Take a game-day spin around the AHL ice with latest news and notes from the Calder Cup Playoffs in today’s Morning Skate. Complete Schedule || Playoff Brackets || Today’s Scoreboard || League Leaders |
Less than 20 hours after finishing off a triple-overtime marathon, Manchester and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton are at it again tonight for Game 2 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series… Zach O’Brien (1-3-4) scored 4:13 into the third OT period last night, giving the Monarchs a 4-3 win and a 1-0 series lead… It was the second-longest game in franchise history for both clubs, and the longest game in the AHL in seven years… The Monarchs and Penguins, the top two defensive teams in the AHL during the regular season, combined for four goals in the first period, including a Nick Shore (1-4-5) goal for Manchester just 18 seconds into the contest… Colin Miller (1-3-4) tallied a goal and an assist, Jordan Weal (5-4-9) recorded two assists and Brian O’Neill (4-2-6) also scored for the Monarchs… Conor Sheary (3-4-7) tallied a goal and an assist to lead the Penguins’ offense… Taylor Chorney (1-1-2) and Scott Wilson (2-1-3) also scored for the Pens, who erased three separate one-goal deficits in regulation… Jean-Francois Berube (4-2, 2.67, .878) turned aside 40 of 43 shots for his 10th consecutive home win… Matt Murray (3-1, 1.48, .950) made 52 saves in the loss, stopping 24 of 25 shots in sudden death, as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was outshot 56-43 for the night… It was the first time since Nov. 8 at Binghamton that Murray had allowed more than three goals in a road game… Even with the Game 1 loss, the Penguins have won 16 of their last 21 away from home. Eastern Conference Semifinals – Series “I” (best-of-7) |
Utica and Oklahoma City open their Western Conference semifinal series tonight with Game 1 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium… The sixth-seeded Barons were the only lower seed to win its series in the first round, taking out West Division champion San Antonio in three straight… The Comets, who finished the regular season with the best record in the Western Conference, eliminated Chicago in five games… Rookie Brendan Gaunce (2-0-2) was the hero for Utica with two goals in the decisive Game 5 on Saturday… Comets captain Cal O’Reilly (0-7-7), who was second in the AHL with 51 assists in the regular season, led the league with seven helpers in the first round… Utica’s Jacob Markstrom (3-2, 1.97, .917) is playing in his second Calder Cup postseason; his 2012 run with San Antonio also featured meetings with Chicago in the first round and Oklahoma City in the second round… Connor Jones (2-0-2) and Jujhar Khaira (1-0-1) scored overtime winners for the Barons in the conference quarterfinals; neither scored any of Oklahoma City’s AHL-record 14 OT goals during the regular season… Matthew Ford (1-4-5) led the Barons in first-round scoring, while Ryan Hamilton (3-0-3) netted a team-best three goals… Richard Bachman (2-0, 0.59, .981) stopped 51 of 52 shots to close out the series for Oklahoma City after coming on relief during Game 2… The Barons were 5-for-14 on the power play (35.7 percent) in the first round and 10-for-11 (90.9 percent) on the penalty kill. Western Conference Semifinals – Series “K” (best-of-7) |
Last Night’s Recaps/Highlights Monarchs take Game 1 in triple OT Bourque nets OT winner against former team Pulkkinen’s hat trick leads Griffins in Game 1 |
Working Overtime There have been 10 overtime games played in the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs so far… Home teams are 6-4: May 6 – MANCHESTER 4, W-B/Scranton 3 (Zach O’Brien, 44:13) |
Alumni Watch 2013 AHL MVP Tyler Johnson scored with 1.1 seconds remaining in regulation, his NHL-leading eighth goal of the postseason, as Tampa Bay took a 3-0 series lead with a 2-1 win over Montreal last night… Andre Burakovsky, who had 3-4-7 in 13 games with Hershey this season, scored his first two career Stanley Cup Playoff goals to lead Washington to a 2-1 win over the N.Y. Rangers and a 3-1 series lead… Former AHL coaches Bob Hartley, Peter Laviolette and Alain Vigneault were named the finalists for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year; Hartley (Hershey, 1997) and Laviolette (Providence, 1999) are both Calder Cup champions. |
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. |