jimmy Howard stopped 28 shots to help end the Moose’s winning streak at five… Manitoba dropped to 0-for-29 on its own power play in five road games this postseason… Jason Jaffray and Mike Keane scored for the Moose in Game 2.

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 – PORTLAND 4, Hartford 3 (OT)
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 – Hershey 5, WILKES-BARRE 0
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 – GRAND RAPIDS 3, Manitoba 2
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 – MILWAUKEE 7, Houston 0
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 Saturday, 2005 AHL All-Star Eric Staal recorded a goal and two assists and 2005 AHL All-Rookie goalie Cam Ward made 21 saves for his fifth straight win as Carolina ended New Jersey’s 15-game winning streak with a 6-0 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal.

BY THE NUMBERS:
27.8 — Power play efficiency (10-for-36) of Saturday night’s four winning teams – Milwaukee (3/8), Grand Rapids (3/11), Hershey (3/11) and Portland (1/6)… Saturday’s four losers clicked at just 13.0 percent (3-for-23).

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.