AHL Morning Skate: April 29, 2023

 


A1-Providence Bruins vs. A5-Hartford Wolf Pack
Game 2 – Tonight, 7:05 ET,
(Hartford leads series, 1-0)

Game 1 - Fri., Apr. 28 - Hartford 1, PROVIDENCE 0 | Recap
Game 2 - Sat., Apr. 29 - Hartford at Providence, 7:05
Game 3 - Wed., May 3 - Providence at Hartford, 7:00
*Game 4 - Fri., May 5 - Providence at Hartford, 7:00
*Game 5 - Sun., May 7 - Hartford at Providence, 7:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
Providence hosts Hartford in Game 2 this evening following the Wolf Pack’s 1-0 victory in the series opener last night... Bobby Trivigno (2-1-3) scored the game’s only goal with 4:37 remaining in the second period and Dylan Garand (3-0, 0.67, .966) needed just 14 saves to earn Hartford’s first postseason shutout since 2012 (Cam Talbot)... Adam Sykora (0-1-1), a second-round draft pick by the New York Rangers in 2022, picked up an assist for his first AHL point... Blake Hillman (2-2-4) also recorded an assist on Trivigno’s goal and has four points in three playoff games after totaling 0-5-5 in 29 games during the regular season... Making his postseason debut, Brandon Bussi stopped 31 of 32 shots for the Bruins... The 14 shots against were the fewest in Wolf Pack franchise playoff history... Hartford has won 11 of its last 12 games going back to the regular season, outscoring its opponents 50-12.


A2-Hershey Bears vs. A3-Charlotte Checkers
Game 2 – Tonight, 6:00 ET,
(Hershey leads series, 1-0)

Game 1 - Fri., Apr. 28 - Hershey 5, CHARLOTTE 2 | Recap
Game 2 - Sat., Apr. 29 - Hershey at Charlotte, 6:00
Game 3 - Wed., May 3 - Charlotte at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 4 - Thu., May 4 - Charlotte at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 5 - Sun., May 7 - Charlotte at Hershey, 5:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
Hershey and Charlotte drop the puck on Game 2 of their Atlantic Division semifinal series following the Bears’ 5-2 win in last night’s opener... Playing its first game since wrapping up the regular season 13 days earlier, Hershey raced out to a 4-0 lead by the 4:03 mark of the second period on goals from Mike VecchioneAliaksei ProtasHendrix Lapierre and Connor McMichael... Hunter Shepard finished with 22 saves to earn the victory in his Calder Cup Playoff debut... Defensemen Lucas Carlsson (3-2-5) and Santtu Kinnunen (2-3-5) scored for the Checkers; six of Charlotte’s 16 goals this postseason have come from their blue line... Aleksi Heponiemi (0-6-6) recorded an assist and is tied for the AHL lead with six playoff helpers... Mack Guzda (1-2, 4.55, .833) allowed three goals on seven shots before being pulled for the second time in three playoff starts; J.F. Berube (1-0, 0.47, .982) stopped 16 of 17 shots in relief... Charlotte also lost Game 1 in the first round before winning the next two to eliminate Lehigh Valley.


N1-Toronto Marlies vs. N4-Utica Comets
Game 3 – Today, 4:00 ET,
(Toronto leads series, 1-0)

