MANITOBA 7, HAMILTON 2
Rookie Jordan Schroeder notched three goals and an assist and Cory Schneider made 34 saves as Manitoba climbed back into its North Division semifinal with a 7-2 win over Hamilton at the MTS Centre on Monday.
The Moose, who were coming off an 8-2 loss in Game 2 on Saturday, now trail the series by as 2-1 count with Game 4 set for Wednesday in Winnipeg. The series is now guaranteed to extend to Game 5 on Friday.
Schroeder, a first-round draft pick by the parent Vancouver Canucks in 2009, had been scoreless with a minus-2 rating in the first two games before burying three of his five shots on Monday.
The 19-year-old Schroeder, who completed his hat trick before the game was even half over, added an assist on a third-period power play goal by Yan Stastny.
Guillaume Desbiens also posted four points (1-3-4) for the Moose, Stastny and Dan Sexton each recorded a goal and an assist, and Marco Rosa also found the back of the net.
Schneider, who was pulled from Saturday’s blowout loss, bounced back to collect his first victory of the postseason.
Matt Anderson and Ryan White scored for the Bulldogs, who had not allowed as many as seven goals during the entire regular season en route to finishing as the AHL’s top defensive team.
CHICAGO 1, MILWAUKEE 0
Spencer Machacek’s goal exactly 14 minutes into the second period stood up as the only score of the game, and Chicago earned a 1-0 road win over Milwaukee on Monday at the Bradley Center.
With the victory, the Wolves claimed a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Admirals in the West Division semifinals. Chicago can close it out on home ice Wednesday night.
Machacek’s game-winning goal came unassisted and marked his second tally of the series.
Wolves goaltender Peter Mannino (3-1) did the rest, stopping all 29 shots fired on him by the Admirals to earn his second shutout of the series, following a 3-0 win in Game 2.
Combined with Milwaukee’s 6-0 triumph in game 3, this is the first Calder Cup Playoff series to feature three consecutive shutouts since 1939, when all three games of a best-of-three affair between Springfield and Cleveland resulted in whitewashes.
ROCHESTER 8, ABBOTSFORD 4
Rochester fell into a 2-0 hole but then scored eight of the game’s next 10 goals en route to an 8-4 road win over Abbotsford at the Entertainment & Sports Centre, giving the Amerks a 2-1 lead in the teams’ North Division semifinal.
The Americans took control with a four-goal second period and added three more strikes in the third frame.
Shawn Matthias led the way with two goals, an assist, and a plus-5 rating for Rochester. Graham Mink also tallied two goals and a helper, defenseman Clay Wilson added a pair of tallies, and defensemen Keaton Ellerby and Jordan Henry scored once apiece.
Mike York (0-3-3) and defenseman Jason Garrison (0-2-2) each chipped in multiple assists and were a combined plus-9 on the night. Amerks goaltender Tyler Plante emerged with the win after making 28 saves in net.
Brett Sutter netted a pair of goals for the Heat, scoring on the power play and at even strength. Jon Rheault and Mikael Backlund (1-1-2) rounded out Abbotsford’s offense.
The Heat will look to pull the series even at 2-2 when they host Game 4 on Wednesday night.
