AHL Morning Skate: 5.28.17

Photos: Mark Newman, Scott Thomas

Take a game-day spin around the AHL ice with latest news and notes from the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs in today’s AHL Morning Skate.

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


 vs. 
(SYR wins series, 4-1)

Syracuse won the Richard F. Canning Trophy and the right to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2017 Calder Cup Finals with a 3-1 victory over Providence last night… Cory Conacher scored the winning goal with 5:06 left in regulation to send the Crunch to their second conference title in five years… Conacher, who scored twice in Game 5, recorded 10 points in the last three games of the series and now leads the AHL with 20 points on the postseason… Syracuse is 9-0 at home this postseason, outscoring its opponents 42-20.

Eastern Conference Finals – Series “M” (best-of-7)
A4-Providence Bruins vs. N1-Syracuse Crunch
Game 1 – Fri., May 19 – Syracuse 6, PROVIDENCE 3 | Recap
Game 2 – Sun., May 21 – PROVIDENCE 2, Syracuse 1 (OT) | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 24 – SYRACUSE 5, Providence 4 | Recap
Game 4 – Fri., May 26 – SYRACUSE 7, Providence 2 | Recap
Game 5 – Sat., May 27 – SYRACUSE 3, Providence 1 | Recap


 vs. 
(GR wins series, 4-1)
 

Grand Rapids earned the Robert W. Clarke Trophy and a spot in the 2017 Calder Cup Finals with a 4-2 win over San Jose last night, winning the Western Conference championship series four games to one… The Barracuda finished with the second-best record in the AHL during the regular season but were overmatched by the Griffins, who handed San Jose three consecutive regulation losses for the first time all season… Brian Lashoff, one of three players remaining from Grand Rapids’ 2013 championship team, scored 24 seconds into Game 5 and the Griffins rolled to their 11th win in 13 postseason games… Grand Rapids is 7-0 on home ice during these playoffs, outscoring the opposition 33-16.

Western Conference Finals – Series “N” (best-of-7)
P1-San Jose Barracuda vs. C2-Grand Rapids Griffins
Game 1 – Sat., May 20 – Grand Rapids 3, SAN JOSE 1 | Recap
Game 2 – Sun., May 21 – SAN JOSE 4, Grand Rapids 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 24 – GRAND RAPIDS 4, San Jose 2 | Recap
Game 4 – Fri., May 26 – GRAND RAPIDS 6, San Jose 2 | Recap
Game 5 – Sat., May 27 – GRAND RAPIDS 4, San Jose 2 | Recap


2013 Redux
The 2017 Calder Cup Finals will be a rematch of the 2013 series, which saw Grand Rapids defeat Syracuse in six games for the championship.

2017 Calder Cup Finals – Series “O” (best-of-7)
Grand Rapids Griffins vs. Syracuse Crunch
Game 1 – Fri., June 2 – Syracuse at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 2 – Sat., June 3 – Syracuse at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 3 – Wed., June 7 – Grand Rapids at Syracuse, 7:00
Game 4 – Fri., June 9 – Grand Rapids at Syracuse, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., June 10 – Grand Rapids at Syracuse, 7:00
*Game 6 – Tue., June 13 – Syracuse at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., June 14 – Syracuse at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

The Griffins and Crunch become the 14th pair of teams to meet in more than one Finals series:

Grand Rapids Griffins vs. Syracuse Crunch (2013, 2017)
Hamilton Bulldogs vs. Hershey Bears (1997, 2007)
Maine Mariners vs. Rochester Americans (1983, 1984)
Maine Mariners vs. New Haven Nighthawks (1978, 1979)
Buffalo Bisons vs. Springfield Indians (1962, 1970)
Rochester Americans vs. Springfield Indians (1960, 1990, 1991)
Buffalo Bisons vs. Hershey Bears (1959, 1963)
Hershey Bears vs. Springfield Indians (1958, 1961)
Cleveland Barons vs. Rochester Americans (1957, 1966)
Cleveland Barons vs. Pittsburgh Hornets (1951, 1953)
Hershey Bears vs. Providence Reds (1949, 1974)
Buffalo Bisons vs. Cleveland Barons (1944, 1946, 1948)
Cleveland Barons vs. Hershey Bears (1941, 1945, 1954)
Pittsburgh Hornets vs. Providence Reds (1940, 1952)


Working Overtime
There have been 17 overtime games played in the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs so far:

May 21 – PROVIDENCE 2, Syracuse 1 (Jordan Szwarz, 8:28)
May 14 – Hershey 3, PROVIDENCE 2 (Madison Bowey, 1:58)
May 11 – Hershey 2, PROVIDENCE 1 (Chris Bourque, 7:14)
May 10 – San Jose 4, SAN DIEGO 3 (Timo Meier, 17:40)
May 7 – HERSHEY 3, Providence 2 (Travis Boyd, 5:44)
May 5 – San Diego 3, SAN JOSE 2 (Kevin Roy, 0:38)
*May 2 – SAN JOSE 2, Stockton 1 (Ryan Carpenter, 8:52)
*Apr. 28 – TORONTO 2, Albany 1 (Justin Holl, 46:43)
*Apr. 28 – SYRACUSE 2, St. John’s 1 (Gabriel Dumont, 2:18)
*Apr. 26 – Grand Rapids 3, MILWAUKEE 2 (Kyle Criscuolo, 10:03)
Apr. 26 – TORONTO 3, Albany 2 (Colin Greening, 0:45)
Apr. 26 – Lehigh Valley 2, HERSHEY 1 (Chris Conner, 1:49)
Apr. 23 – Charlotte 4, CHICAGO 3 (Connor Brickley, 9:28)
Apr. 23 – W-B/Scranton 6, PROVIDENCE 5 (Derrick Pouliot, 7:49)
Apr. 22 – Syracuse 4, ST. JOHN’S 3 (Tye McGinn, 30:37)
Apr. 21 – GRAND RAPIDS 4, Milwaukee 3 (Tomas Nosek, 9:32)
Apr. 21 – Hershey 1, LEHIGH VALLEY 0 (Nathan Walker, 7:38)
*clinched series


Alumni Watch
Ninety-four percent of the players heading to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final are graduates of the American Hockey League (infographic)… Only three players combined on the rosters of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators did not come through the AHL (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Mike Fisher).


On This Date
May 28, 2001 – At a sold-out Harbour Station, the Saint John Flames win the Calder Cup with a 1-0 victory over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton… Darrel Scoville scores the only goal and Martin Brochu earns the shutout.


AHL Live
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2017 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.

AHL Live