AHL Morning Skate: 4.25.19

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

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Game 4 – Friday, 7:00 ET,
(CHA leads series, 2-1)
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 – CHARLOTTE 3, Providence 0 | Recap
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

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Game 4 – Tonight, 7:00 ET,
(HER leads series, 2-1)
Follow @TheSoundTigers Follow @TheHersheyBears Tweet #BRIvsHER

Hershey takes a 2-1 series lead into Game 4 against Bridgeport tonight, looking to move on to the Atlantic Division Finals… The Bears held on for a 2-1 victory in Game 3 on Tuesday, as Ryan Sproul netted the winning goal early in the third period… Liam O’Brien also scored for Hershey in Game 3 and Ilya Samsonov made 23 of his 26 saves over the final two periods to pick up his first career playoff victory… Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek have combined to stop 118 of 122 Sound Tigers shots in the series (1.12, .966), allowing only one even-strength goal through three games… Riley Barber (1-2-3) and Mike Sgarbossa (1-2-3) lead the Bears in scoring in the series; 10 other Hershey skaters have one point apiece… Josh Ho-Sang scored Bridgeport’s goal in Game 3, the first postseason tally of his career… The Sound Tigers’ netminders have been stingy in the series as well: Christopher Gibson and Jeremy Smith have allowed a total of six goals on 99 shots (1.69, .939)… Bridgeport is 3-for-14 on the power play in the series, but 0-for-6 in the last two games… Hershey is 0-for-12 with the man advantage… The Bears have lost their last four home games when they had a chance to close out a playoff series… Bridgeport is 2-8 all-time when facing elimination, including 0-6 on the road… Excluding shootouts, the Sound Tigers have lost three straight games only once all season (Jan. 12-16).

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 – HERSHEY 2, Bridgeport 1 | Recap
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

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Game 4 – Tonight, 7:00 ET,
(CLE leads series, 2-1)
Follow @SyracuseCrunch Follow @monstershockey Tweet #SYRvsCLE

Syracuse took its first step towards a series comeback with a 2-1 victory over Cleveland on Tuesday night, but the Monsters are still in the driver’s seat as they host Game 4 this evening… AHL rookie of the year Alex Barre-Boulet had a goal and an assist for the Crunch in Game 3, and Andy Andreoff‘s power-play goal 31 seconds into the third period proved to be the game-winner… Carter Verhaeghe picked up two more assists on Tuesday and has points in eight straight games (5-8-13) going back to the regular season… Eddie Pasquale made 25 saves for the Crunch in Game 3, including 17 in the final frame… Justin Scott scored Cleveland’s only goal of Game 3, on a shorthanded breakaway with 7:13 remaining in regulation… Brad Thiessen made his 14th consecutive start in the Monsters net and finished with 25 saves; he has allowed two goals or fewer in 10 of those 14 starts… Syracuse’s win ended the Monsters’ playoff winning streak at 11 games, the fourth-longest in Calder Cup history; the Cleveland Barons hold the record at 15 straight victories over the 1964 and 1966 postseasons… The Crunch are now 9-14 all-time when facing playoff elimination, including 5-7 on the road.

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 2, CLEVELAND 1 | Recap
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

 vs.  
(TOR wins series, 3-0)
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 – TORONTO 3, Rochester 1 | Recap

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Game 5 – Sunday, 4:00 ET,
(Series tied, 2-2)
Follow @Chicago_Wolves Follow @griffinshockey Tweet #CHIvsGR

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 – GRAND RAPIDS 6, Chicago 2 | Recap
Game 4 – Wed., Apr. 24 – Chicago 5, GRAND RAPIDS 2 | Recap
Game 5 – Sun., Apr. 28 – Grand Rapids at Chicago, 4:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

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Game 3 – Tonight, 8:00 ET,
(IA leads series, 2-0)
Follow @mkeadmirals Follow @IAWild Tweet #MILvsIA

Down but not out, Milwaukee heads home for Game 3 of its Central Division semifinal series with Iowa tonight… The Admirals were 6-0-1-1 in their last eight regular-season games at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, including a 5-1 victory over the Wild on Apr. 6… Iowa followed its 7-0 victory in Game 1 with a 6-1 decision in Game 2 on Tuesday, becoming just the fifth team in AHL history to win the first two games of a playoff series by at least five goals each:

Sixteen different Iowa skaters have recorded a point already in the series, led by Luke Kunin (3-1-4) and Ryan Donato (0-4-4)… Andrew Hammond, who made 33 saves in Game 2, has stopped 62 of 63 shots in the series (2-0, 0.50, .984)… Justin Kirkland got the Admirals on the board in Game 2 with his first career playoff goal… The Wild have allowed just 10 goals in eight games vs. Milwaukee this season… The Admirals’ 13-game postseason losing streak is the longest in AHL history… Milwaukee has scored two goals or fewer in 18 of their last 19 playoff contests (1-18).

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 – IOWA 6, Milwaukee 1 | Recap
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

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Game 4 – Saturday, 10:00 ET,
(BAK leads series, 2-1)
Follow @Condors Follow @ColoradoEagles Tweet #BAKvsCOL

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 – BAKERSFIELD 5, Colorado 2 | Recap
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

vs.  
(SD wins series, 3-1)
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 5, SAN JOSE 2 | Recap

Alumni Watch
In last night’s Stanley Cup Playoff action, Brock McGinn — one of nine former Charlotte Checkers in Carolina’s Game 7 lineup — scored at 11:05 of double overtime as the Hurricanes eliminated Washington, 4-3… Jaccob Slavin had three assists for Carolina and 2013 Calder Cup champion Petr Mrazek made 34 saves.

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.