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
Game 6 – 7:05 ET, AHL Live (PRO leads series, 3-2)
After extending their season with a pair of weekend wins on home ice, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head back to Providence for Game 6 tonight still trailing their Eastern Conference semifinal series three games to two… Of the 126 teams in AHL history to lose the first three games of a best-of-seven playoff series, Wilkes-Barre is just the 16th to win the next two; only three clubs have ever clawed all the way back to reach a Game 7… Brad Thiessen (3-1, 1.08, .959) made 30 saves for his third career playoff shutout on Saturday night, backstopping the Penguins to a 4-0 victory in Game 5… Thiessen owns a 0.82 goals-against average and a .970 save percentage in the series, stopping 97 of 100 Providence shots since taking over for the second period of Game 2… Rookie defenseman Brian Dumoulin (1-4-5) notched a goal and two assists in Saturday’s win… Dumoulin was also a plus-1, and has been even or better in 29 of his last 33 games… Trevor Smith (2-5-7), Adam Payerl (1-1-2) and Paul Thompson (3-3-6) also scored for the Penguins on Saturday… Niklas Svedberg (6-4, 3.25, .895) made 25 saves for Providence… Bruins forwards Chris Bourque (5-8-13), Jamie Tardif (7-3-10) and Ryan Spooner (2-3-5) were held without a point for all three games in Wilkes-Barre after combining for 8-8-16 in Games 1 and 2 at home… Carter Camper (8-5-13) saw his eight-game scoring streak end in Saturday’s shutout loss… The Penguins scored three power-play goals in Game 5, improving to a league-best 11-for-42 (26.2 percent) this postseason; Providence’s penalty killing has dropped to 15th of 16 playoff teams (73.1 percent)… Wilkes-Barre’s 19-11 record all-time when facing elimination includes a 5-7 mark on the road… Providence has not lost a potential close-out game on home ice since Game 6 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals vs. Hartford.
Eastern Conference Semifinal – Series “I” (best-of-7)
1-Providence Bruins vs. 5-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Game 1 – Fri., May 10 – PROVIDENCE 8, W-B/Scranton 5
Game 2 – Sat., May 11 – PROVIDENCE 4, W-B/Scranton 2
Game 3 – Wed., May 15 – Providence 2, W-B/SCRANTON 1 (OT)
Game 4 – Fri., May 17 – W-B/SCRANTON 3, Providence 1
Game 5 – Sat., May 18 – W-B/SCRANTON 4, Providence 0
Game 6 – Mon., May 20 – W-B/Scranton at Providence, 7:05
*Game 7 – Wed., May 22 – W-B/Scranton at Providence, 7:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
About Last Night…
In Sunday’s Stanley Cup Playoff action, Colin Greening scored 7:39 into the second overtime period to give Ottawa a 2-1 win over Pittsburgh in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series… Andre Benoit and Erik Condra, teammates of Greening’s on the 2011 Calder Cup champion Binghamton Senators, assisted on the winner… Ottawa’s lineup included eight former Calder Cup winners, including six from Binghamton’s title squad… Craig Anderson, who spent five seasons in the AHL between 2001 and 2007, made 49 saves in the win for the Senators… Torey Krug notched a goal and an assist to help Boston to a 5-2 win over the N.Y. Rangers in Game 2 of their series yesterday afternoon… Krug had three assists in seven Calder Cup Playoff games with Providence before being recalled last week… Providence Bruins alumni combined for 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in the win for Boston, while former P-Bruins All-Star Tuukka Rask made 35 saves.
Staying Alive
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is the 16th team in AHL history to force a Game 6 after losing the first three in a best-of-seven series:
2013 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. Providence Bruins
2011 – Hamilton Bulldogs vs. Houston Aeros (lost in 7)
2009 – Houston Aeros vs. Manitoba Moose (lost in 6)
2008 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. Chicago Wolves (lost in 6)
2007 – Worcester Sharks vs. Manchester Monarchs (lost in 6)
2006 – Providence Bruins vs. Portland Pirates (lost in 6)
2001 – Philadelphia Phantoms vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (lost in 6)
1999 – Fredericton Canadiens vs. Providence Bruins (lost in 6)
1995 – Providence Bruins vs. Albany River Rats (lost in 6)
1995 – Hershey Bears vs. Cornwall Aces (lost in 6)
1992 – Hershey Bears vs. Rochester Americans (lost in 6)
1991 – Baltimore Skipjacks vs. Binghamton Rangers (lost in 6)
1989 – Adirondack Red Wings vs. Hershey Bears (won in 7)
1981 – Nova Scotia Voyageurs vs. New Brunswick Hawks (lost in 6)
1974 – Nova Scotia Voyageurs vs. Providence Reds (lost in 6)
1960 – Rochester Americans vs. Cleveland Barons (won in 7)
It’s Been Done Before
The 1960 Rochester Americans (vs. Cleveland) and the 1989 Adirondack Red Wings (vs. Hershey) are the only teams in AHL history to win a best-of-seven Calder Cup Playoff series after losing the first three games:
1960 Semifinals
Game 1 – Cleveland 2, ROCHESTER 0
Game 2 – Cleveland 2, ROCHESTER 1
Game 3 – CLEVELAND 7, Rochester 5
Game 4 – Rochcester 5, CLEVELAND 3
Game 5 – ROCHESTER 4, Cleveland 1
Game 6 – Rochester 5, CLEVELAND 3
Game 7 – ROCHESTER 4, Cleveland 1
1989 Southern Division Finals
Game 1 – Hershey 4, ADIRONDACK 3
Game 2 – Hershey 5, ADIRONDACK 3
Game 3 – HERSHEY 1, Adirondack 0
Game 4 – Adirondack 6, HERSHEY 3
Game 5 – ADIRONDACK 3, Hershey 2 (OT)
Game 6 – Adirondack 4, HERSHEY 2
Game 7 – ADIRONDACK 2, Hershey 1 (OT)
Working Overtime
There have been 12 overtime games played in the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs so far… Road teams are 9-3:
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)
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.