Game 1 - Thu., Apr. 27 - TORONTO 6, Utica 5 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 - Sat., Apr. 29 - Utica at Toronto, 4:00
Game 3 - Wed., May 3 - Toronto at Utica, 7:00
*Game 4 - Fri., May 5 - Toronto at Utica, 7:00
*Game 5 - Sun., May 7 - Utica at Toronto, 4:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
Toronto hosts Utica in Game 2 of their best-of-five series this afternoon looking to build on Thursday night’s roller-coaster ride of a victory... The Marlies took a 1-0 series lead with a 6-5 overtime win in Game 1, as Joseph Blandisi scored 18:35 into the extra session... Toronto erased a 3-0 deficit with three goals in a span of 8:16 during the second period, then turned a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead with goals 58 seconds apart midway through the third... The Comets forced overtime on Alexander Holtz’s goal with 51.6 seconds remaining, marking the second game in a row in which Utica scored a tying goal in the final minute of regulation... Blandisi (1-2-3) and Logan Shaw (2-1-3) had three-point nights for the Marlies, and Keith Petruzzelli stopped 40 shots in his Calder Cup Playoff debut... Reilly Walsh (4-0-4) scored twice for the Comets; the defenseman has goals in each of Utica’s first three games this postseason... Graeme Clarke (1-3-4) tallied a goal and two assists for the Comets in Game 1... Nico Daws (2-1, 2.12, .935) finished with 43 saves... Both teams went 1-for-3 on the power play in Thursday’s opener... Toronto has now won eight consecutive Game 1’s going back to their Calder Cup championship run in 2018.


N2-Syracuse Crunch vs. N3-Rochester Americans
Game 4 – Sunday, 3:05 ET,
(Syracuse leads series, 2-1)

Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 21 – SYRACUSE 3, Rochester 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 22 – SYRACUSE 3, Rochester 0 | Recap
Game 3 - Fri., Apr. 28 - ROCHESTER 8, Syracuse 5 | Recap
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


C1-Texas Stars vs. C5-Rockford IceHogs
Game 2 – Sunday, 5:00 ET,
(Texas leads series, 1-0)

Game 1 - Fri., Apr. 28 - Texas 5, ROCKFORD 3 | Recap
Game 2 - Sun., Apr. 30 - Texas at Rockford, 5:00
Game 3 - Wed., May 3 - Rockford at Texas, 8:00
*Game 4 - Fri., May 5 - Rockford at Texas, 8:00
*Game 5 - Sat., May 6 - Rockford at Texas, 8:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern


C2-Milwaukee Admirals vs. C3-Manitoba Moose
Game 2 – Sunday, 3:00 ET,
(Milwaukee leads series, 1-0)

Game 1 - Fri., Apr. 28 - Milwaukee 6, MANITOBA 2 | Recap
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


P1-Calgary Wranglers vs. P4-Abbotsford Canucks
Game 3 – Wednesday, 10:00 ET,
(Calgary leads series, 2-0)

Game 1 - Wed., Apr. 26 - CALGARY 3, Abbotsford 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 - Fri., Apr. 28 - CALGARY 4, Abbotsford 3 (OT) | Recap
Game 3 - Wed., May 3 - Calgary at Abbotsford, 10:00
*Game 4 - Fri., May 5 - Calgary at Abbotsford, 10:00
*Game 5 - Sun., May 7 - Calgary at Abbotsford, 10:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern


P2-Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. P3-Colorado Eagles
Game 3 – Sunday, 6:00 ET,
(Series tied, 1-1)

Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 26 – Coachella Valley 6, COLORADO 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Thu., Apr. 27 – COLORADO 3, Coachella Valley 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 30 – Colorado at Coachella Valley, 6:00
Game 4 – Wed., May 3 – Colorado at Coachella Valley, 10:00
*Game 5 – Fri., May 5 – Colorado at Coachella Valley, 10:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

The Rochester Americans showed up last night to fight for their season.

Now they will have another opportunity to do so Sunday afternoon after an 8-5 win over Syracuse in Game 3 of their North Division semifinal.

Rochester had to fend off a Crunch team that continued to push and broke three Rochester leads, including a two-goal advantage during a wild third period in which the clubs combined for eight goals. But the Amerks scored four times in the final 4:39 and staved off elimination.

“This group has always had a real resilience, a fighting spirit, and a collectiveness to it,” Amerks head coach Seth Appert said via the team website. “As a coach, that’s what you want to have. You love a group that doesn’t give in, and they fight for each other.

“This is real playoff hockey.”

