AHL Morning Skate: 4.23.19

Take a game-day spin around the AHL ice with latest news and notes from the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs in today’s AHL Morning Skate.

Playoff Brackets | Today’s Scoreboard | League Stats | Series Infographics

 @  
Game 3 – Wednesday, 7:00 ET,
(Series tied, 1-1)
Follow @CheckersHockey Follow @AHLBruins Tweet #CHAvsPRO

Atlantic Division Semifinals – Series “A” (best-of-5)
A1-Charlotte Checkers vs. A4-Providence Bruins
Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 20 – Charlotte 5, PROVIDENCE 4 | Recap
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 21 – PROVIDENCE 4, Charlotte 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., Apr. 24 – Providence at Charlotte, 7:00
Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 26 – Providence at Charlotte, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., Apr. 27 – Providence at Charlotte, 6:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

@  
Game 3 – Tonight, 7:00 ET,
(Series tied, 1-1)
Follow @TheSoundTigers Follow @TheHersheyBears Tweet #BRIvsHER

Hershey hosts Bridgeport in Game 3 at Giant Center tonight with the teams’ series even after two hard-fought battles over the weekend… The Sound Tigers won Game 1 in double overtime on Friday before the Bears responded with a 2-0 victory in Game 2 on Saturday… Vitek Vanecek stopped 39 shots to earn the shutout on his busiest night since a 40-save effort at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Oct. 17, 2018… Mike Sgarbossa and Riley Barber, both 30-goal scorers for Hershey during the regular season, netted their first goals of these playoffs in Game 2… Jeremy Smith made 32 saves for the Sound Tigers; Smith has a 2.41 GAA and a .922 save percentage in 24 career Calder Cup Playoff appearances but just an 8-15 record… Bridgeport is 3-for-11 on the power play in the series but is still looking for its first even-strength goal; Hershey is 0-for-8 with the man advantage.

Atlantic Division Semifinals – Series “B” (best-of-5)
A2-Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. A3-Hershey Bears
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 19 – BRIDGEPORT 3, Hershey 2 (2OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 20 – Hershey 2, BRIDGEPORT 0 | Recap
Game 3 – Tue., Apr. 23 – Bridgeport at Hershey, 7:00
Game 4 – Thu., Apr. 25 – Bridgeport at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., Apr. 27 – Hershey at Bridgeport, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

@  
Game 3 – Tonight, 7:30 ET,
(CLE leads series, 2-0)
Follow @SyracuseCrunch Follow @monstershockey Tweet #SYRvsCLE

The last team into the field of 16 could be the first to reach the second round as Cleveland looks to complete the upset of Syracuse in Game 3 tonight… The Monsters defeated the Crunch by scores of 5-3 and 5-1 to begin the series, handing Syracuse its first back-to-back home losses (excluding shootouts) since it began the season 0-3-0 at on home ice… Sonny Milano leads Cleveland in scoring with 1-3-4, including three points in Game 2 on Saturday… Nine different Monsters skaters have scored goals in the series; only Mark Letestu (2-0-2) has more than one… Cleveland has held Syracuse to a total of 38 shots on goal through the first two games, including no more than eight in any single period… The Monsters, who won their last nine playoff games in 2016, now own the fourth-longest postseason winning streak in AHL history:

Carter Verhaeghe, the AHL’s leading scorer during the regular season with 34-48-82, leads Syracuse with 1-3-4 in the series… Cory Conacher has 1-2-3 in the series and points in 11 straight postseason games (9-12-21) going back to 2017… Of the Crunch’s four goals in the series, three have come on the power play and the fourth was scored with the goaltender pulled for an extra attacker late in Game 1.

North Division Semifinals – Series “C” (best-of-5)
N1-Syracuse Crunch vs. N4-Cleveland Monsters
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 19 – Cleveland 5, SYRACUSE 3 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 20 – Cleveland 5, SYRACUSE 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Tue., Apr. 23 – Syracuse at Cleveland, 7:30
*Game 4 – Thu., Apr. 25 – Syracuse at Cleveland, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., Apr. 27 – Cleveland at Syracuse, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

 @  
Game 3 – Wednesday, 7:00 ET,
(TOR leads series, 2-0)
Follow @AmerksHockey Follow @TorontoMarlies Tweet #ROCvsTOR

North Division Semifinals – Series “D” (best-of-5)
N2-Rochester Americans vs. N3-Toronto Marlies
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 19 – Toronto 4, ROCHESTER 1 | Recap
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 21 – Toronto 3, ROCHESTER 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., Apr. 24 – Rochester at Toronto, 7:00
*Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 26 – Rochester at Toronto, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sun., Apr. 28 – Toronto at Rochester, 5:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern

 @  
Game 3 – Tonight, 7:00 ET,
(Series tied, 1-1)
Follow @Chicago_Wolves Follow @griffinshockey Tweet #CHIvsGR

Chicago and Grand Rapids head to Van Andel Arena for Game 3 of their series having split the first two back in Rosemont… The Wolves scored three times in the second period of Game 2 and held on for a 3-2 victory to even the series at a game apiece… Tomas Hyka opened the scoring for Chicago, and Zach Whitecloud and Keegan Kolesar broke a 1-1 deadlock with goals 44 seconds apart… T.J. Tynan, who led the AHL with 59 assists in the regular season, picked up a helper for his first point of these playoffs… Max Lagace made 26 saves and earned the first win of his Calder Cup Playoff career…  Colin Campbell and Chris Terry scored for the Griffins in Game 2… Campbell’s goal was his second of the series after entering the postseason with one goal in 40 career playoff games… Harri Sateri (1-1, 2.05, .930) stopped 24 shots in the loss… Grand Rapids is 4-0 against the Wolves this season when not allowing a power-play goal, but 0-6 when surrendering one.

