Penguins, Amerks try to even things up

CALDER CUP UPDATE:
Special teams play led Hartford and Milwaukee to victories last night… Both teams look to add to their 2-1 series leads in Game 4 today:

In the Eastern Conference, Jozef Balej and Jed Ortmeyer scored shorthanded goals to propel Hartford to a 3-2 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in Game 3 last night… Balej’s goal was his third shorthanded tally of the postseason… Ken Gernander set up both man-down goals… Alexandre Giroux also scored for the Wolf Pack, a power-play marker to open the scoring 4:43 into the second period… For the second game in a row, Wilkes-Barre got all of its offense in the third period, this time on goals by Alain Nasreddine and Eric MelochePatrick Boileau had two assists for the Penguins… Hartford improved to 6-0 in one-goal decisions this postseason… The Wolf Pack’s five shorthanded goals are one shy of the AHL record for a single Calder Cup Playoffs, set by Philadelphia in 1998… Game 4 at the Hartford Civic Center is this evening (6:05 ET), and the contest will be televised live on Fox Sports Net New England, Fox Sports Net New York and Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh.

Eastern Conference Final — Series M (best-of-7)
A1-Hartford Wolf Pack vs. E3-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Game 1 – Tue., May 18 – Wilkes-Barre 3, Hartford 1
Game 2 – Thu., May 20 – Hartford 3, Wilkes-Barre 2 (OT)
Game 3 – Sat., May 22 – Hartford 3, Wilkes-Barre 2
Game 4 – Sun., May 23 – Wilkes-Barre at Hartford, 6:05 ET
Game 5 – Tue., May 25 – Wilkes-Barre at Hartford, 7:05 ET
*Game 6 – Fri., May 28 – Hartford at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05 ET
*Game 7 – Sat., May 29 – Wilkes-Barre at Hartford, 7:05 ET

Brad Tiley’s power-play goal 6:46 into overtime gave Milwaukee a 2-1 victory over Rochester in Game 3 of the Western Conference final last night… It was just Tiley’s second goal in 44 career Calder Cup Playoff games… Wade Flaherty made 40 saves for the Admirals, including 30 over the final two periods of regulation, to earn his eighth win in his last 10 decisions… Darren Haydar opened the scoring 92 seconds into the game, and Milwaukee made the lead stand up until Derek Roy got his fifth of the playoffs with 3:14 left in the third period… Simon Gamache assisted on both Milwaukee goals, but has still gone nine games without scoring himself… Attendance was 8,462 at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, where eight players in the Amerks’ lineup last night spent time with the NHL’s Sabres during the 2003-04 season… The Admirals improved to 10-1 this postseason when scoring at least two goals in a game… Game 4 is this afternoon in Buffalo (5:05 ET, 4:05 CT).

Western Conference Final — Series N (best-of-7)
W1-Milwaukee Admirals vs. N3-Rochester Americans
Game 1 – Tue., May 18 – Milwaukee 2, Rochester 1
Game 2 – Thu., May 20 – Rochester 4, Milwaukee 1
Game 3 – Sat., May 22 – Milwaukee 2, Rochester 1 (OT)
Game 4 – Sun., May 23 – Milwaukee vs. Rochester, 5:05 ET (at Buffalo)
Game 5 – Wed., May 26 – Milwaukee at Rochester, 7:05 ET
*Game 6 – Fri., May 28 – Rochester at Milwaukee, 8:00 ET
*Game 7 – Sat., May 29 – Rochester at Milwaukee, 8:00 ET

FROM CALDER TO STANLEY:
Ruslan Fedotenko scored a goal and Nikolai Khabibulin made 22 saves as Tampa Bay advanced to its first Stanley Cup Final with a 2-1 win over Philadelphia in Game 7 last night.

BY THE NUMBERS:
3 — Men in history to have coached a Stanley Cup and a Calder Cup champion… Tampa Bay’s John Tortorella is now four wins away from joining Al MacNeil, Mike Keenan and Bob Hartley on that list.

ON THIS DATE (May 22):
1999 – Providence improves to 10-1 on the postseason with a 5-3 win in Fredericton, taking a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference final… 1987 – Rochester wins the Calder Cup with a 4-2 win in Game 7 at Sherbrooke.

Previous Calder Cup Notebooks:
Saturday, May 22
Friday, May 21
Thursday, May 20
Wednesday, May 19