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Game 2 – 7:30 ET, AHL Live (CT leads series, 1-0)
After stealing Game 1 with a 3-2 overtime decision on Wednesday, Connecticut can take a commanding lead series back home to Hartford with a repeat performance in Norfolk tonight… Andreas Thuresson‘s shot beat Dustin Tokarski 2:53 into OT in the opener, giving the Whale their fourth consecutive win to open the postseason… All four regulation goals were scored in a span of 11:13 during the first period… Ondrej Palat (1-0-1) opened the scoring for Norfolk, but Jonathan Audy-Marchessault (2-0-2) and Marek Hrivik (5-0-5) scored 12 seconds apart to give Connecticut the lead… Pierre-Cedric Labrie (2-0-2) evened the score at 2-2 late in the opening frame… Cameron Talbot (4-0, 1.16, .969) made 31 saves for the Whale, and now leads the AHL in wins (tied), goals-against average and save percentage during the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs… Tokarski (2-1, 2.45, .901) stopped 26 of 29 shots but lost for the first time in his last 16 AHL starts… The Admirals were 5-for-5 on the penalty kill in Game 1, and have allowed just one power-play goal in 30 chances this postseason (96.7 percent)… Norfolk has lost two straight home games after winning their previous 16 straight at Scope.. The Whale, who had lost eight straight road playoff games entering this year’s playoffs, are 3-0 away from home.
From Calder to Stanley
Alexei Ponikarovsky, who skated for the St. John’s Maple Leafs in the Calder Cup Playoffs in 2001 and 2002, scored at 17:21 of overtime to give New Jersey a 4-3 win over Philadelphia in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series last night… Former AHL All-Stars Patrik Elias and Zach Parise also scored for the Devils… Los Angeles took a 3-0 series lead over St. Louis with a 4-2 win in Game 3 last night; Dwight King, who had 4-10-14 in 23 AHL postseason games with Manchester the last two years, had a goal for the Kings.
By the Numbers
2:35 – Time, out of 259:29 played, in which Connecticut has trailed during this postseason… Those 155 seconds all came early in Game 1 at Norfolk on Wednesday night.
4-8 – Connecticut’s record in road overtime games during the postseason… Wednesday was the franchise’s first playoff OT win on the road since 2004 (at Wilkes-Barre).
2-4 – Norfolk’s record in home overtime games during the postseason… Wednesday was the Admirals’ fourth straight playoff OT loss at home since their last win in 2003 (vs. San Antonio).
On This Date
May 4, 2011 – Eddie Lack makes 43 saves and Mario Bliznak scores 11:54 into the second overtime to give Manitoba a 2-1 win over Hamilton in Game 4 of their North Division final.
May 4, 2008 – Kris Versteeg records a goal and an assist to lead Rockford to a 3-1 win over Chicago in Game 3 of their West Division final.
May 4, 1989 – Randy McKay scores 3:05 into the second overtime period to give Adirondack a 7-6 win over New Haven in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals.
May 4, 1973 – The Cincinnati Swords defeat Nova Scotia, 7-3, in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals, snapping the Voyageurs’ 12-game postseason winning streak.
May 4, 1968 – The Rochester Americans win the Calder Cup for the third time in four years, finishing off the Quebec Aces with a 4-2 win in Game 6.
AHL Live
Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2012 Calder Cup championship. AHL Live brings AHL action to your computer all season long with live video webcasts and highlights of every AHL game, as well as behind-the-scenes features and interviews in the Video On Demand section… Visit ahllive.com for details.