AHL Quick Hits is now the Morning Skate… Every morning, take a spin around the AHL ice with recaps and previews, news and notes, facts and figures, and the top headlines from around the American Hockey League.
THURSDAY’S SCORES:
THURSDAY’S THREE STARS:
1. Michal Birner netted a power play goal at
2. Pirates goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin turned aside 33 of 35 shots to help
3. Dane Byers tallied a goal and added an assist in the loss for the Wolf Pack.
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE (all times ET):
Game 2 –
Game 2 –
Game 1 –
Game 2 –
Game 2 –
Game 1 –
2008 CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS:
Atlantic Division Semifinal – Series “A” (best-of-7)
A1-Providence Bruins vs. A4-Manchester Monarchs || Preview
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 16 – PROVIDENCE 3, Manchester 2 (OT)
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 18 – Manchester at Providence, 7:05
Game 3 – Sat., Apr. 19 – Providence at Manchester, 7:05
Game 4 – Mon., Apr. 21 – Providence at Manchester, 7:05
*Game 5 – Fri., Apr. 25 – Manchester at Providence, 7:05
*Game 6 – Sat., Apr. 26 – Manchester at Providence, 7:05
*Game 7 – Mon., Apr. 28 – Providence at Manchester, 7:05
Atlantic Division Semifinal – Series “B” (best-of-7)
A2-Hartford Wolf Pack vs. A3-Portland Pirates || Preview
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 16 –
Game 2 – Thu., Apr. 17 –
Game 3 – Sat., Apr. 19 – Hartford at Portland, 7:05
Game 4 – Sun., Apr. 20 – Hartford at Portland, 6:05
Game 5 – Tue., Apr. 22 – Portland at Hartford, 7:00
*Game 6 – Thu., Apr. 24 – Hartford at Portland, 7:05
*Game 7 – Sat., Apr. 26 – Portland at Hartford, 7:00
East Division Semifinal – Series “C” (best-of-7)
E1-W-B/Scranton Penguins vs. E4-Hershey Bears || Preview
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 16 – W-B/Scranton 2, HERSHEY 1 (OT)
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 19 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 20 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 5:05
Game 4 – Wed., Apr. 23 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 5 – Fri., Apr. 25 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 6 – Sat., Apr. 26 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 7 – Sun., Apr. 27 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 5:05
East Division Semifinal – Series “D” (best-of-7)
E2-Philadelphia Phantoms vs. E3-Albany River Rats || Preview
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 16 – ALBANY 4, Philadelphia 0
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 18 – Albany at Philadelphia, 7:05 (WC)
Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 20 – Albany at Philadelphia, 5:05 (WC)
Game 4 – Tue., Apr. 22 – Philadelphia at Albany, 7:00
*Game 5 – Thu., Apr. 24 – Philadelphia at Albany, 7:00
*Game 6 – Sat., Apr. 26 – Albany at Philadelphia, 7:05 (WC)
*Game 7 – TBA – Albany at Philadelphia (WC)
North Division Semifinal – Series “E” (best-of-7)
N1-Toronto Marlies vs. W5-San Antonio Rampage || Preview
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 16 – TORONTO 4, San Antonio 3
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 18 – San Antonio at Toronto, 7:30
Game 3 – Mon., Apr. 21 – Toronto at San Antonio, 8:00
Game 4 – Wed., Apr. 23 – Toronto at San Antonio, 8:00
*Game 5 – Fri., Apr. 25 – Toronto at San Antonio, 8:00
*Game 6 – Sun., Apr. 27 – San Antonio at Toronto, 4:00
*Game 7 – Mon., Apr. 28 – San Antonio at Toronto, 7:30
North Division Semifinal – Series “F” (best-of-7)
N2-Syracuse Crunch vs. N3-Manitoba Moose || Preview
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 18 – Manitoba at Syracuse, 7:30
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 19 – Manitoba at Syracuse, 7:30
Game 3 – Tue., Apr. 22 – Syracuse at Manitoba, 8:30
Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 25 – Syracuse at Manitoba, 8:30
*Game 5 – Sat., Apr. 26 – Syracuse at Manitoba, 8:30
*Game 6 – Mon., Apr. 28 – Manitoba at Syracuse, 7:00
*Game 7 – Tue., Apr. 29 – Manitoba at Syracuse, 7:00
West Division Semifinal – Series “G” (best-of-7)
W1-Chicago Wolves vs. W4-Milwaukee Admirals || Preview
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 16 – Milwaukee 4, CHICAGO 3 (OT)
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 18 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 8:30
Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 20 – Chicago at Milwaukee, 6:00
