AHL Morning Skate: May 1, 2024

A1-Hershey Bears vs. A6-Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Game 1 – Tonight, 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

GAME NOTES
Hershey and Lehigh Valley get their Atlantic Division semifinal series underway tonight at Giant Center as the Bears begin defense of their 2023 Calder Cup championship... The Bears, coming off the second-best regular season in AHL history (53-14-0-5, 111 points), have been idle since Apr. 20, when they concluded their schedule with a 4-1 loss to Charlotte... Hershey led the league allowing an average of 2.10 goals per game, and was even stingier against the Phantoms giving up 21 goals in 12 meetings (1.75) and shutting out Lehigh Valley four times... Joe Snively (14-45-59) led the Bears in scoring during the regular season; he was also Hershey’s leading scorer last postseason with 15 points in 20 games... Ethen Frank (29-18-47) paced the Bears in goals for the second year in a row... The Phantoms got past Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the first round, their first series victory since reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2018... Jacob Gaucher scored the decisive goal in Friday’s Game 2 win to complete the sweep of the Penguins... Thirteen different Lehigh Valley skaters recorded at least one point in their opening series, led by defenseman Louie Belpedio (0-4-4)... This is the sixth postseason series all-time between these franchises, and the first since 2017... Tonight is the 27th anniversary of the first-ever playoff game between the Bears and Phantoms, a 5-3 Hershey win over Philadelphia at the Spectrum in Game 1 of their 1997 Mid-Atlantic Division final series.

A2-Providence Bruins vs. A5-Hartford Wolf Pack
Game 1 – Tonight, 7:05 ET,

Game 1 – Wed., May 1 – Hartford at Providence, 7:05
Game 2 – Fri., May 3 – Hartford at Providence, 7:05
Game 3 – Wed., May 8 – Providence at Hartford, 7:00
*Game 4 – Fri., May 10 – Providence at Hartford, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sun., May 12 – Hartford at Providence, 3:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
Providence hosts Hartford in Game 1 of their Atlantic Division semifinal series at Amica Mutual Pavilion this evening... The Bruins got a first-round bye while the Wolf Pack battled back from a series-opening loss to upset Charlotte, two games to one... Dylan Garand picked up where he left off last postseason, stopping 106 of 111 shots against the Checkers (1.61, .955); Garand had a 1.76 GAA and a .935 save percentage in eight playoff starts in 2023... Garand had lost 12 consecutive decisions (0-10-2) before his Game 2 win on Saturday, and he came back with 38 saves in the 3-1 clincher on Sunday... Riley Nash (2-1-3), Brett Berard (1-2-3) and Nic Petan (1-2-3) led the Hartford offense with three points apiece in the series against Charlotte... The Wolf Pack and Bruins split their 10 meetings during the 2023-24 regular season, including a 4-2 Providence win in Game 72 on Apr. 21... Former Hartford forward Jayson Megna (19-37-56) led all Providence scorers with 3-6-9 in the season series... Georgii Merkulov (30-35-65) led the Bruins in goals and points during the regular season, and was the club’s first 30-goal scorer since Frank Vatrano in 2015-16... Tonight marks the start of the seventh Calder Cup Playoff series all-time between the Bruins and Wolf Pack; each team has won three series previously, most recently Hartford’s victory in the division semifinals a year ago.

