AHL Morning Skate: May 6, 2023

 

A1-Providence Bruins vs. A5-Hartford Wolf Pack
(Hartford wins series, 3-1)

Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 28 – Hartford 1, PROVIDENCE 0 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 29 – Hartford 2, PROVIDENCE 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 3 – Providence 6, HARTFORD 3 | Recap
Game 4 – Fri., May 5 – HARTFORD 4, Providence 0 | Recap

A2-Hershey Bears vs. A3-Charlotte Checkers
(Hershey wins series, 3-1)

Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 28 – Hershey 5, CHARLOTTE 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 29 – Hershey 5, CHARLOTTE 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 3 – Charlotte 2, HERSHEY 1 | Recap
Game 4 – Thu., May 4 – HERSHEY 6, Charlotte 2 | Recap

A2-Hershey Bears vs. A5-Hartford Wolf Pack
Game 1 – Thursday, 7:00 ET,

Game 1 - Thu., May 11 - Hartford at Hershey, 7:00
Game 2 - Sat., May 13 - Hartford at Hershey, 7:00
Game 3 - Wed., May 17 - Hershey at Hartford, 7:00
*Game 4 - Fri., May 19 - Hershey at Hartford, 7:00
*Game 5 - Tue., May 23 - Hartford at Hershey, 7:00
*if necessary... All times Eastern

N1-Toronto Marlies vs. N4-Utica Comets
(Toronto wins series, 3-1)

Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 27 – TORONTO 6, Utica 5 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 29 – Utica 7, TORONTO 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 3 – Toronto 5, UTICA 2 | Recap
Game 4 – Fri., May 5 – Toronto 4, UTICA 1 | Recap

N2-Syracuse Crunch vs. N3-Rochester Americans
Game 5 – Tonight, 7:00 ET,
(Series tied, 2-2)

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 - ROCHESTER 4, Syracuse 0 | Recap
Game 5 - Sat., May 6 - Rochester at Syracuse, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
The North Division semifinals conclude tonight as Syracuse hosts Rochester in the decisive Game 5... The home team has won each of the first four games of the series, with the Amerks pulling even thanks to a 4-0 win in Game 4 last Sunday... Captain Michael Mersch (3-2-5) leads Rochester in scoring in the series, and his 16 shots on goal are twice as many as any other member of the Amerks... Malcolm Subban (2-2, 2.51, .923) is coming off a 31-save shutout in Game 4, the first playoff shutout by a Rochester goaltender since May 5, 2004, when Ryan Miller blanked Hamilton... Alex Barré-Boulet (1-6-7), who set franchise playoff records with four assists and five points in Game 3, continues to lead the Crunch in scoring... Max Lagace (2-2, 2.75, .879) has started each game of the series for Syracuse... Crunch captain Gabriel Dumont has completed his two-game league suspension for a kneeing incident in Game 2... Syracuse is outshooting Rochester, 131-94, in the series, but the Amerks have a 14-11 advantage in goals... Both teams are converting at 25 percent on the power play, with the Crunch 3-for-12 and the Amerks 4-for-16... Syracuse is 2-6 all-time in winner-take-all games, including 1-3 at home... Rochester is 11-6, including 5-2 on the road... Going back to the regular season, the clubs have split their 16 meetings eight wins apiece in 2022-23... Tonight’s winner advances to meet Toronto in the North Division finals.

C1-Texas Stars vs. C5-Rockford IceHogs
(Texas wins series, 3-0)

Game 1 - Fri., Apr. 28 - Texas 5, ROCKFORD 3 | Recap
Game 2 - Sun., Apr. 30 - Texas 4, ROCKFORD 1 | Recap
Game 3 - Wed., May 3 - TEXAS 4, Rockford 2 | Recap

C2-Milwaukee Admirals vs. C3-Manitoba Moose
Game 5 – Tonight, 7:00 ET,
(Series tied, 2-2)

Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 28 – Milwaukee 6, MANITOBA 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 30 – MANITOBA 3, Milwaukee 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 3 – Manitoba 3, MILWAUKEE 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 4 – Fri., May 5 – MILWAUKEE 5, Manitoba 3 | Recap
Game 5 – Sat., May 6 – Manitoba at Milwaukee, 7:00
*if necessary... All times Eastern

