Notes from Monday’s action in the AHL’s 2005 Calder Cup conference final series:
Providence earned a much-needed victory, outlasting Philadelphia, 2-1, on a Brad Boyes goal 14:08 into overtime.
It was Boyes’s third game-winning goal of the postseason, tops in the AHL… The third-year pro tied for fourth in the league during the regular season with nine GWG’s.
Keith Aucoin pulled into second place in the league’s playoff scoring race with a goal… Aucoin has 16 points (4g, 12a) in 14 games, trailing only teammate Andy Hilbert, who assisted on Boyes’s overtime goal.
Hannu Toivonen made 36 saves to help snap Providence’s two-game losing streak.
Antero Niittymaki was less than seven minutes away from his second consecutive shutout when the Bruins tied the score at 13:06 of the third period… Niittymaki made 23 of his 36 saves on the night during the third period and overtime.
The game included 101 minutes in penalties, 38 coming as a result of a get-together after the winning goal… Providence’s Boyes and Philadelphia’s Mike Richards and Ben Eager have been suspended for Game 4 as a result of their actions.
The Bruins improved to 12-6 all-time in Calder Cup Playoff overtime games, including 10-2 in their last 12 decisions.
In Winnipeg, Chicago took a commanding 3-0 series lead with a 4-2 win over Manitoba.
The loss spoiled the Moose’s 6-0 home playoff record and ended their overall home winning streak at eight games… The Wolves, meanwhile, won for the 10th time in their last 11 outings and improved to 11-2 this postseason.
Alex Auld made the start in net for Manitoba, but allowed early goals to Tommi Santala and Derek MacKenzie as Chicago took a 2-0 lead just 3:27 into the game.
Josh Green and Jesse Schultz responded to tie the game by the early stages of the second period… For Green, it was his eighth goal and 13th point of the postseason.
Stephen Weiss scored the eventual game-winner 1:32 into the third period, and Ben Simon added an empty-netter after the Wolves withstood late pressure by the Moose… Kari Lehtonen made 38 saves on the night as Manitoba finished with a 40-19 edge in shots on goal.
The teams were a combined 0-for-13 on the power play in Game 3, and together are just 1-for-38 in the series with the man advantage.
Attendance at the MTS Centre for Game 3 was 9,492. The Moose are averaging 9,752 fans per home game this postseason. QUOTABLE:
“You can’t win a championship without great goaltending. He’s our rock back there and I think he likes being put in that position.” — Chicago head coach John Anderson on goaltender Kari Lehtonen, a 2005 AHL Second Team All-Star and the second overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Lehtonen is 9-2 (1.63, .943) in 11 appearances this postseason. (Winnipeg Free Press)
ON THIS DATE:
May 24, 2002 — Bob Nardella scores with 2.7 seconds left in regulation and Andreas Karlsson scores 13:58 into overtime as Chicago defeats Bridgeport, 5-4, in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Final. May 24, 2000 — J.F. Labbe makes 26 saves as Hartford beats Rochester in the first 1-0 Calder Cup Final game in 19 years. May 24, 1998 — Martin St. Louis records a goal and an assist and Tyler Moss makes 32 saves in relief of Jean-Sebastien Giguere as Saint John scores seven times off Dan Cloutier and posts a 7-3 win over Hartford to advance to the Calder Cup Final. May 24, 1991 — Michel Picard‘s goal six minutes into the third period stands up as the game-winner as Springfield defeats Rochester, 5-3, to win its second consecutive Calder Cup. May 24, 1985 — The Sherbrooke Canadiens, led by 19-year-old goaltender Patrick Roy, win the Calder Cup with a 3-1 win over Baltimore. Eastern Conference schedule
Western Conference schedule
