Take a game-day spin around the AHL ice with latest news and notes from the 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs in today’s AHL Morning Skate.
Playoff Brackets | Today’s Scoreboard | League Stats | Series Infographics
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Game 3 – Friday, 7:05 ET, AHL Live
(Series tied, 1-1)
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Atlantic Division Semifinals – Series “A” (best-of-5)
A1-Lehigh Valley Phantoms vs. A4-Providence Bruins
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 20 – Lehigh Valley 3, PROVIDENCE 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 21 – PROVIDENCE 5, Lehigh Valley 3 | Recap
Game 3 – Fri., Apr. 27 – Providence at Lehigh Valley, 7:05
Game 4 – Sat., Apr. 28 – Providence at Lehigh Valley, 7:05
*Game 5 – Mon., Apr. 30 – Providence at Lehigh Valley, 7:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
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Game 3 – Thursday, 7:05 ET, AHL Live
(CHA leads series, 2-0)
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Atlantic Division Semifinals – Series “B” (best-of-5)
A2-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. A3-Charlotte Checkers
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 20 – CHARLOTTE 3, W-B/Scranton 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 21 – CHARLOTTE 4, W-B/Scranton 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Thu., Apr. 26 – Charlotte at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 4 – Sat., Apr. 28 – Charlotte at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sun., Apr. 29 – Charlotte at W-B/Scranton, 3:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
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Game 3 – Tonight, 7:00 ET, AHL Live
(TOR leads series, 2-0)
Follow @TorontoMarlies Follow @UticaComets Tweet #TORvsUTI
Utica looks to keep its season alive as it hosts Toronto in Game 3 of their North Division semifinal series at the Adirondack Bank Center this evening… The Marlies have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series after a pair of wins on home ice over the weekend… Toronto’s eight goals in the two games came from eight different players, with Dmytro Timashov leading the team with three points (1-2-3)… Former Calder Cup champions Chris Mueller (2014, Texas) and Colin Greening (2011, Binghamton) have scored the game-winning goals for the Marlies… Garret Sparks (2-0, 1.74, .932), the Baz Bastien Award winner as the AHL’s outstanding goaltender for 2017-18, has stopped 55 of 59 shots in the series to date and is now 6-0-0 against the Comets this season… Utica’s Michael Chaput (2-1-3) is the only skater for either team with more than one goal in the series… Nikolay Goldobin (0-2-2) and Tanner MacMaster (0-2-2) have both notched an assist for the Comets in each of the first two games… Thatcher Demko (0-2, 3.11, .907) has allowed seven goals on 75 shots in the series… The Marlies are up 2-0 in a playoff series for the seventh time in their history; they have gone on to win five of the previous six series… This is the third consecutive series in which the Comets have fallen behind 0-2; they won Game 3 vs. Albany in 2016 and vs. Manchester in 2015… Toronto is 1-7 in its last eight postseason road games… The Marlies are 2-for-14 on the power play in the series; the Comets are 2-for-11.
North Division Semifinals – Series “C” (best-of-5)
N1-Toronto Marlies vs. N4-Utica Comets
Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 21 – TORONTO 3, Utica 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 22 – TORONTO 5, Utica 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., Apr. 25 – Toronto at Utica, 7:00
*Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 27 – Toronto at Utica, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sun., Apr. 29 – Utica at Toronto, 4:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
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Game 3 – Tonight, 7:05 ET, AHL Live
(SYR leads series, 2-0)
Follow @SyracuseCrunch Follow @AmerksHockey Tweet #SYRvsRCH
Rochester returns home looking to get in the win column as it hosts Syracuse in Game 3 tonight, the first playoff game at Blue Cross Arena since 2014… The Crunch have scored 12 goals in the first two games of the series, becoming the first team since Portland in 2004 (qualifying round vs. Providence) to net at least six goals in each of the first two games of a playoff series… Matthew Peca (1-4-5) leads the entire AHL in playoff scoring… Peca (1-3-4 in Game 2) and Gabriel Dumont (3-1-4 in Game 1) have both tied the Crunch franchise record for points in a single postseason game… Seventeen of the 18 skaters used by Syracuse in the first two games have recorded at least one point already… The two offenses have combined to score 18 goals on 110 shots on Eddie Pasquale (2-0, 3.50, .873) and Linus Ullmark (0-2, 5.60, .800)… Kevin Porter (1-2-3) and Seth Griffith (0-3-3) lead the Amerks with three points apiece… Stuart Percy (1-1-2) had two points for Rochester in Game 2, including his first goal in 36 career Calder Cup Playoff games… Rochester is 2-for-10 on the power play in the series, while Syracuse is 2-for-7.