GAME NOTES
Milwaukee hosts Manitoba in the fifth and final game of their Central Division semifinal this evening after the Admirals prevailed in Game 4 last night... An own goal by the Moose with the score tied late in the first period swung the game in favor of the Ads, who added second-period tallies from Joakim Kemell (1-1-2) and Kiefer Sherwood (2-4-6) to open up a 4-1 lead en route to a 5-3 victory... Phil Tomasino (0-1-1) picked up an assist for his first career postseason point... Yaroslav Askarov (2-2, 2.68, .908) made 16 saves in the Game 4 win... Jansen Harkins (3-3-6) led the Moose with a goal and two assists last night... Wyatt Bongiovanni (2-1-3), who scored the overtime winner in Game 3 for Manitoba, notched a goal and an assist in Game 4... Including the regular season, seven of Bongiovanni’s 15 goals have come against Milwaukee... Oskari Salminen (2-1, 2.30, .917) stopped 23 of 26 shots in Game 4... Both teams were 2-for-6 on the power play last night; the Admirals are 5-for-15 in the series, while the Moose are 3-for-16... These teams are the first to go the distance in playoff series in back-to-back seasons since Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2013 and 2014... Tonight will be the 30th meeting over the last two seasons between the clubs; Manitoba has 15 wins to Milwaukee’s 14... Tonight’s winner moves on to face Texas in the division finals.

P1-Calgary Wranglers vs. P4-Abbotsford Canucks
(Calgary wins series, 3-1)

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 – ABBOTSFORD 3, Calgary 2 | Recap
Game 4 – Fri., May 5 – Calgary 3, ABBOTSFORD 2 | Recap

P2-Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. P3-Colorado Eagles
(Coachella Valley wins series, 3-2)

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 1, COACHELLA VALLEY 0 (OT) | Recap
Game 4 – Wed., May 3 – COACHELLA VALLEY 4, Colorado 3 | Recap
Game 5 – Fri., May 5 – COACHELLA VALLEY 5, Colorado 0 | Recap

P1-Calgary Wranglers vs. P2-Coachella Valley Firebirds
Game 1 – Thursday, 9:05 ET,

Game 1 - Thu., May 11 - Coachella Valley at Calgary, 9:05
Game 2 - Fri., May 12 - Coachella Valley at Calgary, 9:05
Game 3 - Mon., May 15 - Calgary at Coachella Valley, 10:00
*Game 4 - Wed., May 17 - Calgary at Coachella Valley, 10:00
*Game 5 - Fri., May 19 - Calgary at Coachella Valley, 10:00
*if necessary... All times Eastern

The Calgary Wranglers are moving on, but not before first surviving a difficult test from the Abbotsford Canucks.

The Wranglers needed overtime to take the first two games of the series in Calgary, and the Canucks won Game 3 before pushing until the final seconds of Game 4. Each of the four games in the series was decided by one goal, and the Wranglers had to close out the series facing a sold-out building in Abbotsford.

“That’s a hell of a club over there,” MVP goaltender Dustin Wolf told WranglersTV following Game 4. “They played us hard. It was a fun atmosphere to play in. To come and prove that we’re the better team and deserve to move on, it’s rewarding.”

The road does not get any easier for the Wranglers. Next up is Coachella Valley in a Pacific Division final series between the top two teams in the AHL during the regular season. Game 1 of that best-of-five is set for Thursday.

“It’s going to be a heck of a series,” Wolf said.

The Milwaukee Admirals fought off elimination last night. Now they try to do it again tonight when they settle their Central Division semifinal series with Manitoba one way or the other.

“Elimination games are difficult,” Milwaukee head coach Karl Taylor told the team website after his club’s Game 4 win. “It takes a lot of mettle to play in those and hold your own.”

Before securing the win last night, the Admirals had to put a halt to a Manitoba push after a pair of goals from the visitors in a 2:06 span early in the third period cut Milwaukee’s lead from 4-1 to 4-3.

“I’m really proud of the group... how they got through that moment and finished the game off,” Taylor said.

Taylor called his timeout after Manitoba had made it 4-3, but didn’t address his team. The move appeared to settle down the game.

“We were just icing them a little bit, taking a moment,” Taylor said. “We’re a good team. Get back to what we do. There’s no panic.

“You don’t need to yell, ‘Just calm down!’ — I don’t think that’s good if you ask a sports psychologist. We just wanted to take a little breath there, and I thought the guys managed it from there pretty well.”

― Patrick Williams

#AHLGrads
In action around the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs last night, Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored twice and Jordan Martinook added a goal and an assist as Carolina defeated New Jersey, 6-1, to take a 2-0 series lead... The Hurricanes’ lineup featured four members of the 2022 Calder Cup champion Chicago Wolves, including Stefan Noesen (goal) and Jack Drury (two assists)... Martin Necas, a Calder Cup winner with Charlotte in 2019, also scored.

Watch the Calder Cup Playoffs on AHLTV
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2023 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 for the entire postseason, or just $8.99 for a day pass. Visit AHLTV.com for details.