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.
FRIDAY’S SCORES:
TORONTO 4, Syracuse 3 (OT) (SYR leads, 3-2)
Rockford 5, CHICAGO 1 (RFD leads, 3-2)
FRIDAY’S THREE STARS:
1. Bates Battaglia scored in overtime to give
2. Jason King picked up two goals, including the game-winner, as
3. Troy Brouwer’s second straight two-goal game helped
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE (all times ET):
Game 6 –
2008 CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS:
Complete Results || Scoring Leaders || Goaltending Leaders
Atlantic Division Finals – Series “I” (best-of-7)
A1-Providence Bruins vs. A3-Portland Pirates || Preview
Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 26 – PROVIDENCE 4, Portland 0
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 27 – PROVIDENCE 7, Portland 1
Game 3 – Fri., May 2 – PORTLAND 4, Providence 3 (OT)
Game 4 – Sun., May 4 – PORTLAND 3, Providence 2 (OT)
Game 5 – Tue., May 6 – PORTLAND 3, Providence 2
Game 6 – Fri., May 9 –
East Division Finals – Series “J” (best-of-7)
E1-W-B/Scranton Penguins vs. E2-Philadelphia Phantoms || Preview
Game 1 – Thu., May 1 – Philadelphia 5, W-B/SCRANTON 2
Game 2 – Sat., May 3 – W-B/SCRANTON 5, Philadelphia 4 (OT)
Game 3 – Mon., May 5 – W-B/Scranton 3, PHILADELPHIA 2 (WC)
Game 4 – Wed., May 7 – W-B/Scranton 8, PHILADELPHIA 4 (WC)
Game 5 – Fri., May 9 –
North Division Finals – Series “K” (best-of-7)
N1-Toronto Marlies vs. N2-Syracuse Crunch || Preview
Game 1 – Fri., May 2 – Syracuse 5, TORONTO 1
Game 2 – Sun., May 4 – Syracuse 3, TORONTO 1
Game 3 – Tue., May 6 – Toronto 8, SYRACUSE 2
Game 4 – Wed., May 7 – SYRACUSE 5, Toronto 4 (OT)
Game 5 – Fri., May 9 – TORONTO 4, Syracuse 3 (OT)
Game 6 – Sat., May 10 –
*Game 7 – Mon., May 12 –
West Division Finals – Series “L” (best-of-7)
W1-Chicago Wolves vs. W2-Rockford IceHogs || Preview
Game 1 – Thu., May 1 – CHICAGO 4, Rockford 1
Game 2 – Sat., May 3 – CHICAGO 7, Rockford 3
Game 3 – Sun., May 4 – ROCKFORD 3, Chicago 1
Game 4 – Wed., May 7 – ROCKFORD 3, Chicago 2
Game 5 – Fri., May 9 – Rockford 5, CHICAGO 1
Game 6 – Sun., May 11 –
*Game 7 – Tue., May 13 –
*if necessary… All times Eastern… (WC) –
GAME NOTES (all times ET):
Game 6 –
TV: Leafs TV, Time Warner Cable
After Toronto staved off elimination with a 4-3 overtime win over Syracuse last night, both teams head back to the Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter tonight for Game 6 of the North Division finals… Bates Battaglia scored the Game 5 winner for the Marlies at 18:35 of overtime, with Kris Newbury picking up the lone assist to complete a three-point night (0-3-3)… It marked Battaglia’s second game-winner of the playoffs and fifth goal overall (
MORNING HEADLINES:
SURGING PIRATES HALFWAY TO AHL TITLE
Paul Betit,
The Portland Pirates advanced to the third round of the AHL’s Calder Cup playoffs for the second time in three seasons by eliminating the league’s best team Friday night. Jason King scored two goals to lead the Pirates to a 5-4 win against the Providence Bruins, completing an amazing turnaround in the Atlantic Division finals before 5,839 fans at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. After losing Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-seven series by huge margins, the Pirates won four straight to oust the top-seeded Bruins. “That’s a little bit of a testament to the players,”
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=186852&ac=PHspt
RASK RAGGED, P-BRUINS OUSTED
Mike Loftus, Patriot Ledger
The only people who saw it coming were the Portland Pirates. Trailing their second-round, best-of-7 Calder Cup playoff series against the Providence Bruins, 2-0, the Pirates went home to regroup for Games 3, 4, and they hoped, Game 5.