The Amerks showed that fighting spirit against an opponent that had frustrated them in a Game 2 in which Rochester did not manage a single shot on goal during the first period of a 3-0 loss.

But Appert and his club had five days between games to adjust, and they did, taking leads of 1-0, 2-1, 4-2 and 6-5 before finally putting the Crunch away with two late empty-netters.

“The guys have had a really good week,” Appert continued. “We were frustrated and a little down after last weekend. I just liked our response all week, the way they came to the meetings, the way they came to practice. We played an attacking game, which is when we’re at our best offensively and defensively.”

Milwaukee Admirals head coach Karl Taylor had an influx of faces returning from the Nashville Predators, but he knew one thing: he also had a tight-knit group that would put the team’s best interests first.

In Game 1 against Manitoba last night, Luke Evangelista, Mark Jankowski, Michael McCarron, Zach Sanford, Kiefer Sherwood, Spencer Stastney and Phil Tomasino all returned to the lineup after finishing the regular season in Nashville.

Taylor had acknowledged that he had difficult decisions — and discussions — on who would dress for the playoff opener. Veteran defenseman Roland McKeown and forwards Isaac Ratcliffe and Tim Schaller ended up sitting out the 6-2 Admirals victory.

“I think the group is tight,” Taylor told the team website after the game. “I think they’ve been that way all year even with the roster movement we’ve had. I think they truly care about each other. Sometimes we throw around those words loosely, but this group is very invested in each other and invested in what we’re doing here.

“Our energy, our determination, and our emotion in the game and trying to support each other was outstanding. That goes a long way as a team as you’re trying to win games in the playoffs.”

Goaltenders Arvid Holm and Oskari Salminen rejoined the Moose before Game 1, returning from the Winnipeg Jets after the NHL club was eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday night by the Vegas Golden Knights. They arrived back in Winnipeg on the NHL club’s flight home from Las Vegas.

Holm dressed for Game 1 with the Moose and was pressed into action when head coach Mark Morrison pulled starter Evan Cormier after the Admirals scored on three of their first seven shots. Holm finished out the game with 14 stops.

The goaltending upheaval was new territory for the Moose, who saw Salminen and Holm start 70 of their 72 regular-season games. Cormier only made two AHL appearances this season before his Game 1 start, both during the final week of the regular season.

“It’s playoff hockey. You’re never out of it.”

Calgary Wranglers head coach Mitch Love had a good feeling even after his club went down 3-1 to Abbotsford after two periods in Game 2 of the teams’ Pacific Division semifinal series last night.

“Our guys sensed that,” Love told the media after the game. “I think they felt like they were playing a better hockey game than we did in Game 1.”

The Wranglers got goals from Ben Jones and Dryden Hunt early in the third period to tie the game, and Matthew Phillips finished it in overtime to give Calgary a 2-0 series lead.

“He’s a gamer,” Love said of Phillips, his First Team AHL All-Star. “He senses big moments in big games. He’s a consummate pro, and we’re fortunate to have him on our side. He’s a courageous little guy.”

Two nights after Jakob Pelletier had scored the overtime winner in Game 1, Phillips became Calgary’s latest hero.

“It’s great, kind of a pinch-myself type thing,” Phillips said of playing postseason hockey in his native Calgary. “Just driving in, a playoff game here in this atmosphere, a Canadian match-up. It’s tons of fun, just trying to soak it all in.”

― Patrick Williams

#AHLGrads
In action around the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs last night, Charlotte Checkers captain Zac Dalpe scored his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal to help Florida to a 7-5 win over Boston, forcing a Game 7 in their series... Frederik Andersen made 33 saves in his first start of the series to backstop Carolina to a 2-1 overtime victory and a 4-2 series win over the N.Y. Islanders... 2018 Calder Cup champion Mason Marchment tallied a goal and an assist and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves as Dallas eliminated Minnesota with a 4-1 victory... 2017 AHL All-Star Devon Toews notched three assists as Colorado staved off elimination with a 4-1 win at Seattle.

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