Central Division Semifinals – Series “E” (best-of-5)
C1-Chicago Wolves vs. C4-Grand Rapids Griffins
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 19 – Grand Rapids 5, CHICAGO 1 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 20 – CHICAGO 3, Grand Rapids 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Tue., Apr. 23 – Chicago at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 4 – Wed., Apr. 24 – Chicago at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sun., Apr. 28 – Grand Rapids at Chicago, 4:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

@  
Game 2 – Tonight, 8:00 ET,
(IA leads series, 1-0)
Follow @mkeadmirals Follow @IAWild Tweet #MILvsIA

Iowa and Milwaukee face off in Game 2 of their Central Division semifinal tonight in Des Moines… In the postseason for the first time in their six-year history, the Wild rolled to a 7-0 win in Game 1 on Sunday afternoon… It was the most lopsided opener to a Calder Cup Playoff series since Grand Rapids’ 7-0 victory over Toronto in the 2013 Western Conference semifinals… Kyle Rau scored twice for Iowa in Game 1, one of seven Wild skaters to record multiple points… Cal O’Reilly, Sam Anas, Gerald Mayhew and Luke Kunin tallied a goal and an assist each… Andrew Hammond made 29 saves for the shutout… Troy Grosenick allowed four goals on 26 shots in 31:24 of work for the Admirals in Game 1; Tom McCollum stopped 13 of 16 shots in relief… Milwaukee has lost 17 of its last 18 playoff games, including 10 in a row on the road and an AHL postseason record-tying 12 straight overall:

Central Division Semifinals – Series “F” (best-of-5)
C2-Milwaukee Admirals vs. C3-Iowa Wild
Game 1 – Sun., Apr. 21 – IOWA 7, Milwaukee 0 | Recap
Game 2 – Tue., Apr. 23 – Milwaukee at Iowa, 8:00
Game 3 – Thu., Apr. 25 – Iowa at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 26 – Iowa at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 5 – Mon., Apr. 29 – Iowa at Milwaukee, 8:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

@  
Game 3 – Tonight, 10:00 ET,
(Series tied, 1-1)
Follow @Condors Follow @ColoradoEagles Tweet #BAKvsCOL

Calder Cup Playoff hockey comes to Condorstown for the first time as Bakersfield hosts Colorado in Game 3 tonight… The Eagles earned a split of the first two games with the Pacific Division champions by taking a 4-1 decision on Saturday night… Andrew Agozzino notched a hat trick for Colorado in Game 2, scoring once shorthanded, once on the power play and once into an empty net… Agozzino had one hat trick among his team-leading 26 goals in the regular season, back on Feb. 27 vs. San Antonio… Julien Nantel, who tallied one goal in 45 regular-season games for the Eagles, also scored in Game 2… Pavel Francouz made 29 saves to pick up the win for Colorado… Patrick Russell followed his two-assist effort in Game 1 with the Condors’ only goal in Game 2… Bakersfield’s Shane Starrett, who stopped 18 of 21 shots in Game 2, was 17-3-3 on home ice during the regular season.

Pacific Division Semifinals – Series “G” (best-of-5)
P1-Bakersfield Condors vs. P4-Colorado Eagles
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 19 – Bakersfield 3, COLORADO 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 20 – COLORADO 4, Bakersfield 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Tue., Apr. 23 – Colorado at Bakersfield, 10:00
Game 4 – Sat., Apr. 27 – Colorado at Bakersfield, 10:00
*Game 5 – Sun., Apr. 28 – Colorado at Bakersfield, 8:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

 @  
Game 4 – Wednesday, 10:00 ET,
(SD leads series, 2-1)
Follow @SJBarracuda Follow @SDGullsAHL Tweet #SJvsSD

Pacific Division Semifinals – Series “H” (best-of-5)
P2-San Jose Barracuda vs. P3-San Diego Gulls
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 17 – SAN DIEGO 6, San Jose 5 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Thu., Apr. 18 – San Jose 5, SAN DIEGO 3 | Recap
Game 3 – Mon., Apr. 22 – San Diego 4, SAN JOSE 2 | Recap
Game 4 – Wed., Apr. 24 – San Diego at San Jose, 10:00
*Game 5 – Thu., Apr. 25 – San Diego at San Jose, 10:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

Alumni Watch
In last night’s Stanley Cup Playoff action, John Klingberg, whose North American pro debut came with the Texas Stars during the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs, scored the series-clinching goal at 17:02 of overtime to give Dallas a 2-1 victory over Nashville in Game 6… Warren Foegele scored his fourth goal of the series and Carolina defeated Washington, 5-2, in Game 6 at PNC Arena in Raleigh.

Watch the Calder Cup Playoffs on AHLTV
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2019 Calder Cup championship. AHLTV features live streaming of every AHL game in high definition on desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile devices, as well as OTT platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV. A subscription is just $24.99 for the entire postseason, or just $7.99 for a day pass. Visit theahl.com/AHLTV for details.