AHL Morning Skate: 5.7.19

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 3 – Tonight, 7:00 ET, AHLTV
(CHA leads series, 2-0)

Charlotte brings a 2-0 series lead to Chocolatetown as Hershey hosts Game 3 of the Atlantic Division Finals tonight… The Checkers have scored 11 times in the first two games of the series after the Bears had allowed just nine goals in five games vs. Bridgeport in round one… Charlotte played Game 2 without the AHL’s leading playoff scorer in Andrew Poturalski (5-5-10), but got two goals and three assists from Tomas Jurco (3-3-6) in a 7-3 victory… Jurco, who had one point in his first five playoff outings this postseason, authored the first five-point playoff game by an AHL skater since 2016 (Tom Kostopoulos)… Martin Necas (2-1-3) also scored twice in Game 2 and Nicolas Roy (0-7-7) and Bobby Sanguinetti (1-4-5) recorded three assists apiece… Morgan Geekie (5-2-7) extended his scoring streak to six games with a goal… After serving as backup to Curtis McElhinney in Carolina for two games, Alex Nedeljkovic (4-1, 2.20, .916) returned to the Checkers crease on Saturday and made 24 saves in the win… Jayson Megna (3-3-6), Ryan Sproul (3-0-3) and Riley Barber (3-2-5) scored for the Bears in Game 2, and Ilya Samsonov (2-2, 2.75, .909) stopped 26 shots… Hershey is looking to win a playoff series after falling behind 0-2 for the first time since the 2010 Calder Cup Finals vs. Texas.

Atlantic Division Finals – Series “I” (best-of-7)
A1-Charlotte Checkers vs. A3-Hershey Bears
Game 1 – Fri., May 3 – CHARLOTTE 4, Hershey 1 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., May 4 – CHARLOTTE 7, Hershey 3 | Recap
Game 3 – Tue., May 7 – Charlotte at Hershey, 7:00
Game 4 – Wed., May 8 – Charlotte at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 5 – Fri., May 10 – Charlotte at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 6 – Sun., May 12 – Hershey at Charlotte, 5:00
*Game 7 – Tue., May 14 – Hershey at Charlotte, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern


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Game 4 – Tonight, 7:00 ET, AHLTV
(TOR leads series, 3-0)

The Toronto Marlies can punch the first ticket to the AHL’s final four with a victory tonight in Cleveland… The Marlies took a 3-0 series lead in the North Division Finals with a 2-0 win on Sunday afternoon, their sixth consecutive win to start the playoffs… Toronto is the first team defending Calder Cup champion to start the postseason 6-0 since Peter Laviolette’s Providence Bruins went 7-0 to begin the 2000 playoffs… Kasimir Kaskisuo (6-0, 1.49, .953) made 35 saves for Toronto in Game 3, his first shutout of the playoffs… Kaskisuo has stopped 84 of 89 Cleveland shots in the series (.944) and 181 of 190 shots overall this postseason… Adam Brooks (5-0-5) and Dmytro Timashov (2-5-7) scored the Marlies’ goals in Game 3… Brad Thiessen (3-4, 2.17, .916) stopped 24 of 25 shots for the Monsters in the loss… Thiessen is 9-3 (1.62, .945) with three shutouts in 13 career appearances with his team facing Calder Cup Playoff elimination, including 4-0 (0.49, .986) during Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s comeback from three games down to defeat Providence in 2013… The Marlies are bidding for their sixth trip to the conference finals in 12 years (2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018).

North Division Finals – Series “J” (best-of-7)
N3-Toronto Marlies vs. N4-Cleveland Monsters
Game 1 – Wed., May 1 – TORONTO 5, Cleveland 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., May 3 – TORONTO 4, Cleveland 3 (OT) | Recap
Game 3 – Sun., May 5 – Toronto 2, CLEVELAND 0 | Recap
Game 4 – Tue., May 7 – Toronto at Cleveland, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 11 – Cleveland at Toronto, 4:00
*Game 6 – Mon., May 13 – Toronto at Cleveland, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 15 – Cleveland at Toronto, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern



Game 4 – Wednesday, 8:00 ET, AHLTV
(CHI leads series, 2-1)

Central Division Finals – Series “K” (best-of-7)
C1-Chicago Wolves vs. C3-Iowa Wild
Game 1 – Wed., May 1 – CHICAGO 3, Iowa 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Thu., May 2 – CHICAGO 4, Iowa 3 | Recap
Game 3 – Sun., May 5 – IOWA 2, Chicago 0 | Recap
Game 4 – Wed., May 8 – Chicago at Iowa, 8:00
Game 5 – Fri., May 10 – Chicago at Iowa, 8:00
*Game 6 – Mon., May 13 – Iowa at Chicago, 8:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 15 – Iowa at Chicago, 8:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern



Game 3 – Wednesday, 10:00 ET, AHLTV
(SD leads series, 2-0)

Pacific Division Finals – Series “L” (best-of-7)
P1-Bakersfield Condors vs. P3-San Diego Gulls
Game 1 – Fri., May 3 – San Diego 3, BAKERSFIELD 2 (4OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., May 4 – San Diego 4, BAKERSFIELD 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 8 – Bakersfield at San Diego, 10:00
Game 4 – Fri., May 10 – Bakersfield at San Diego, 10:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 11 – San Diego at Bakersfield, 10:00
*Game 6 – Mon., May 13 – Bakersfield at San Diego, 10:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 15 – San Diego at Bakersfield, 10:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern


Alumni Watch
In last night’s Stanley Cup Playoff action, 2008 AHL All-Star Tuukka Rask made 39 saves and David Krejci notched a goal and an assist as Boston advanced to the Eastern Conference Final with a 3-0 win over Columbus in Game 6… J.T. Compher recorded two goals and an assist as Colorado defeated San Jose, 4-3 in overtime, to even their second-round series at three games apiece.


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.