North Division Semifinals – Series “D” (best-of-5)
N2-Syracuse Crunch vs. N3-Rochester Americans
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 20 – SYRACUSE 6, Rochester 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 21 – SYRACUSE 6, Rochester 5 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., Apr. 25 – Syracuse at Rochester, 7:05
*Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 27 – Syracuse at Rochester, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sat., Apr. 28 – Rochester at Syracuse, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
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Game 3 – Thursday, 8:00 ET, AHL Live
(RFD leads series, 2-0)
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Central Division Semifinals – Series “E” (best-of-5)
C1-Chicago Wolves vs. C4-Rockford IceHogs
Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 21 – Rockford 2, CHICAGO 1 | Recap
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 22 – ROCKFORD 5, Chicago 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Thu., Apr. 26 – Rockford at Chicago, 8:00
*Game 4 – Sun., Apr. 29 – Chicago at Rockford, 5:00
*Game 5 – Mon., Apr. 30 – Rockford at Chicago, 8:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
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Game 3 – Tonight, 7:00 ET, AHL Live
(Series tied, 1-1)
Follow @griffinshockey Follow @ManitobaMoose Tweet #GRvsMB
The 2-versus-3 semifinal series in the Central Division moves south of the border as Grand Rapids hosts Manitoba in Game 3 tonight… It’s the Griffins’ first playoff home game since winning the Calder Cup last June; Grand Rapids was a perfect 10-0 at Van Andel Arena in the 2017 postseason, and is 20-5 in its last 25 home playoff contests… The Griffins earned a split of the first two games with the Moose thanks to a 5-1 win in Game 2 on Sunday afternoon… Ben Street (2-2-4) and Matthew Ford (1-2-3), two of the veteran returnees from last year’s championship team, are leading Grand Rapids in scoring so far in the series… Tom McCollum (1-1, 2.02, .925) answered the call between the pipes for Games 1 and 2 and stopped 49 of 53 Manitoba shots… Rookie forward Michael Spacek (1-1-2) is the only Moose skater to find the scoresheet in each of the first two games of the series… Chase De Leo (0-2-2) and defenseman Cameron Schilling (1-1-2) have both recorded two points as well… Eric Comrie (1-1, 4.20, .883) played the first five periods of the series in the Moose net before Jamie Phillips stopped all 15 shots he faced in the third period of Game 2… Manitoba split their four visits to Grand Rapids during the 2017-18 regular season… Grand Rapids is 2-for-11 on the power play in the series, while Manitoba has gone 1-for-7.
Central Division Semifinals – Series “F” (best-of-5)
C2-Grand Rapids Griffins vs. C3-Manitoba Moose
Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 21 – MANITOBA 3, Grand Rapids 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 22 – Grand Rapids 5, MANITOBA 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., Apr. 25 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 4 – Thu., Apr. 26 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 5 – Mon., Apr. 30 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
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Game 3 – Tonight, 10:05 ET, AHL Live
(Series tied, 1-1)
Follow @RoadrunnersAHL Follow @sjbarracuda Tweet #TUCvsSJ
The first Calder Cup Playoff game ever in the state of Arizona takes place tonight as Tucson hosts San Jose in Game 3 of their Pacific Division semifinal series… The fourth-seeded Barracuda earned a split of the first two games from the division champions, claiming a 6-3 win in Game 2 on Saturday night… It was the first time the Roadrunners had allowed six goals in a game since a 6-4 loss at Ontario back on Jan. 12… After going scoreless in Game 1, Rudolfs Balcers (2-2-4) picked up two goals and two assists in Game 2 and netted the game-winning goal early in the third period… Ivan Chekhovich (0-2-2) tallied two assists in Game 2 and has 3-8-11 in eight games since joining the Barracuda… With two goals and an assist in Game 2, Rourke Chartier (2-1-3) has 4-9-13 in his last nine contests… Dylan Strome (3-0-3) scored his second and third goals of the series in Game 2 for Tucson, and Mario Kempe (1-2-3) added a goal and an assist… San Jose, which was the only team in 2017-18 to have more wins than losses vs. Tucson, was 3-1-0 at the Tucson Convention Center in the regular season… The Roadrunners have only lost back-to-back games once since Christmas (Feb. 24-28).
