CALDER CUP UPDATE:
There was one Game 7 played during the entire 2005 Calder Cup postseason; there will be three this weekend… Exactly half of the Game 7’s played in Calder Cup Playoff history (30 of 60) have been won by the road team, including six of the last seven.
On Saturday night, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton hosts Bridgeport (7:05 ET) after Friday’s 3-2 overtime win sent the series to the limit… Ryan Stone scored the winning goal in Game 6 and Jonathan Filewich had a goal and two assists for the Penguins, who are one victory away from successfully coming back from an 0-2 deficit for the third year in a row… Wade Dubielewicz made 45 saves in Friday’s loss, including 26 in the second period… The road team has won all six games in this series, each by a single goal… The teams played a Game 7 two years ago, with the Pens winning on an OT goal by Konstantin Koltsov… Eight of their 13 playoff meetings all-time have gone to overtime… Tonight’s winner gets Hershey in the next round, beginning Thursday night.
In Hartford, the Wolf Pack host Manchester on Saturday in Game 7 (7:00 ET) of their Atlantic Division semifinal… Hartford is 4-2 in winner-take-all games – including a 3-2 double-overtime win over the Monarchs in a Game 5 in 2002 – and 11-7 when facing elimination… Rookie Chris Holt made 29 saves in Hartford’s Game 6 win, his playoff debut… Manchester, playing its first Game 7 and looking to advance to the second round for the first time, has won all of the odd-numbered games in this series… Alexandre Daigle, tied for the AHL lead in playoff scoring, has nine points in the Monarchs’ three wins, and two points in their three losses… The Wolf Pack have lost seven of their last nine home playoff games.
On Sunday afternoon, Milwaukee hosts Iowa at the Bradley Center (4:00 CT), the third year in a row the Admirals have hosted a Game 7 in the opening round… Milwaukee defeated Cincinnati en route to winning the Calder Cup in 2004, but lost to the Mighty Ducks last year after holding a 3-1 lead in the series… The Ads led the Stars three games to one before Iowa posted wins on Thursday and Friday… In Game 6, Iowa scored four times off Jake Moreland, making his Calder Cup Playoff debut in relief of an injured Brian Finley, en route to a 4-2 win… Junior Lessard leads the Stars with seven points (3g, 4a) in the series… Milwaukee is 11-4 in home playoff games under head coach Claude Noel.
Manitoba got an overtime goal from Lee Goren to take a 3-2 series lead with a 3-2 win on Friday night… Game 6 is Sunday back in Syracuse (7:00 ET), with the home team having won each of the first five contests… Josh Green, who paced the Moose with nine goals and 14 points in last year’s postseason, leads all scorers with six points in the series… The Crunch have scored just eight goals in the series against Manitoba and Wade Flaherty (1.55, .940)… Pascal Leclaire has stopped 139 of 144 shots in his four appearances at the Onondaga County War Memorial this season (1.23, .965).
Elsewhere on Friday, Portland wrapped up its Atlantic Division semifinal as Zenon Konopka and Ryan Shannon each scored twice in a 5-2 win over Providence… Grand Rapids advanced to the North Division final as Matt Ellis’s goal 11 seconds into the second overtime lifted the Griffins over Toronto, 2-1.
Complete Calder Cup Playoff schedules and results
ALUMNI WATCH:
In Friday’s Stanley Cup Playoff action, 2005 Calder Cup champion R.J. Umberger broke a tie with 10:09 left in regulation and sent Philadelphia to a 5-4 win over Buffalo… 2005 AHL All-Rookie goaltender Cam Ward made 23 saves as Carolina beat Montreal, 3-2… Sergei Zubov’s three assists helped Dallas stave off elimination with a 4-1 win over Colorado.
AHL ON B2 NETWORKS:
B2 Networks brings all the action of the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs to your computer with live video webcasts of every game… Click here for details.