N1-Cleveland Monsters vs. N4-Belleville Senators
Game 1 – Tonight, 7:00 ET,

Game 1 – Wed., May 1 – Cleveland at Belleville, 7:00
Game 2 – Fri., May 3 – Cleveland at Belleville, 7:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 8 – Belleville at Cleveland, 7:00
*Game 4 – Fri., May 10 – Belleville at Cleveland, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sun., May 12 – Belleville at Cleveland, 3:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
Coming off the first division title in franchise history, the Cleveland Monsters open their postseason with a Game 1 visit to Belleville in the North Division semifinals tonight... The Monsters won five of their last six games – including three games in 48 hours on the road over the final weekend of the regular season – to finish first in the North, while the Senators survived their first-round series with Toronto on Garrett Pilon’s clinching goal in overtime of Game 3 on Sunday... Belleville has now won 10 of its last 12 games going back to Mar. 30... Pilon, who also scored twice in Game 2 against the Marlies, had 4-6-10 during the 2023 postseason en route to winning the Calder Cup with Hershey and then posted a career-high 47 points for the Sens in 2023-24... Cleveland’s Jet Greaves won 30 games during the regular season – one off the AHL lead – and turned aside 97 of 103 shots (.942) while starting all three games over that last weekend of the regular season... Greaves was also 3-0-0 with a 1.33 GAA and a .961 save percentage against Belleville on the year... Trey Fix-Wolansky led the Monsters in goals (26), assists (34), points (60) and plus/minus (+17) this season... Cleveland (20-10-3-3) had the fourth-best road record in the league behind Coachella Valley (26-5-3-2), Hershey (24-7-0-5) and Ontario (23-12-1-0)... The Senators have won six in a row at CAA Arena.

N2-Rochester Americans vs. N3-Syracuse Crunch
Game 3 – Thursday, 7:00 ET,
(Series tied, 1-1)

Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 26 – ROCHESTER 3, Syracuse 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 28 – Syracuse 4, ROCHESTER 3 (OT) | Recap
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

C1-Milwaukee Admirals vs. C4-Texas Stars
Game 2 – 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 – Tonight, 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

GAME NOTES
Grand Rapids hosts Rockford in Game 2 of their best-of-five Central Division semifinal series holding a 1-0 lead after Saturday’s come-from-behind road win... Down 2-0, the Griffins scored twice in the third period before Jonatan Berggren potted the winning goal at 4:14 of overtime... Dominik Shine and Amadeus Lombardi scored the regulation goals for Grand Rapids, which had won eight games during the regular season after trailing through 40 minutes... Shine was the only player in the Griffins’ Game 1 lineup with previous Calder Cup Playoff experience... Sebastian Cossa made 20 saves in his Calder Cup Playoff debut and improved to 17-2-6 over his last 25 decisions... Jaxson Stauber stopped 34 shots for the IceHogs, who were outshot 37-22 for the game... Stauber suffered his first loss on home ice since Feb. 3... Michael Teplý and Zach Sanford provided the Rockford offense in Saturday’s opener... Both teams were 0-for-1 on the power play in Game 1... Rockford won four of its six visits to Van Andel Arena during the 2023-24 regular season, including a pair of shutout victories... Grand Rapids is 14-2 in Calder Cup Playoff series all-time when winning Game 1; Rockford is 0-8 when losing a series opener.

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. P5-Abbotsford Canucks
Game 1 – Tonight, 10:00 ET,

Game 1 – Wed., May 1 – Abbotsford at Ontario, 10:00
Game 2 – Sun., May 5 – Abbotsford at Ontario, 6:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 8 – Ontario at Abbotsford, 10:00
*Game 4 – Fri., May 10 – Ontario at Abbotsford, 10:00
*Game 5 – Sun., May 12 – Ontario at Abbotsford, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
Ontario and Abbotsford collide in the Pacific Division semifinals, with Game 1 set to go at Toyota Arena in Ontario, Calif., tonight... The Reign swept Bakersfield in the first round, while the Canucks got an overtime goal from captain Chase Wouters to eliminate Colorado in their winner-take-all Game 3 on Sunday... It was Abbotsford’s first OT playoff win in five tries all-time... Wouters also scored the game-winning goal in Game 1 against the Eagles; he has three game-winners in 196 career regular-season games for the Canucks... Arshdeep Bains (2-2-4) and Tristen Nielsen (0-4-4) are Abbotsford’s leading playoff scorers to date... Nielsen has 2-6-8 in nine games over the last two postseason... With Artūrs Šilovs and Nikita Tolopilo on recall to Vancouver, Zach Sawchenko – who made all of six appearances during the regular season – started all three games in the first round for Abbotsford and stopped 99 of 107 shots, including a 47-save effort in the decisive Game 3... Ontario got three goals from Tyler Madden (3-0-3) in its two-game victory over Bakersfield... Erik Portillo (2-0, 1.00, .964) allowed two goals on 55 shots in the series... The Reign and Canucks split their eight-game season series in 2023-24, but Ontario was 3-0-0-1 on home ice... Abbotsford forward Sheldon Dries led all scorers with 5-4-9 in six games against the Reign.

