AHL Morning Skate: 5.19.22

Photo: Micheline V


A1-Charlotte Checkers vs. A6-Bridgeport Islanders
(Charlotte wins series, 3-1)

Game 1 – Charlotte 3, BRIDGEPORT 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Charlotte 7, BRIDGEPORT 6 (2OT) | Recap
Game 3 – Bridgeport 3, CHARLOTTE 2 | Recap
Game 4 – CHARLOTTE 4, Bridgeport 0 | Recap


A2-Springfield Thunderbirds vs. A4-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
(Springfield wins series, 3-0)

Game 1 – SPRINGFIELD 4, W-B/Scranton 1 | Recap
Game 2 – SPRINGFIELD 6, W-B/Scranton 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Springfield 7, W-B/SCRANTON 6 | Recap


A1-Charlotte Checkers vs. A2-Springfield Thunderbirds
Game 1 – Sunday, 3:05 ET, AHLTV

Game 1 – Sun., May 22 – Charlotte at Springfield, 3:05
Game 2 – Wed., May 25 – Charlotte at Springfield, 7:05
Game 3 – Sat., May 28 – Springfield at Charlotte, 6:00
*Game 4 – Sun., May 29 – Springfield at Charlotte, 6:00
*Game 5 – Tue., May 31 – Springfield at Charlotte, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern


N1-Utica Comets vs. N5-Rochester Americans
Game 5 – Tonight, 7:05 ET, AHLTV
(Series tied, 2-2)

Game 1 – UTICA 6, Rochester 3 | Recap
Game 2 – Rochester 4, UTICA 3 (OT) | Recap
Game 3 – ROCHESTER 4, Utica 3 (OT) | Recap
Game 4 – Utica 4, ROCHESTER 2 | Recap
Game 5 – Thu., May 19 – Rochester at Utica, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
The division semifinal round of the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs concludes tonight as Utica hosts Rochester in a deciding Game 5... The Comets avoided a third consecutive loss and staved off elimination with a 4-2 road win in Game 4 on Tuesday night... A.J. Greer (6-1-7) scored twice, his second two-goal game of the series, and Fabian Zetterlund (1-6-7) notched three assists; both forwards have points in each of the first four games... Greer has totaled 22 points (13-9-22) in 15 games against Rochester this season... Nolan Foote (1-2-3) scored his first career playoff goal in Game 4 and Chase De Leo (1-1-2) added a goal and an assist for his first points of the series... Nico Daws (2-1, 2.98, .892) made 30 saves, shutting out the Amerks until Arttu Ruotsalainen (7-3-10) and Mark Jankowski (3-1-4) scored power-play goals in the final 4:13 of the contest... Aaron Dell (4-2, 3.50, .879) stopped 22 of 26 shots in two periods of work in Game 4... JJ Peterka (4-5-9) leads all Amerks scorers with seven points (4-3-7) in the series... Utica is 4-for-7 on the power play (57.1 percent) in the series; Rochester is 4-for-10 (40.0 percent)... The Amerks are playing their first winner-take-all game since 2014 (a Game 5 loss at Chicago); they have not won such a contest since a Game 7 win at Syracuse in 2004... Utica was 2-1 in winner-take-all games as a Vancouver Canucks affiliate; a New Jersey Devils AHL club last won a mutual elimination game in 1997, when the Albany River Rats defeated Rochester... Tonight’s winner will take on Laval in the North Division Finals.


N2-Syracuse Crunch vs. N3-Laval Rocket
(Laval wins series, 3-2)

Game 1 – SYRACUSE 5, Laval 3 | Recap
Game 2 – Laval 3, SYRACUSE 2 | Recap
Game 3 – LAVAL 4, Syracuse 1 | Recap
Game 4 – Syracuse 3, LAVAL 0 | Recap
Game 5 – Laval 3, SYRACUSE 2 (OT) | Recap


C1-Chicago Wolves vs. C4-Rockford IceHogs
(Chicago wins series, 3-0)

Game 1 – CHICAGO 6, Rockford 2 | Recap
Game 2 – CHICAGO 4, Rockford 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Chicago 4, ROCKFORD 1 | Recap


C2-Manitoba Moose vs. C3-Milwaukee Admirals
(Milwaukee wins series, 3-2)

Game 1 – MILWAUKEE 3, Manitoba 2 | Recap
Game 2 – MILWAUKEE 2, Manitoba 1 | Recap
Game 3 – MANITOBA 5, Milwaukee 2 | Recap
Game 4 – MANITOBA 7, Milwaukee 3 | Recap
Game 5 – Milwaukee 2, MANITOBA 1 | Recap


C1-Chicago Wolves vs. C3-Milwaukee Admirals
Game 1 – Saturday, 8:00 ET, AHLTV

Game 1 – Sat., May 21 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 8:00
Game 2 – Sun., May 22 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 4:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 25 – Chicago at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 4 – Fri., May 27 – Chicago at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 5 – Sun., May 29 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 4:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern


