AHL Morning Skate: June 1

Take a game-day spin around the AHL ice with latest from around the American Hockey League in today’s Morning Skate.

Complete Schedule || Playoff Brackets || Today’s Scoreboard || League Leaders || Series Previews

Tonight’s Previews

syr  wbs  
Game 5 – 7:05 ET, AHL Live
(SYR leads series, 3-1)

Syracuse closed to within one win of the Calder Cup Finals with a come-from-behind 4-2 victory in Wilkes-Barre last night… The Eastern Conference Finals now head back up Interstate 81 for Game 5 tonight at the Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter with the Crunch up three games to one… Syracuse trailed 1-0 and 2-1, but needed 1:17 and 1:32 to score the equalizer each time… Brendan Mikkelson (2-0-2), Brett Connolly (3-5-8), Tyler Johnson (9-7-16) and J.T. Wyman (3-3-6) scored for Syracuse in Game 4, while Ondrej Palat (4-15-19) took over sole possession of the league playoff scoring lead with two assists… Scott Harrington (1-0-1), making his professional debut, and Jayson Megna (2-3-5), in his first appearance of the series, scored for the Penguins… Harrington was a second-round selection of Pittsburgh in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft… Cedrick Desjardins (10-1, 2.02, .913) made 21 saves as Syracuse improved to 5-0 on the road during the 2013 postseason… Brad Thiessen (6-4, 1.41, .951) stopped 20 of 23 shots for the Penguins… Syracuse has held Wilkes-Barre to 86 shots on goal for the series (21.5 per game)… After Norfolk went 15-3 in last year’s run to the Calder Cup, Tampa Bay’s affiliate has won 25 of 29 games over the last two AHL postseasons… Syracuse now has three chances to eliminate Wilkes-Barre, which in the last round became just the third team in AHL history to win a series that it had trailed 3-0… The Penguins are 21-11 (.656) all-time when facing elimination, including 7-7 on the road… The Crunch are 6-12 all-time with a chance to close out a series.

Eastern Conference Finals – Series “M”
3-Syracuse Crunch vs. 5-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Game 1 – Sat., May 25 – W-B/Scranton 4, SYRACUSE 2
Game 2 – Sun., May 26 – SYRACUSE 3, W-B/Scranton 2
Game 3 – Wed., May 29 – Syracuse 2, W-B/SCRANTON 0
Game 4 – Fri., May 31 – Syracuse at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Game 5 – Sat., June 1 – W-B/Scranton at Syracuse, 7:00
*Game 6 – Mon., June 3 – Syracuse at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 7 – Wed., June 5 – W-B/Scranton at Syracuse, 7:00
   *if necessary… All times Eastern

gr  okc  
Game 4 – 8:00 ET, AHL Live
(OKC leads series, 2-1)

Oklahoma City and Grand Rapids will try again to play Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals tonight at the Cox Convention Center… A tornado emergency in downtown Oklahoma City forced an evacuation of the building prior to the scheduled start of warm-ups last night and eventually caused a postponement… Game 5, originally scheduled for tonight, will be played Sunday at 4 CT… It was the first postponement of a Calder Cup Playoff game since Apr. 26, 2006, when a power failure at Ricoh Coliseum caused a game between Grand Rapids and Toronto to be pushed back a day… The Barons still enter tonight’s contest with a 2-1 series lead after Wednesday’s 4-1 win over the Griffins… Ben Eager (1-2-3), Josh Green (4-8-12), Philippe Cornet (2-7-9) and Jonathan Cheechoo (3-7-10) scored for Oklahoma City in Game 3… Cheechoo leads all scorers with 1-3-4 in the series, while Teemu Hartikainen (6-8-14) has added 2-1-3… Chad Billins (2-4-6) recorded the Griffins’ only goal on Wednesday… Oklahoma City’s Yann Danis (9-4, 2.07, .934) and Grand Rapids’ Petr Mrazek (8-6, 2.23, .911) have started every game for their respective teams this postseason… The Griffins have lost back-to-back games for the first time since a three-game skid from Apr. 10-13… Oklahoma City is 1-for-11 on the power play in the series, while Grand Rapids is on an 0-for-12 slide (0-for-9 in the series).

