Griffins look to bag Moose in Game 5 tonight

CALDER CUP UPDATE:
Manitoba hosts Grand Rapids in the pivotal Game 5 of the North Division final on Saturday night (7:30 CT), looking to take a 3-2 lead before the series concludes in West Michigan… The Moose rolled to a 5-1 win in Thursday’s Game 4, striking four times on the power play… Jozef Balej, playing for the first time since suffering a lacerated kidney back on Jan. 7, opened the scoring just 1:13 into the game… Balej was held without a point in six playoff games last year, but had 16 points in 16 games for Hartford during the 2004 postseason… Craig Darby, a Calder Cup champion with Philadelphia in 1998, and Jason King scored to make it 3-0 before the first intermission… Alexandre Burrows finished with a goal and two assists and Kevin Bieksa added three assists… Donald MacLean scored his sixth goal of the postseason for the Griffins, spoiling Wade Flaherty’s shutout bid in the third period… The Moose are 6-for-17 on the power play in the last two games (35.3 percent)… Grand Rapids has been outscored by a 9-3 margin since jumping out to an early 3-0 lead in Game 3… In Calder Cup Playoff history, 88 best-of-seven series have been tied at 2-2; the Game 5 winner has taken the series 70 times (79.5 percent).

Portland can advance to the Eastern Conference final with a win over Hartford in Game 6 on Sunday evening (7:05 ET)… The Pirates grabbed the series lead with a 4-1 win in Thursday’s Game 5, with Zenon Konopka again leading the way with two goals and an assist… Konopka’s 11-game playoff scoring streak is the longest since Raffi Torres picked up a point in 11 straight postseason games for Bridgeport in 2002, and his current 23-game streak overall is the longest since Peter White’s 28-game run during the 1993-94 regular season… Geoff Peters picked up a goal and an assist in Game 5, and Ryan Shannon added his sixth goal of the series… Alexandre Giroux’s 10-game scoring streak came to an end for Hartford… The Wolf Pack have been outscored 12-5 at even strength in the series… Portland will be in action on Wednesday regardless of Sunday’s outcome, either in Hartford for Game 7 or home for Hershey in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final.

Atlantic Division Final — 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 – Hartford 4, PORTLAND 2
Game 5 – Thu., May 11 – PORTLAND 4, Hartford 1
Game 6 – Sun., May 14 – at Portland, 7:05
*Game 7 – Wed., May 17 – at Hartford, 7:00

East Division Final — 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 – HERSHEY 4, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1
Game 4 – Tue., May 9 – HERSHEY 1, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 0

North Division Final — 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 – Grand Rapids 5, MANITOBA 4 (OT)
Game 4 – Thu., May 11 – MANITOBA 5, Grand Rapids 1
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 Final — 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 – Milwaukee 7, HOUSTON 4
Game 4 – Tue., May 9 – Milwaukee 4, HOUSTON 2

Complete Calder Cup Playoff schedules and results

All times Eastern… *if necessary

ALUMNI WATCH:
On Friday, 1995 Calder Cup champion Jason Smith had a goal and two assists to lead Edmonton to a 6-3 win over San Jose… Toronto Marlies head coach Paul Maurice was named the 26th head coach of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs… Reigning Dudley “Red” Garrett Award winner Patrick O’Sullivan was added to the United States’ roster at the 2006 World Championships in Latvia… 2005 Calder Cup Playoffs MVP Antero Niittymaki made 23 saves as Finland shut out Team USA, 4-0… 2003 Calder Cup Playoffs MVP Johan Holmqvist stopped 22 shots in Sweden’s 4-1 win over Belarus… 2000 Calder Cup champion Milan Hnilicka made 20 saves for the Czech Republic in a 3-1 victory over Norway.

ON THIS DATE (May 13-14):
May 13, 2005 – Philadelphia scores six times in the final 11:23 of regulation to stun Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7-4, and eliminate the Penguins in five games… May 14, 2004Mathieu Darche scores 15:54 into the second overtime as Milwaukee eliminates Chicago with a 4-3 win in Game 6 of their conference semifinal series… May 14, 2000Jeff Wells’s goal at 12:21 of the second OT period gives Providence its 16th straight postseason home win, 3-2 over Hartford… May 13, 1998Dan Cloutier makes 39 saves as Hartford beats Worcester, 8-2, in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal… May 14, 1997 – Hershey and Albany advance to their respective conference finals with Game 7 road wins, the Bears at Philadelphia and the River Rats at Rochester… May 13, 1970 – In the last game in franchise history, the Buffalo Bisons win the Calder Cup with a 6-2 win over Springfield.

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.