AHL Morning Skate: 5.22.18

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 – Wednesday, 7:05 ET, AHL Live
TV: TSN2, NBC Sports Philadelphia+, Leafs Nation Network, Service Electric TV2
(TOR leads series, 2-0)

Eastern Conference Finals – Series “M” (best-of-7)
N1-Toronto Marlies vs. A1-Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Game 1 – Sat., May 19 – TORONTO 4, Lehigh Valley 3 | Recap/Highlights
Game 2 – Sun., May 20 – TORONTO 3, Lehigh Valley 2 (OT) | Recap/Highlights
Game 3 – Wed., May 23 – Toronto at Lehigh Valley, 7:05
Game 4 – Fri., May 25 – Toronto at Lehigh Valley, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sat., May 26 – Toronto at Lehigh Valley, 7:05
*Game 6 – Mon., May 28 – Lehigh Valley at Toronto, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 30 – Lehigh Valley at Toronto, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern


 @ button_chi200 
Game 3 – Tonight, 8:00 ET, AHL Live
(TEX leads series, 2-0)

Rockford faces a steep climb as it hosts Texas in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals tonight… The Stars own a 2-0 series lead following Sunday evening’s 3-2 overtime victory, Texas’s fifth OT win already this postseason… Curtis McKenzie (4-6-10) scored the decisive goal on a power play at 10:46 of the extra session… McKenzie, who also picked up an assist in Game 2, now has a four-game scoring streak (3-2-5)… Mike McKenna (9-2, 1.69, .949) made 24 saves for his sixth consecutive win, improving to 17-2 in 19 starts at home over the last two playoffs with Texas and Syracuse… Brent Regner (1-6-7) scored in Game 2, becoming the 15th different Texas skater to record a goal this postseason… John Hayden (2-0-2) and Chris DiDomenico (6-8-14) scored for Rockford on Sunday… The IceHogs’ trio of DiDomenico, Adam Clendening (1-11-12) and Cody Franson (4-5-9) has combined for 30 power-play points this postseason, but has been held to a combined five points at even strength… After scoring five goals on just seven shots through the first two rounds, Victor Ejdsell (5-3-8) is scoreless on four shots vs. Texas… Collin Delia (7-2, 1.99, .936), who was 17-1-2 in his previous 20 decisions before losing Games 1 and 2 of this series, has not lost at BMO Harris Bank Center since Feb. 9 (8-0-0)… The IceHogs have scored a power-play goal in 11 consecutive games overall, and are now 17-for-49 (34.7 percent) with the man advantage in nine playoff contests… Texas is 3-for-11 on the power play in the series after Rockford had allowed only two goals on 28 chances over the first two rounds… Dating back to the regular season, 12 of the Stars’ last 20 games have required overtime… Teams leading a best-of-seven Calder Cup Playoff series 2-0 have won the series 90.1 percent of the time (219-24).

Western Conference Finals – Series “N” (best-of-7)
P2-Texas Stars vs. C4-Rockford IceHogs
Game 1 – Fri., May 18 – TEXAS 4, Rockford 2 | Recap/Highlights
Game 2 – Sun., May 20 – TEXAS 3, Rockford 2 (OT) | Recap/Highlights
Game 3 – Tue., May 22 – Texas at Rockford, 8:00
Game 4 – Thu., May 24 – Texas at Rockford, 8:00
*Game 5 – Fri., May 25 – Texas at Rockford, 8:00
*Game 6 – Mon., May 28 – Rockford at Texas, 8:00
*Game 7 – Tue., May 29 – Rockford at Texas, 8:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern


Alumni Watch
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs last night, 2011 AHL All-Star Braden Holtby made 24 saves and Devante Smith-Pelly scored a big third-period goal as Washington defeated Tampa Bay, 3-0, in Game 6 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Final… Chandler Stephenson, who began the 2017-18 season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, tallied an assist… Game 7 is set for Wednesday night in Tampa.

At the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Denmark, 12 players who skated in the AHL during the 2017-18 season came away with medals… Lias Andersson (Hartford), Erik Gustafsson (Rockford) and Filip Gustavsson (Belleville) were on the roster for the gold medal winning team from Sweden… Switzerland, surprise winners of the silver medal, included Reto Berra (San Diego), Dean Kukan (Cleveland), Noah Rod (San Jose) and Mirco Mueller (Binghamton)… The United States captured bronze with a roster including Tage Thompson (San Antonio), Colin White (Belleville), Neal Pionk (Hartford), Sonny Milano (Cleveland) and Charlie Lindgren (Laval).


Working Overtime
There have been 13 overtime games played in the 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs so far:

Date Result GWG Time
May 20 TEXAS 3, Rockford 2 Curtis McKenzie 10:46
May 20 TORONTO 3, Lehigh Valley 2 Miro Aaltonen 10:59
May 11 TEXAS 3, Tucson 2 Joel L’Esperance 8:43
May 9 Lehigh Valley 2, CHARLOTTE 1 Alex Krushelnyski 86:48
May 7 TEXAS 5, Tucson 4 Sheldon Dries 13:36
May 5 TORONTO 2, Syracuse 1 Frederik Gauthier 35:10
May 2 TUCSON 2, Texas 1 Michael Bunting 8:53
Apr. 28 LEHIGH VALLEY 4, Providence 3 Maxim Lamarche 18:36
Apr. 26 Rockford 4, CHICAGO 3 Victor Ejdsell 57:22
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
May 22, 2013 – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins become just the third team in AHL history to win a series after trailing 0-3, shutting out Providence 5-0 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

May 22, 2012 – Dustin Tokarski makes 29 saves for his second consecutive shutout as Norfolk finishes a four-game sweep of St. John’s and moves on to the Calder Cup Finals.

May 22, 2011 – Once down 3-0 in the series, Hamilton forces a Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals with a 5-4 victory at Houston when Nigel Dawes scores 9:11 into the second overtime period.

May 22, 2010 – Boyd Kane‘s goal 7:06 into overtime sends the Hershey Bears to the Calder Cup Finals with a 3-2 win over Manchester in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference championship series.

May 22, 2003 – Jarret Stoll sets an AHL playoff record with a goal just four seconds into the third period, helping Hamilton to an 8-3 win over Binghamton and a berth in the Calder Cup Finals… Marc Cavosie scores twice as Houston wins the Western Conference title with a 2-1 win in Game 7 at Grand Rapids.

May 22, 2002 – Raffi Torres breaks a scoreless tie with 1:27 left in regulation and Rick DiPietro posts the fifth Game 7 shutout in AHL history as Bridgeport advances to the Calder Cup Finals with a 3-0 win over Hamilton.

May 22, 1998 – Behind five points from Jim Montgomery (1g, 4a), the Philadelphia Phantoms earn a 7-3 win over the Albany River Rats to take a 3-1 lead in their conference final series.


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.