http://www.patriotledger.com/sports/x1192320268/Rask-ragged-P-Bruins-ousted
THE
Jonathan Bombulie, The Citizen’s Voice
A series that began in a cloud of negativity ended with a burst of brilliance for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Dustin Jeffrey, Chris Minard and Tim Wallace scored goals and John Curry made 22 saves as the Penguins defeated the Philadelphia Phantoms 3-1 Friday night at the Wachovia Arena to close out the East Division finals in five games. The Penguins began the series just days after captain Nathan Smith and alternate captain Ryan Stone had a much-publicized brush with the law. With that as backdrop, the Penguins lost Game 1 and trailed by three goals entering the third period of Game 2. They were been dominant ever since, reeling off four straight wins and outscoring the rival Phantoms 18-7. “It was a great job by our players,” coach Todd Richards said. “We went through a lot leading up to the series. Guys had to deal with a lot of different things.
http://www.citizensvoice.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19678402&BRD=2259&PAG=461&dept_id=460522&rfi=6
CURRY BACK ON TOP, STOPS 22
Paul Sokoloski,
After one game, John Curry looked like his whole world had caved in. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins fans cheer on their team during the Pens’ 3-1 victory over
http://www.timesleader.com/sports/20080510_10_penguins_side_spt_ART.html
SNIPER BATTAGLIA FINDS NET AS MARLIES STAY ALIVE
Mark Zwolinski,
Bates Battaglia, a resident grinder when he played with the Maple Leafs the past two seasons, is playing a new role with the Marlies. Battaglia the checker has morphed into Battaglia the goal-scorer – at least in the Marlies’ North Division final series against the Syracuse Crunch. The soft-spoken
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Hockey/article/424079
FEELING THE CRUNCH
Lindsay Kramer,
Live by the overtime, sometimes you lose that way too. The Syracuse Crunch was on the wrong end of that drama on Friday, at a time when one more clutch goal would have sent it to the next round of the AHL playoffs.
http://www.syracuse.com/sports/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/121040996784610.xml&coll=1
ICEHOGS BEAT WOLVES, TAKE 3-2 SERIES LEAD
Reed Schreck,
The Rockford IceHogs, you might remember, tried altering their pregame routine for the first two road playoff games against the Chicago Wolves. They lost both anyway. So coach Mike Haviland came up with another idea for Friday’s Game 5. He brought the team in Thursday night to simulate a real road trip. Now that worked, as the
http://www.rrstar.com/sports/x1867419584/IceHogs-beat-Wolves-5-1-take-3-2-series-lead
Chris Kuc,
In a series when playing on home ice has meant everything, the Rockford IceHogs made themselves comfortable in the Wolves’ own arena Friday night. The IceHogs scored three second-period goals and went on to ride the hot goaltending of Corey Crawford for a 5-1 victory over the Wolves and a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven West Division Finals of the AHL’s Calder Cup playoffs.
SEARCHING FOR THE NEXT BOUDREAU
James Mirtle, Globe and Mail
With the Colorado Avalanche and Joel Quenneville parting ways yesterday, and the Toronto Maple Leafs firing Paul Maurice on Wednesday, the number of head-coaching vacancies in the NHL has ballooned to five in the past three days. And while many of the usual suspects are lining up as potential replacements, some prominent voices in the hockey world suggest a long-time minor-league bench boss might be the way to go. The Washington Capitals followed that route this season with Bruce Boudreau, who was hired 21 games into the season and with the team in last place in the Eastern Conference. After a 17-year apprenticeship in the minor leagues, Boudreau led the Capitals to a 37-17-7 finish and is nominated for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL coach of the year. One of the names at the top of the list in terms of AHL options is John Anderson, a former Maple Leafs player who has coached the Chicago Wolves for the past 11 seasons.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080510.LEAFSCOACH10/TPStory/Sports
ALUMNI WATCH:
2005 Calder Cup champion Mike Richards scored a pair of goals, but Philadelphia dropped a 4-2 deci