Game 4 – Wed., Apr. 23 – Chicago at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 5 – Thu., Apr. 24 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 8:00
*Game 6 – Sat., Apr. 26 – Chicago at Milwaukee, 8:30
*Game 7 – Mon., Apr. 28 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 8:00
West Division Semifinal – Series “H” (best-of-7)
W2-Rockford IceHogs vs. W3-Houston Aeros || Preview
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 18 – Houston at Rockford, 8:30
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 19 – Houston at Rockford, 8:05
Game 3 – Tue., Apr. 22 – Rockford at Houston, 8:05
Game 4 – Thu., Apr. 24 – Rockford at Houston, 8:05
*Game 5 – Fri., Apr. 25 – Rockford at Houston, 8:35
*Game 6 – Sun., Apr. 27 – Houston at Rockford, 5:05
*Game 7 – Mon., Apr. 28 – Houston at Rockford, 8:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
GAME NOTES (all times ET):
Game 2 –
The scene shifts to the City of
Game 2 –
Game 1 –
Two of the AHL’s hottest teams down the stretch kick off their North Division Semifinal series tonight when
Game 2 –
Still looking for its first-ever postseason victory,
Game 2 –
Fresh off an overtime victory in Game 1, Milwaukee battles Chicago again tonight at Allstate Arena in Game 2 of their West Division Semifinal… Josh Langfeld, making his first Calder Cup Playoff appearance since 2005, tallied a hat trick and added an assist on the game-winner in Wednesday’s 4-3 triumph… Cal O’Reilly, who led the Admirals with 79 points (16-63-79) in the regular season, scored at 6:07 of overtime to end it… The victory snapped
Game 1 –
MORNING HEADLINES:
PAVELEC A RISING STAR WITH WOLVES
Len Ziehm,
The American Hockey League’s winningest goalies are going head-to-head in the Wolves’ first-round playoff series against
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/hockey/wolves/901721,CST-SPT-wolves18.article
ROOKIE PERREAULT ADJUSTING ON FLY
Tim Leone,
Touted Washington Capitals prospect Mathieu Perreault is listed at 5-8, 151 pounds. And the diminutive centerman’s large mop of hair might be what gets him above the 150 mark. But Perreault, who joined the Hershey Bears after completing his junior season with Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL), made a solid pro debut Wednesday night in the high-pressure playoff situation of Game 1 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Perreault said it was exciting, but that he is adjusting to AHL size, speed and systems. "Maybe a few games and I’ll get my game going," Perreault said Thursday. "For sure, first, I want to be solid defensively. I think I did it." Bears head coach Bob Woods displayed confidence in Perreault, who saw 4-on-4 and power-play time. The 20-year-old mainly played on a line with Steve Pinizzotto and Ryan Flinn.
http://www.pennlive.com/sports/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/120848011114610.xml&coll=1
BLUE-COLLAR STYLE SERVES AEROS WELL
Andrew J. Ferraro,
No one will ever accuse this season’s version of the Aeros of being an easy win or a team that is fun to play. Almost to a man, anyone who played against the Aeros in 2007-08 used words like gritty, hard, defense and goaltending when asked to describe what they had seen on the ice. The Aeros will battle the Rockford IceHogs at the Rockford MetroCentre, a place where the Aeros used their gritty style to take two of three games during the regular season. "Playing (a mostly defensive) game doesn’t just come from having good defenseman," said forward Cal Clutterbuck, whose specialty is drawing penalties and getting under the skin of the opponent. "We have that, but we play an overall team game."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5711081.html
PIRATES WIN
Paul Betit,
Portland Pirates left wing Michal Birner got a rare chance to play on the power play, and he made the most of it Thursday night. Birner lifted a shot into the right side of the goal 9:24 into the second overtime as the Pirates evened their Calder Cup playoff series against the Hartford Wolf Pack with a 3-2 victory. Birner, a second-year pro from the who joined the Pirates after a trade in December, has been used primarily in a defensive role in recent weeks. "Between the two of us, we’ve had a feeling-out process, finding out where his specialty is,"
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=182302&ac=PHspt
MINARD ENHANCES REPUTATION BY PLAYING THROUGH PAIN
Jonathan Bombulie, The Citizen’s Voice
Paul Bissonnette liked Chris Minard before Wednesday night. Considered him a friend and a good tea