Pacific Division Semifinals – Series “G” (best-of-5)
P1-Tucson Roadrunners vs. P4-San Jose Barracuda
Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 19 – Tucson 4, SAN JOSE 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 21 – SAN JOSE 6, Tucson 3 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., Apr. 25 – San Jose at Tucson, 10:05
Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 27 – San Jose at Tucson, 10:05
*Game 5 – Sat., Apr. 28 – San Jose at Tucson, 10:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
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(TEX wins series, 3-1)
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Pacific Division Semifinals – Series “H” (best-of-5)
P2-Texas Stars vs. P3-Ontario Reign
Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 19 – TEXAS 4, Ontario 3 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 20 – Ontario 5, TEXAS 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 22 – Texas 5, ONTARIO 4 (2OT) | Recap
Game 4 – Tue., Apr. 24 – Texas 1, ONTARIO 0 | Recap
Alumni Watch
The first round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs conclude tonight with Game 7 between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs… Several players on both teams have Game 7 experience in the AHL including Boston’s Danton Heinen, Jake DeBrusk, Noel Acciari and Matt Grzelcyk, who helped Providence to a Game 7 win at Hershey last spring… Toronto’s Andreas Johnsson, Kasperi Kapanen and Travis Dermott played for the Marlies in a Game 7 at Syracuse in 2017, and Kapanen, Connor Brown and William Nylander were among the Maple Leafs who played in the Marlies’ Game 7 win over Albany in 2016.
Working Overtime
There have been 4 overtime games played in the 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs so far:
| Date | Result | GWG | Time |
| Apr. 22 | Texas 5, ONTARIO 4 | Samuel Laberge | 37:38 |
| Apr. 21 | TORONTO 3, Utica 2 | Chris Mueller | 17:48 |
| Apr. 20 | CHARLOTTE 3, W-B/Scranton 2 | Lucas Wallmark | 3:18 |
| Apr. 19 | TEXAS 4, Ontario 3 | Brian Flynn | 1:55 |
On This Date
April 25, 2014 – Ryan Sproul scores at 19:26 of the second overtime period and Petr Mrazek finishes with 55 saves as Grand Rapids opens its first-round series with a 2-1 win at Abbotsford.
April 25, 2005 – With the Penguins down 0-2 in the series, Colby Armstrong’s goal at 12:26 of the third overtime lifts Wilkes-Barre/Scranton past Binghamton, 3-2, in Game 3 of their division semifinal.
April 25, 2004 – Konstantin Koltsov scores 11:44 into overtime to give Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 3-2 win at Bridgeport in Game 7 of their East Division semifinal… Five of the seven games in the series required OT.
April 25, 1992 – Bruce Boudreau scores what would be the last goal of his professional career, helping the Adirondack Red Wings to a 5-3 win at Springfield in Game 1 of their second-round series.
April 25, 1964 – The Cleveland Barons cap a perfect 9-0 playoff run with a 5-2 win over the Quebec Aces, capturing the franchise’s ninth and final Calder Cup championship.
AHL Live
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2018 Calder Cup championship. AHL Live brings AHL action to your desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet all season long with live video webcasts and free highlights of every AHL game… Visit ahllive.com for details.
