A3-Charlotte Checkers vs. A6-Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Game 2 – Tonight, 7:00 ET, 
(Lehigh Valley leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Tue., Apr. 18 – Lehigh Valley 4, CHARLOTTE 3 | Recap
Game 2 – Thu., Apr. 20 – Lehigh Valley at Charlotte, 7:00
*Game 3 – Fri., Apr. 21 – Lehigh Valley at Charlotte, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
GAME NOTES
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms can punch their ticket to the division semifinals with another win in Charlotte tonight... Tyson Foerster scored twice in his postseason debut on Tuesday to lift the Phantoms to a 4-3 win in Game 1 of the best-of-three series... Foerster, an AHL All-Star in 2023, now has 10 points in nine games against the Checkers this season... Adam Brooks and Cooper Marody each added a goal and an assist for Lehigh Valley, and Samuel Ersson made 13 of his 28 saves in the final period to secure the win as the Phantoms improved to 4-0 all-time in playoff games at Bojangles’ Coliseum... Lucas Carlsson, Riley Nash and Santtu Kinnunen scored for the Checkers, who got on the board first in Game 1 before allowing the game’s next four goals; Charlotte had the AHL’s second-best record in the regular season when scoring first (25-5-2-0, .813)... Mack Guzda allowed four goals on 17 shots before being relieved by Jean-Francois Berube; the 2015 Calder Cup champion stopped all eight shots he faced in relief... Charlotte went 1-for-2 on the power play in Game 1 against a Phantoms team that ranked 32nd in the league on the penalty kill in the regular season... A Lehigh Valley win would set up a meeting with Providence in the next round.
A4-Springfield Thunderbirds vs. A5-Hartford Wolf Pack
Game 1 – Friday, 7:05 ET,
(Hartford leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 19 – Hartford 6, SPRINGFIELD 1 | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 21 – Springfield at Hartford, 7:05
*Game 3 – Sat., Apr. 22 – Hartford at Springfield, 7:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
A1-Providence Bruins vs. lower remaining seed
Game 1 – April 28, 7:05 ET,
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 28 at Providence, 7:05
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 29 at Providence, 7:05
Game 3 – TBD at SPR/HFD/LV
*Game 4 – TBD at SPR/HFD/LV
*Game 5 – Sun., May 7 at Providence, 7:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
A2-Hershey Bears vs. higher remaining seed
Game 1 – TBD
Game 2 – TBD
Game 3 – TBD
*Game 4 – TBD
*Game 5 – TBD
*if necessary
N4-Utica Comets vs. N5-Laval Rocket
Game 2 – Friday, 7:00 ET,
(Utica leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 19 – Utica 4, LAVAL 0 | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 21 – Laval at Utica, 7:00
*Game 3 – Sat., Apr. 22 – Laval at Utica, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
N1-Toronto Marlies vs. UTC/LAV winner
Game 1 – April 27, 7:00 ET,
Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 27 at Toronto, 7:00
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 29 at Toronto, 4:00
Game 3 – TBD at UTC/LAV winner
*Game 4 – TBD at UTC/LAV winner
*Game 5 – Sun., May 7 at Toronto, 4:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
N2-Syracuse Crunch vs. N3-Rochester Americans
Game 1 – Friday, 7:00 ET,
Game 1 - Fri., Apr. 21 - Rochester at Syracuse, 7:00
Game 2 - Sat., Apr. 22 - Rochester at Syracuse, 7:00
Game 3 - Fri., Apr. 28 - Syracuse at Rochester, 7:05
*Game 4 - Sun., Apr. 30 - Syracuse at Rochester, 3:05
*Game 5 - Sat., May 6 - Rochester at Syracuse, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
C4-Iowa Wild vs. C5-Rockford IceHogs
Game 2 – Friday, 8:00 ET,
(Rockford leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 19 – ROCKFORD 3, Iowa 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 21 – Rockford at Iowa, 8:00
*Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 23 – Rockford at Iowa, 4:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
C1-Texas Stars vs. IA/RFD winner
Game 1 – TBD at IA/RFD winner
Game 2 – TBD at IA/RFD winner
Game 3 – Wed., May 3 at Texas, 8:00
*Game 4 – Fri., May 5 at Texas, 8:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 6 at Texas, 8:00
*if necessary... All times Eastern
C2-Milwaukee Admirals vs. C3-Manitoba Moose
Game 1 – April 28, 8:00 ET,
Game 1 - Fri., Apr. 28 - Milwaukee at Manitoba, 8:00
Game 2 - Sun., Apr. 30 - Milwaukee at Manitoba, 3:00
Game 3 - Wed., May 3 - Manitoba at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 4 - Fri., May 5 - Manitoba at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 5 - Sat., May 6 - Manitoba at Milwaukee, 7:00
*if necessary... All times Eastern
P2-Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. P7-Tucson Roadrunners
Game 2 – Friday, 10:00 ET,
(Coachella Valley leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 19 – COACHELLA VALLEY 5, Tucson 1 | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 21 – Tucson at Coachella Valley, 10:00
*Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 23 – Tucson at Coachella Valley, 6:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
P3-Colorado Eagles vs. P6-Ontario Reign
Game 2 – Friday, 9:05 ET,
(Colorado leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 19 – COLORADO 3, Ontario 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 21 – Ontario at Colorado, 9:05
*Game 3 – Sat., Apr. 22 – Ontario at Colorado, 9:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
P4-Abbotsford Canucks vs. P5-Bakersfield Condors
Game 2 – Friday, 10:00 ET,
(Abbotsford leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 19 – ABBOTSFORD 3, Bakersfield 0 | Recap
Game 2 - Fri., Apr. 21 - Bakersfield at Abbotsford, 10:00
*Game 3 - Sun., Apr. 23 - Bakersfield at Abbotsford, 10:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
P1-Calgary Wranglers vs. lowest remaining seed
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 26 at Calgary, 9:00
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 28 at Calgary, 9:00
Game 3 – TBD
*Game 4 – TBD
*Game 5 – TBD
*if necessary
Highest remaining seed vs. middle remaining seed
Game 1 – TBD
Game 2 – TBD
Game 3 – TBD
*Game 4 – TBD
*Game 5 – TBD
*if necessary
Max Sasson made the Abbotsford Canucks’ first-ever home Calder Cup Playoff game one to remember.
