AHL Morning Skate: April 28, 2024

A4-Charlotte Checkers vs. A5-Hartford Wolf Pack
Game 3 – Today, 4:00 ET,
(Series tied, 1-1)

Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 25 – CHARLOTTE 3, Hartford 1 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 27 – Hartford 3, CHARLOTTE 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 28 – Hartford at Charlotte, 4:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
Charlotte hosts Hartford in Game 3 today with a trip to the division semifinals at stake... The Wolf Pack rallied for a 3-2 overtime victory yesterday, with Alex Belzile netting the decisive goal 8:11 into the extra period... It was Hartford’s first win in six tries at Bojangles Coliseum, and their first road victory all season in a game they trailed entering the third period... Nic Petan and Ryder Korczak each had a goal and an assist for the Wolf Pack, and Dylan Garand made 30 saves in Game 2... In 10 starts over the last two postseasons, Garand has a 1.79 GAA and a .938 save percentage... Gerry Mayhew scored for the Checkers yesterday, his first playoff goal since 2019 when he netted nine goals in 11 postseason games for Iowa... Spencer Knight turned aside 27 shots in the loss... Hartford is 2-for-10 on the power play in the series; Charlotte is 2-for-5... The Checkers are 1-2 all-time in winner-take-all playoff games, including 1-1 at home... The Wolf Pack are 6-3 in winner-take-all playoff games, but this is the first one they have ever played on the road... Today’s winner will face Providence in the next round.

A3-W-B/Scranton Penguins vs. A6-Lehigh Valley Phantoms
(Lehigh Valley wins series, 2-0)

Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 24 – Lehigh Valley 2, W-B/SCRANTON 1 | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 26 – LEHIGH VALLEY 5, W-B/Scranton 4 (OT) | Recap

A1-Hershey Bears vs. A6-Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Game 1 – Wednesday, 7:00 ET,

Game 1 – Wed., May 1 – Lehigh Valley at Hershey, 7:00
Game 2 – Sat., May 4 – Lehigh Valley at Hershey, 7:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 8 – Hershey at Lehigh Valley, 7:05
*Game 4 – Sat., May 11 – Hershey at Lehigh Valley, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sun., May 12 – Lehigh Valley at Hershey, 7:00
*if necessary... All times Eastern

A2-Providence Bruins vs. CLT-HFD winner

N4-Belleville Senators vs. N5-Toronto Marlies
Game 3 – Today, 3:00 ET,
(Series tied, 1-1)

Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 24 – BELLEVILLE 3, Toronto 1 | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 26 – TORONTO 4, Belleville 3 (OT) | Recap
Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 28 – Toronto at Belleville, 3:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
The AHL’s first postseason Battle of Ontario comes down to a deciding Game 3 at CAA Arena in Belleville this afternoon... Toronto staved off elimination on Friday night with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 2... Dylan Gambrell scored 50 seconds into the extra frame as the Marlies won for the 10th time in their last 11 trips to OT in the Calder Cup Playoffs... Joseph Blandisi, who set up the winning goal, registered a goal and two assists for the game, while Marshall Rifai and Kyle Clifford notched a goal and an assist apiece... Dennis Hildeby made 31 saves to pick up the win in net... The Senators trailed 3-1 before Garrett Pilon scored a pair of power-play goals, including the equalizer with 20 seconds to play in regulation... Wyatt Bongiovanni and Jacob Larsson each tallied two assists, and Mads Sogaard stopped 24 shots in Game 2... The Senators fell to 0-3 in overtime in their postseason history... Toronto is 5-4 all-time in winner-take-all playoff games – including their Game 7 win in the 2018 Calder Cup Finals – but 0-4 on the road.

N2-Rochester Americans vs. N3-Syracuse Crunch
Game 2 – Today, 3:05 ET,
(Rochester leads series, 1-0)

Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 26 – ROCHESTER 3, Syracuse 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 28 – Syracuse at Rochester, 3:05
Game 3 – Thu., May 2 – Rochester at Syracuse, 7:00
*Game 4 – Sat., May 4 – Rochester at Syracuse, 7:00
*Game 5 – Fri., May 10 – Syracuse at Rochester, 7:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
Rochester holds a 1-0 series lead as it hosts Syracuse in Game 2 of their best-of-five North Division semifinal this afternoon at Blue Cross Arena... The Amerks coughed up a 2-0 lead in Game 1 on Friday night but pulled out a 3-2 victory on Isak Rosén’s winning goal with 9:39 left in regulation... Highly regarded Buffalo Sabres prospects Anton Wahlberg and Noah Östlund scored for Rochester in Game 1... Wahlberg, 18, was a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft; the 20-year-old Östlund was a first-rounder (16th overall) in 2022... Daniel Walcott and Jordy Bellerive scored Syracuse’s goals... The Amerks’ Devon Levi (35 saves) and the Crunch’s Brandon Halverson (23 saves) both made their professional playoff debuts in net on Friday... Rochester has won four straight postseason contests against Syracuse dating back to last year’s division semifinal meeting.

