HERSHEY 4, ALBANY 2
The Hershey Bears became the first team to qualify for the second round of the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs with a 4-2 win over the Albany River Rats in Glens Falls, N.Y., on Wednesday night.
The Bears won the series, 4-1, and now await either Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or Norfolk in the East Division final.
Joey Tenute snapped a scoreless tie with his third goal of the series at the 16:27 mark of the first period. Hershey held the slim lead until Tomas Fleischmann made it 2-0 with 2:44 left in the second.
With River Rats captain Keith Aucoin off on a high-sticking major, the Bears got power-play goals from Scott Barney and Mike Green early in the third period to go up 4-0.
Jakub Petruzalek and former Bear Shane Willis scored 39 seconds apart midway through the frame for Albany, but Frederic Cassivi finished with 12 third-period saves and 32 stops for the game as Hershey completed its fifth straight series victory.
CHICAGO 3, MILWAUKEE 2 (OT)
Defenseman Brian Fahey scored 11:55 into overtime to give the Chicago a 3-2 win over Milwaukee and send the Wolves to the West Division Finals with a four-game sweep of the Admirals.
Colin Stuart got Chicago out to a 1-0 lead 8:32 into the opening period before Milwaukee tallied twice with goals from Brandon Segal and defenseman Kevin Klein to give the Admirals a 2-1 lead entering the third period.
Darren Haydar, who scored in each game of the series, scored the equalizer with a power-play goal at 5:37 of the third period. Haydar has four goals and seven points in the Calder Cup Playoffs thus far.
Netminder Michael Garnett kept his record unblemished by stopping 28 of 30 shots to earn his first Calder Cup series win.
The Wolves will face off in the West Division finals against the winner of the Omaha-Iowa series.
IOWA 3, OMAHA 2
The Iowa Stars scored three unanswered goals to beat the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 3-2 at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Stars have now won three straight and sit one win away from advancing to the West Division finals with a 3 games to 1 series lead.
The Knights scored first for the third time in the four games in the series when Justin Taylor gave Omaha a 1-0 lead after one period of play.
After an early power-play goal by Carsen Germyn in the second period, Iowa defenseman Matt Niskanen pulled the Stars to within one goal entering the third period.
In his first game since returning from the NHL playoffs with Dallas, Joel Lundqvist led the Stars with the only two goals of the third period, giving Iowa a 3-2 win.
Dan Ellis earned his third straight win with 26 saves for the Stars, who look to finish off the Knights and advance to the West Division Finals against Chicago, in Game 5 back at the Omaha Civic Auditorium on Friday.
WORCESTER 3, MANCHESTER 2
Defenseman Tom Walsh tallied two goals and added an assist as the Worcester Sharks held off elimination in Game 4 of the Atlantic Division Semifinal Series with a 3-2 win over the Manchester Monarchs at the DCU Center. The Monarchs lead the series 3-1.
Dimitri Patzold got the call for Worcester, earning the win by stopping 27 of 29 shots from the Monarchs.
Mike Iggulden had a goal and an assist in the win for Worcester.
Patrick O’Sullivan led the Monarchs in the loss with a goal and an assist.
Manchester looks to finish off the Sharks at home in Game 5 of the series, set for Friday.
NORFOLK 4, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 1
Corey Crawford stopped 24 of 25 shots from the Penguins to help the Norfolk Admirals to even their East Division Semifinals series at two games apiece with a 4-1 win at Norfolk Scope.
Rookie Carl Corazzini and Jonas Nordqvist led the Admirals with a goal and an assist as both players recorded a plus-3 on the night.
Pivotal Game 5 will take on Friday at Norfolk.
Craig MacDonald and Reed Low provided the first two goals of the game to help the Admirals to a 2-0 lead entering the final period of play.
Jean-Francois Jacques scored the lone goal in a losing effort for the Pens.
MANITOBA 4, GRAND RAPIDS 1
Taking a page from the home team’s playbook, the Manitoba Moose used a pair of shorthanded goals to power their way to a 4-1 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins in Game 4 at Van Andel Arena, tying the North Division semifinals at two games apiece.
Moose captain Mike Keane led the way with a goal and an assist, while J.J. Hunter recorded two helpers in the win.
Drew MacIntyre turned in a 32-save performance to pull the Moose even in the series.
Defensemen Prestin Ryan and Maxime Fortunus tallied third period goals in the win for Manitoba.
Manitoba, whose four goals eclipsed its combined output from the series’ first three games, reclaimed home-ice advantage with the win.
Grand Rapids will host Game 5 at Van Andel Arena on Friday.