Only eight games into his pro career after two seasons at Western Michigan University, Sasson supplied a goal to help carry the Canucks to a 3-0 win in Game 1 of their first-round series with the Bakersfield Condors last night.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Sasson said via the team’s website. “It was so awesome seeing everybody with the rally towels. That’s playoff hockey, right?”
The 22-year-old Sasson was a sought-after free agent after leaving Western Michigan, where he notched 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in 38 games in 2022-23. He had seven games with three or more points, including a hat trick in a postseason contest. The parent Vancouver Canucks landed him with a two-year entry-level contract on March 26.
Seven regular-season contests with Abbotsford helped ease Sasson into the pro game before he had to face Calder Cup Playoff competition. He had impressed head coach Jeremy Colliton enough to take a spot on a line between Nils Höglander and Kyle Rau, and the trio combined for five points last night.
“It helped a lot,” Sasson said of his those first seven games. “I’m still adjusting. It was really good to get my feet under me.”
Then came a team meeting with Abbotsford general manager Ryan Johnson before the series.
“Everything he said about having fun, and that you don’t know how many chances you’re going to get at this, really resonated,” Sasson recounted. “The guys all looked around and were like, ‘Let’s go.’”
The Canucks-Condors rivalry will continue to build as this best-of-three round progresses. Last year the teams also met in the first round, but Bakersfield emerged with a two-game sweep on its home ice. Now the Canucks are in position to end Bakersfield’s season in Game 2 on Friday.
“We have a huge game Friday night,” Sasson said. “Bakersfield is going to come out extremely hard. They don’t want their season to end.”
Rocco Grimaldi has given the Rockford IceHogs exactly what they expected when they acquired him in a deal with San Diego on March 2.
Grimaldi provided 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in his 16 games with Rockford, and he continued to deliver last night as his overtime goal carried the IceHogs to a 3-2 win in Game 1 of their first-round series with Iowa. Grimaldi forced a turnover just inside the Wild blue line before ripping a right-circle shot past Jesper Wallstedt for a 1-0 series lead.
In all, Grimaldi’s 36 goals in 70 games placed him third in the AHL during the regular season, and he finished sixth with 73 points. He came to Rockford as part of an extensive trade deadline makeover for a club that had to battle until the final day of the regular season to lock down a playoff berth in the Central Division.
With the best-of-three series moving to Iowa for Game 2 on Friday and a possible Game 3 on Sunday, Grimaldi’s goal eased some pressure off the IceHogs as they try to build a postseason run.
“I know what they traded for me for,” Grimaldi said via the team website after the win. “I know what they expected of me. It’s moments like that. Trying to have a deep playoff push. Being someone who is reliable defensively. Be someone who is going to chip in offensively. Make the play at the right time. Score big goals.
“It’s a nice start, but we’ve got a long way to go.”
ALUMNI WATCH
In Stanley Cup Playoff action last night, Jesper Fast scored 5:03 into overtime to give Carolina a 4-3 win over the N.Y. Islanders... Florida scored four times in the third period, including a pair of goals from 2017 AHL All-Star Brandon Montour, to get past Boston, 6-3... Roope Hintz, a Calder Cup finalist with Texas in 2018, scored three goals and added an assist as Dallas defeated Minnesota, 7-3... Klim Kostin, who reached the Calder Cup Finals with Springfield last spring and began this season in Bakersfield, scored the winning goal for Edmonton in the Oilers’ 4-2 victory over Los Angeles.
Watch the Calder Cup Playoffs on AHLTV
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2023 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.