N1-Cleveland Monsters vs. BEL-TOR winner

C4-Texas Stars vs. C5-Manitoba Moose
(Texas wins series, 2-0)

Game 1 – Tue., Apr. 23 – TEXAS 6, Manitoba 3 | Recap
Game 2 – Thu., Apr. 25 – TEXAS 2, Manitoba 0 | Recap

C1-Milwaukee Admirals vs. C4-Texas Stars
Game 1 – Thursday, 8:00 ET,

Game 1 – Thu., May 2 – Milwaukee at Texas, 8:00
Game 2 – Sat., May 4 – Milwaukee at Texas, 8:00
Game 3 –Wed., May 8 – Texas at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 4 – Fri., May 10 – Texas at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 5 – Sun., May 12 – Texas at Milwaukee, 6:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

C2-Grand Rapids Griffins vs. C3-Rockford IceHogs
Game 2 – Wednesday, 7:00 ET,
(Grand Rapids leads series, 1-0)

Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 27 – Grand Rapids 3, ROCKFORD 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Wed., May 1 – Rockford at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 3 – Fri., May 3 – Rockford at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 4 – Sun., May 5 – Grand Rapids at Rockford, 5:00
*Game 5 – Fri., May 10 – Rockford at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

P2-Tucson Roadrunners vs. P7-Calgary Wranglers
(Calgary wins series, 2-0)

Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 24 – Calgary 2, TUCSON 0 | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 26 – Calgary 4, TUCSON 3 | Recap

P3-Ontario Reign vs. P6-Bakersfield Condors
(Ontario wins series, 2-0)

Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 24 – ONTARIO 5, Bakersfield 1 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 27 – Ontario 3, BAKERSFIELD 1 | Recap

P4-Colorado Eagles vs. P5-Abbotsford Canucks
Game 3 – Today, 5:05 ET,
(Series tied, 1-1)

Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 24 – Abbotsford 4, COLORADO 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 26 – COLORADO 5, Abbotsford 4 (OT) | Recap
Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 28 – Abbotsford at Colorado, 5:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
After extending their season with a 5-4 overtime win on Friday night, Colorado hosts Abbotsford in Game 3 today with a berth in the Pacific Division semifinals at stake... Chris Wagner deflected home a Brad Hunt shot 3:06 into OT for the Game 2 winner, pulling out the victory after the Canucks had come back from three goals down to tie it... Nikolai Kovalenko, Tanner Kero, Cal Burke and Spencer Smallman all scored to stake Colorado to a 4-1 lead before the midway point of the second period, but Abbotsford got goals from Christian Wolanin and Linus Karlsson before the end of the second, and Akito Hirose made it 4-4 with 9:13 to go in regulation... The Eagles are now 6-0 in postseason overtime games, while the Canucks dropped to 0-4... Ivan Prosvetov made 20 saves in the Game 2 win, including three stops early in OT... Zach Sawchenko, making back-to-back starts for the first time this season, finished with 24 stops for Abbotsford... Today’s winner moves on to face Ontario in the next round after the Reign finished a two-game sweep of Bakersfield last night.

P1-Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. P7-Calgary Wranglers
Game 1 – Friday, 9:00 ET,

Game 1 – Fri., May 3 – Coachella Valley at Calgary, 9:00
Game 2 – Sun., May 5 – Coachella Valley at Calgary, 6:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 8 – Calgary at Coachella Valley, 10:00
*Game 4 – Fri., May 10 – Calgary at Coachella Valley, 10:00
*Game 5 – Sun., May 12 – Calgary at Coachella Valley, 6:00
*if necessary... All times Eastern

P3-Ontario Reign vs. COL-ABB winner

Bakersfield Condors captain Brad Malone announced April 18 that he planned to retire at the end of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The end came last night when Ontario eliminated the Condors in Game 2 of their Pacific Division First Round series.

Malone came to the Condors before the 2017-18 season after AHL stints with Lake Erie, Hershey and Chicago. He ended up playing 552 AHL regular-season games and picking up 291 points (105 goals, 186 assists) over parts of 13 seasons, as well as earning 22 points in 28 postseason contests.

Malone also logged 217 games in the NHL with Colorado, Carolina and Edmonton.

― with files from Patrick Williams

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