Western Conference Finals – Series “N” (best-of-7)
3-Grand Rapids Griffins vs. 5-Oklahoma City Barons

Game 1 – Fri., May 24 – GRAND RAPIDS 2, Oklahoma City 1
Game 2 – Sat., May 25 – Oklahoma City 4, GRAND RAPIDS 2
Game 3 – Wed., May 29 – OKLAHOMA CITY 4, Grand Rapids 1
Game 4 – Sat., June 1 – Grand Rapids at Oklahoma City, 8:00
Game 5 – Sun., June 2 – Grand Rapids at Oklahoma City, 5:00
*Game 6 – Tue., June 4 – Oklahoma City at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., June 5 – Oklahoma City at Grand Rapids, 7:00
   *if necessary… All times Eastern

The 3-1 Hole
Eighteen teams in AHL history have come back to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 3-1, including eight in the last decade:

2013 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins def. Providence Bruins (trailed 3-0)
2011 – Manitoba Moose def. Lake Erie Monsters
2011 – Binghamton Senators def. Manchester Monarchs
2010 – Abbotsford Heat def. Rochester Americans
2008 – Toronto Marlies def. Syracuse Crunch
2005 – Cincinnati Mighty Ducks def. Milwaukee Admirals
2004 – Rochester Americans def. Syracuse Crunch
2004 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins def. Bridgeport Sound Tigers
2000 – Hartford Wolf Pack def. Providence Bruins
1997 – Hershey Bears def. Springfield Falcons
1992 – Rochcester Americans def. Binghamton Rangers
1991 – Springfield Indians def. Fredericton Canadiens
1989 – Adirondack Red Wings def. Hershey Bears (trailed 3-0)
1973 – Virginia Wings def. Hershey Bears
1960 – Rochester Americans def. Cleveland Barons (trailed 3-0)
1949 – Providence Reds def. Hershey Bears
1947 – Hershey Bears def. Pittsburgh Hornets
1946 – Buffalo Bisons def. Cleveland Barons

Series Synergies
The Pittsburgh-Boston conference final matchup in the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begins tonight, comes one round after the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins faced the Providence Bruins in the Calder Cup conference semis, marking the 15th time since 1995 that NHL teams and their AHL affiliates met each other in the same postseason:

2013 – Pittsburgh vs. Boston… Wilkes-Barre/Scranton vs. Providence
2013 – Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa… Wilkes-Barre/Scranton vs. Binghamton
2011 – Pittsburgh vs. Tampa Bay… Wilkes-Barre/Scranton vs. Norfolk
2009 – Pittsburgh vs. Washington… Wilkes-Barre/Scranton vs. Hershey
2008 – Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia… Wilkes-Barre/Scranton vs. Philadelphia
2003 – Ottawa vs. N.Y. Islanders… Binghamton vs. Bridgeport
2002 – Toronto vs. N.Y. Islanders… St. John’s vs. Bridgeport
2001 – Buffalo vs. Philadelphia… Rochester vs. Philadelphia
1999 – Buffalo vs. Boston… Rochester vs. Providence
1999 – Colorado vs. San Jose… Hershey vs. Kentucky
1998 – Buffalo vs. Philadelphia… Rochester vs. Philadelphia
1997 – Colorado vs. Edmonton… Hershey vs. Hamilton
1995 – New Jersey vs. Detroit… Albany vs. Adirondack
1995 – New Jersey vs. Boston… Albany vs. Providence
1995 – N.Y. Rangers vs. Quebec… Binghamton vs. Cornwall

Road Warriors
AHL teams are 28-33 on the road this postseason, but all four conference finalists have records of .500 or better away from home:

1.000 – Syracuse (5-0)
.667 – Hershey (2-1)
.625 – W-B/Scranton (5-3)
.600 – Providence (3-2)
.571 – Oklahoma City (4-3)
.500 – Grand Rapids (3-3)
.500 – Toronto (2-2)
.500 – Charlotte (1-1)
.333 – Houston (1-2)
.250 – Springfield (1-3)
.200 – Texas (1-4)
.000 – Binghamton (0-1)
.000 – Manchester (0-2)
.000 – Milwaukee (0-2)
.000 – Portland (0-2)
.000 – Rochester (0-2)

Eastern Conference Finals History
The Richard F. Canning Trophy is presented each season to the playoff champions of the AHL’s Eastern Conference… Either Syracuse or Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will be the 10th consecutive conference champion to come out of the East Division… Here are the results of the Eastern Conference Finals since the league split into two conferences in 1995-96:

2012 – Norfolk Admirals 4, St. John’s IceCaps 0
2011 – Binghamton Senators 4, Charlotte Checkers 0
2010 – Hershey Bears 4, Manchester Monarchs 2
2009 – Hershey Bears 4, Providence Bruins 1
2008 – W-B/Scranton Penguins 4, Portland Pirates 3
2007 – Hershey Bears 4, Manchester Monarchs 0
2006 – Hershey Bears 4, Portland Pirates 3
2005 – Philadelphia Phantoms 4, Providence Bruins 2
2004 – W-B/Scranton Penguins 4, Hartford Wolf Pack 3
2003 – Hamilton Bulldogs 4, Binghamton Senators 1
2002 – Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4, Hamilton Bulldogs 3
2001 – Saint John Flames 4, Providence Bruins 1
2000 – Hartford Wolf Pack 4, Providence Bruins 3
1999 – Providence Bruins 4, Fredericton Canadiens 2
1998 – Saint John Flames 4, Hartford Wolf Pack 1
*1997 – Hamilton Bulldogs 4, Albany River Rats 1
*1996 – Portland Pirates 4, Saint John Flames 3
  *known as Northern Conference

Western Conference Finals History
The Robert W. Clarke Trophy is presented each season to the playoff champions of the AHL’s Western Conference… Either Grand Rapids or Oklahoma City will be the eighth different conference champion in the last eight years… Here are the results of the Western Conference Finals since the league split into two conferences in 1995-96:

2012 – Toronto Marlies 4, Oklahoma City Barons 1
2011 – Houston Aeros 4, Hamilton Bulldogs 3
2010 – Texas Stars 4, Hamilton Bulldogs 3
2009 – Manitoba Moose 4, Houston Aeros 2
2008 – Chicago Wolves 4, Toronto Marlies 1
2007 – Hamilton Bulldogs 4, Chicago Wolves 1
2006 – Milwaukee Admirals 4, Grand Rapids Griffins 0
2005 – Chicago Wolves 4, Manitoba Moose 0
2004 – Milwaukee Admirals 4, Rochester Americans 1
2003 – Houston Aeros 4, Grand Rapids Griffins 3
2002 – Chicago Wolves 4, Houston Aeros 1
2001 – W-B/Scranton Penguins 4, Hershey Bears 0
2000 – Rochester Americans 4, Hershey Bears 0
1999 – Rochester Americans 4, Philadelphia Phantoms 2
1998 – Philadelphia Phantoms 4, Albany River Rats 2
*1997 – Hershey Bears 4, Springfield Falcons 3
*1996 – Rochester Americans 4, Syracuse Crunch 1
  *known as Southern Conference

Working Overtime
There have been 13 overtime games played in the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs so far… Road teams are 10-3:

Apr. 26 – Texas 3, MILWAUKEE 2 (Brett Ritchie, 11:44)
Apr. 26 – Charlotte 4, OKLAHOMA CITY 3 (Brody Sutter, 3:06)
Apr. 27 – SPRINGFIELD 2, Manchester 1 (Cody Bass, 10:36)
Apr. 27 – W-B/Scranton 3, BINGHAMTON 2 (Chad Kolarik, 8:18)
Apr. 27 – SYRACUSE 4, Portland 3 (Richard Panik, 6:36)
Apr. 28 – Hershey 5, PROVIDENCE 4 (Jon DiSalvatore, 3:05)
Apr. 28 – SPRINGFIELD 3, Manchester 2 (Cody Bass, 18:44)
*May 1 – Toronto 3, ROCHESTER 2 (Will Acton, 5:14)
*May 2 – Syracuse 4, PORTLAND 3 (Ondrej Palat, 19:43)
*May 4 – Springfield 4, MANCHESTER 3 (Nick Drazenovic, 8:06)
May 9 – Oklahoma City 2, TEXAS 1 (Anton Lander, 1:28)
May 15 – Providence 2, W-B/SCRANTON 1 (Carter Camper, 0:31)
May 20 – W-B/Scranton 2, PROVIDENCE 1 (Trevor Smith, 3:26)
  *indicates goal ended series

AHL Live
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2013 Calder Cup championship. AHL Live brings AHL action to your computer all season long with live video webcasts and highlights of every AHL game, as well as behind-the-scenes features and interviews in the Video On Demand section… Visit ahllive.com for details.