P1-Stockton Heat vs. P4-Bakersfield Condors
(Stockton wins series, 3-0)

Game 1 – STOCKTON 3, Bakersfield 1 | Recap
Game 2 – STOCKTON 3, Bakersfield 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Stockton 6, BAKERSFIELD 4 | Recap


P2-Ontario Reign vs. P3-Colorado Eagles
(Colorado wins series, 3-0)

Game 1 – COLORADO 10, Ontario 1 | Recap
Game 2 – COLORADO 5, Ontario 4 (OT) | Recap
Game 3 – Colorado 5, ONTARIO 2 | Recap


P1-Stockton Heat vs. P3-Colorado Eagles
Game 1 – Monday, 9:30 ET, AHLTV

Game 1 – Mon., May 23 – Colorado at Stockton, 9:30
Game 2 – Tue., May 24 – Colorado at Stockton, 9:30
Game 3 – Fri., May 27 – Stockton at Colorado, 9:05
*Game 4 – Sun., May 29 – Stockton at Colorado, 9:05
*Game 5 – Tue., May 31 – Stockton at Colorado, 9:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern

Player development in the American Hockey League is not simply about success.

Setbacks and disappointments are also a part of that process, and the Rochester Americans have felt their sting this week. The Utica Comets came into Blue Cross Arena on Tuesday night and defeated the Amerks in Game 4 of the teams’ North Division semifinal, 4-2, pushing the series into a deciding Game 5 tonight on Utica ice.

“Adversity’s good,” Rochester head coach Seth Appert said Wednesday via the team website before the team departed for Utica. “[It] makes you better. Our guys are growing through that right now.”

Teachable moments also make up that player development, and Tuesday’s defeat supplied plenty of those for Appert. The team spent Wednesday morning watching Game 4 video with an emphasis from Appert on better puck management.

“Safe is death,” Appert said of his message for tonight. “That will still be the message. We need to manage the puck better. Just because ‘safe is death’ doesn’t mean we have to try to make so many plays in the neutral zone. But that will be the mindset.

“I just wanted our guys to understand what we did to ourselves.”

That said, Appert does not want his young players to dwell on Tuesday night as they try to push their way past Utica and meet the Laval Rocket in the North Division Finals.

“You’ve got to have a short memory in the playoffs ― good or bad,” Appert continued. “So learn, apply, get past it, get to Utica, have a team dinner, get the team camaraderie and energy back going, and be ready for [tonight]. Most of our group has never been through this.”

Appert also said that captain Michael Mersch “won’t likely be in the lineup” again in Game 5 after missing Game 4 with an injury. Regardless, Mersch’s presence is welcomed.

“There’s a reason he’s our captain,” Appert said of Mersch, who won the Calder Cup in 2015 with the Manchester Monarchs. “He drives winning. I love that man, and every guy in that room does.”

While the New York Rangers continue their progression through the Stanley Cup Playoffs, construction of next season’s Hartford Wolf Pack roster is well underway.

This week the Rangers signed forwards Adam Edstrom and Ryder Korczak along with goaltender Olof Lindbom. All three prospects are potential additions in Hartford next season.

Lindbom, 21, is a 2018 second-round pick by the Rangers who spent this season in Sweden in the second-division HockeyAllsvenskan circuit with Kristianstads IK. He agreed to a two-year entry-level contract with the Rangers.

Also 21, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound Edstrom competed this season in the Swedish Hockey League with Rogle BK and produced nine points (seven goals, two assists) in 43 games. A 2019 sixth-round Rangers pick, he signed a three-year entry-level contract.

Signed to a three-year entry-level deal, the 19-year-old Korczak went in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft to the Rangers. He spent this season with Moose Jaw of the Western Hockey League, where he generated 79 points (25 goals, 54 assists) in 68 games.

Patrick Williams


In last night’s Stanley Cup Playoff action, Andrew Mangiapane and Rasmus Andersson each recorded a goal and two assists and Blake Coleman scored twice in Calgary’s 9-6 win over Edmonton in Game 1 of their series... The Flames and Oilers are meeting in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after their AHL affiliates in Stockton and Bakersfield faced off in the Calder Cup Playoffs last week... Ian Cole scored 3:12 into overtime to give Carolina a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers.

In action at the 2022 IIHF World Championship yesterday, Andreas Martinsen recorded a goal and an assist as Norway defeated Austria, 5-3... Denis Malgin notched a goal and an assist in Switzerland’s 5-3 win over Slovakia... Magnus Hellberg made 29 saves and was 5-for-5 in the shootout to help Sweden to a 3-2 win over Finland.

Watch the Calder Cup Playoffs on AHLTV
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2022 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 $29.99 for the entire postseason, or just $8.99 for a day pass. Visit AHLTV.com for details.