Take a game-day spin around the AHL ice with latest from around the Calder Cup Playoffs in today’s Morning Skate.
Complete Schedule || Playoff Brackets || Today’s Scoreboard || League Leaders
Tonight’s Previews
Game 4 – 7:00 ET, AHL Live (MCH leads series, 2-1)
@MonarchsHockey | @PortlandPirates | #MCHvsPOR
Portland hosts Manchester in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series tonight, looking to repeat Sunday’s season-saving performance… Francis Wathier (1-0-1) scored with 2.9 seconds left in regulation to give the Pirates a 3-2 win in Game 3 after the Monarchs had won the first two games of the series by a combined score of 11-4… It was the fourth goal in 57 career Calder Cup Playoff games for Wathier… Phil Lane (1-1-2) and Eric Selleck (1-0-1) also scored for Portland in Game 3… Seven different players have scored the seven Pirates goals in the series… After making relief appearances in Games 1 and 2, Louis Domingue (1-1, 2.19, .925) stopped 31 shots in Game 3 to pick up his first AHL playoff win… Jordan Weal (4-2-6) had a goal and an assist for Manchester on Sunday and now leads the AHL in playoff scoring with six points in the series… Michael Mersch (3-2-5) has three goals in the last two games… The Monarchs, who ranked first in the league on the power play in the regular season, are 3-for-17 (17.6 percent) in the series; the Pirates, who were 27th in the regular season, are 3-for-12 (25.0 percent)… Sunday’s victory was Portland’s first in seven playoff games all-time vs. Manchester… The Monarchs have not lost back-to-back games in regulation since Oct. 25 and Oct. 31, 2014… Portland is now 11-14 all-time when facing elimination; Manchester is 4-10 with a chance to close out a series.
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals – Series “A” (best-of-5)
1-Manchester Monarchs vs. 8-Portland Pirates
Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 23 – MANCHESTER 5, Portland 2
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 25 – MANCHESTER 6, Portland 2
Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 26 – PORTLAND 3, Manchester 2
Game 4 – Thu., Apr. 30 – Manchester at Portland, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 2 – Portland at Manchester, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
About Last Night…
IceHogs snuff out Stars
Barons put Rampage away in OT…again
Playoff return worth the wait for Comets fans
Pulkkinen, Griffins stay alive
Penguins sweep aside Crunch
Sharks stay alive with Game 3 win
Working Overtime
There have been six overtime games played in the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs so far… Home teams are 4-2:
*Apr. 29 – ROCKFORD 3, Texas 2 (Stephen Johns, 0:23)
*Apr. 29 – Oklahoma City 2, SAN ANTONIO 1 (Jujhar Khaira, 5:01)
Apr. 29 – UTICA 2, Chicago 1 (Darren Archibald, 10:58)
Apr. 26 – PROVIDENCE 2, Hartford 1 (Seth Griffith, 42:00)
Apr. 25 – OKLAHOMA CITY 4, San Antonio 3 (Connor Jones, 4:01)
Apr. 22 – Utica 3, CHICAGO 2 (Bobby Sanguinetti, 23:10)
*series clincher
0-2 Holes
Entering this postseason, 87 teams in AHL history had lost the first two games of a best-of-five Calder Cup Playoff series, and only 10 rallied to win the series (11.5 percent)… The last team to pull off the comeback was the Providence Bruins in 2013, winning three straight to eliminate the Hershey Bears.
Alumni Watch
2012 Second Team AHL All-Star Ben Bishop made 31 saves and 2006 AHL All-Star Braydon Coburn scored the winning goal early in the third period as Tampa Bay defeated Detroit, 2-0, in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference First Round Series last night… Petr Mrazek, also a former AHL All-Star and a Calder Cup champion in 2013, stopped 15 of 16 shots in the loss for the Red Wings… Carey Price, MVP of the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs with Hamilton, was named one of three finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player for 2014-15.
AHL Live
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2015 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.