Cody Hodgson’s stay with the Milwaukee Admirals only lasted three months, but he made a lasting impression.

Hodgson, the 10th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, had been out of hockey since 2016 following a 328-game NHL career. Malignant hyperthermia, a genetic disorder, had seemingly ended Hodgson’s playing career at age 26.

Until Jan. 17 of this year, that is. That’s when Hodgson signed a professional tryout agreement with Milwaukee. It was familiar ground: he had spent the 2015-16 season between Milwaukee and Nashville before being forced off the ice.

After eight years away, Hodgson adapted quickly and fit in well. Helping to manage it was Admirals head coach Karl Taylor, who was an AHL assistant coach for the Vancouver Canucks organization when Hodgson was an NHL rookie in Vancouver.

“He’s a great individual,” Taylor said. “He went through a real hard time, and he just wanted to give it the old college try. He was a great pro. He worked really hard, did a lot of great things for us.

“There’s not many people in this world that would have attempted what he did. So it tells me a lot about him. He was a great teammate. The guys loved him. He was all-in. He still had a little old-school in him, which is great around the guys, and he was a joy to be around.”

Hodgson played his first game on Jan. 24 but suffered a broken rib. On Feb. 22, he scored his first goal. On a Milwaukee team brimming with prospects, players who are barely into their 20’s, Taylor wanted them to pay close attention. This was someone who had made it to the NHL. Moreover, he had stuck in the NHL. He had been what these players hope to become someday. And then a health issue took it away.

“You’re able to look at someone who lost the opportunity,” Taylor continued. “He was able to share some things for these young guys that we have here so they understand you don’t get to play forever, unfortunately. Make the most of your time now.”

Hodgson played his final game with the Admirals on Apr. 14. He finished his stint with six goals and two assists in 13 games.

Said Taylor: “Our team is better today because Cody was part of our team.”

With the Washington Capitals falling in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the cavalry has arrived for the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears.

The Bears received a seven-player contingent from their NHL parent club following the Capitals’ season-ending loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday night. Hershey’s title defense starts tonight against Lehigh Valley with Game 1 of the teams’ Atlantic Division semifinal series at Giant Center.

Lucas Johansen, Vincent Iorio and Bears captain Dylan McIlrath all saw playoff action on the Washington blue line. (Iorio was injured in Game 1 against the Rangers and will rehab in Hershey, eligible to rejoin the Bears when he is healthy again.) Forwards Hendrix Lapierre and Ivan Miroshnichenko are also back after making their Stanley Cup Playoff debuts. Defenseman Hardy Häman Aktell and third-string goaltender Mitch Gibson were extras for the Caps; Haman Aktell played 55 games for Hershey this season, while Gibson spent most of the year with South Carolina (ECHL).

McIlrath, Johansen, Lapierre and Iorio were all part of the Bears’ championship club last season.

― with files from Patrick Williams

In Tuesday’s Stanley Cup Playoff action, 2022 Calder Cup champions Jack Drury and Stefan Noesen scored eight seconds apart early in the third period to send Carolina to a series-clinching 6-3 victory over the New York Islanders... 2023 AHL All-Star Joseph Woll made 27 saves as Toronto defeated Boston, 2-1 in overtime... 2016 AHL All-Star Mikko Rantanen recorded two goals and an assist as Colorado eliminated Winnipeg with a 6-3 win... Alexandre Carrier’s first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal was the game-winner in Nashville’s 2-1 victory at Vancouver.

Watch the Calder Cup Playoffs on AHLTV
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2024 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 to watch every game for the entire postseason, or just $8.99 for a day pass. Visit AHLTV.com for details.