Another Thursday, another day for the Bakersfield Condors to pack the bus and start a southbound trip down the I-5.

Anders Sorensen has inherited a complex situation in Rockford, but the message to his players remains the same: Focus on getting better, winning, and getting to the NHL.

The Hockey Fights Cancer initiative hits home for many people in and around the hockey business. For Chicago Wolves forward Stelio Mattheos, he has lived it directly.

Fans tuning into the AHLTV Free Game of the Week will have plenty to see, including Iowa Wild rookie forward Nick Swaney.

They make an interesting net tandem for the Cleveland Monsters, J.F. Berube and Daniil Tarasov do. Different ages. Different career stages. But the pair have plenty to teach each other.

For Manny Viveiros, a coaching lifer, standing behind the Henderson Silver Knights bench again on Friday put him back in familiar territory, a bright day in what has been a nerve-wracking time.

Logan Thompson had a memorable debut season with the Henderson Silver Knights. Now his play once again continues to make a compelling case to Vegas management for more NHL time.

Sometimes the AHL serves as a finishing school for top prospects, a step to get them over the hump and whisk them on their way to a long NHL career. Other times, though, the AHL means much more long-term project for players, even standout top draft picks.

Rochester Americans head coach Seth Appert never hesitates to emphasize that the Buffalo Sabres’ rebuilding program will have deep American Hockey League roots, and two of those key pieces are Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka.

Life is a little more back to normal for the Stockton Heat this season. No more temporary set-up in Calgary. No more all-Canadian schedule of opponents. No more jetting from province to province. But there is one significant change behind the bench.