AHL Morning Skate: May 4, 2008

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.

SATURDAY’S SCORES:

W-B/SCRANTON 5, Philadelphia 4 (OT) (Series tied, 1-1)

CHICAGO 7, Rockford 3 (CHI leads, 2-0)

SATURDAY’S THREE STARS:

1. Chris Minard capped off a three-point night (2-1-3) with his second overtime goal of this postseason as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton erased a three-goal third-period deficit and beat Philadelphia, 5-4, in Game 2 of the East Division finals.

2. Darren Haydar netted a pair of goals as Chicago cruised to a 7-3 win over Rockford and a 2-0 series lead in the West Division finals.

3. Boyd Kane scored two goals just 1:07 apart in the losing effort for Philadelphia.

SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE (all times ET):

Game 2 – Syracuse at Toronto, 4:00 (SYR leads, 1-0)

Game 4 – Providence at Portland, 4:05 (PRO leads, 2-1)

Game 3 – Chicago at Rockford, 5:05 (CHI leads, 2-0)

2008 CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS:

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 – Providence at Portland, 4:05

Game 5 – Tue., May 6 – Providence at Portland, 7:05

*Game 6 – Fri., May 9 – Portland at Providence, 7:05

*Game 7 – Sat., May 10 – Portland at Providence, 7:05

 

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 at Philadelphia, 7:05 (WC)

Game 4 – Wed., May 7 – W-B/Scranton at Philadelphia, 7:05 (WC)

Game 5 – Fri., May 9 – Philadelphia at W-B/Scranton, 7:05

*Game 6 – Sat., May 10 – W-B/Scranton at Philadelphia, 7:05 (WC)

*Game 7 – Tue., May 13 – Philadelphia at W-B/Scranton, 7:05

 

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 at Toronto, 4:00

Game 3 – Tue., May 6 – Toronto at Syracuse, 7:00

Game 4 – Wed., May 7 – Toronto at Syracuse, 7:00

*Game 5 – Fri., May 9 – Syracuse at Toronto, 7:30

*Game 6 – Sat., May 10 – Toronto at Syracuse, 7:30

*Game 7 – Mon., May 12 – Syracuse at Toronto, 7:30

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 – Chicago at Rockford, 5:05

Game 4 – Wed., May 7 – Chicago at Rockford, 8:05

*Game 5 – Fri., May 9 – Rockford at Chicago, 8:30

*Game 6 – Sun., May 11 – Chicago at Rockford, 5:05

*Game 7 – Tue., May 13 – Rockford at Chicago, 8:00

 

*if necessary… All times Eastern… (WC) – Wachovia Center

GAME NOTES (all times ET):

Game 2 – Syracuse at Toronto, 4:00 (SYR leads, 1-0)

Syracuse looks to take a 2-0 series lead home as it visits Toronto for Game 2 of the North Division finals this afternoon… The Crunch earned a 5-1 victory in the series opener on Friday… Derek MacKenzie and Clay Wilson each posted a goal and two helpers in the win, while Mark Rycroft and Derick Brassard added a goal and an assist apiece… After capturing four overtime wins vs. Manitoba in the first round, Friday’s game marked Syracuse’s first regulation victory of postseason play… Karl Goehring stopped 31 of 32 shots for his seventh career playoff win in a Crunch uniform, one shy of the club record… David Ling netted his first goal of the playoffs in a losing effort for the Marlies, and Kris Newbury picked up an assist to give him a team-high five postseason points (2-3-5)… The Crunch have won five straight meetings with Toronto since a 4-3 Marlies win on Dec. 19… Toronto is trying to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole before the series shifts to Syracuse; only five teams in AHL history have lost the first two games of a best-of-seven series on home ice and rallied to win.

 

Game 4 – Providence at Portland, 4:05 (PRO leads, 2-1)

Brendan Mikkelson’s goal 5:20 into overtime gave Portland a 4-3 victory in Game 3 of the Atlantic Division finals on Friday after Providence had won the first two games of the series… The Pirates look to pull even when they host the Bruins this afternoon at the Cumberland County Civic Center… 2008 AHL All-Rookie forward Bobby Ryan notched a game-high three points (2-1-3) in the Game 3 victory, scoring the tying goal with 57 seconds to go in regulation… Ryan leads the Pirates with seven points (3-4-7) in six postseason contests… Jean-Sebastien Aubin, appearing in his first game of the series, earned his fifth straight win with 26 saves… The Bruins’ Pascal Pelletier, who scored in Game 3, has a team-high nine points (5-4-9)… Martins Karsums had a goal and an assist in Friday’s loss, which was Providence’s first defeat of the playoffs… The B’s went 0-for-6 on the power play and are now just 1-for-42 (2.4 percent) overall… Portland has won five straight home playoff games dating back to 2006, including all three this year… The Pirates are 5-0 in one-goal games this postseason.

 

Game 3 – Chicago at Rockford, 5:05 (CHI leads, 2-0)

Rockford returns to home ice this afternoon to welcome Chicago for Game 3 of the West Division finals… The IceHogs have played their last five games on the road, sweeping three at the Toyota Center to close out Houston before dropping Games 1 and 2 to the Wolves in Rosemont… Chicago improved to 7-0-0 vs. Rockford this year at Allstate Arena with a 7-3 decision in last night’s Game 2, but the IceHogs have won four of five from the Wolves at the MetroCentre… Darren Haydar, the AHL’s postseason scoring leader in 2004, 2006 and 2007, moved into second place on the list of the league’s all-time playoff goal-scorers with two last night (see below)… Jason Krog had two more assists in Game 2, giving him five in the series and a league-high 11 for the playoffs… Ondrej Pavelec made 42 saves last night for his fourth straight win, and boasts a 1.25 GAA and .962 save percentage over that span… Bryan Bickell led Rockford with a goal and two assists in Game 2, and Petri Kontiola tallied the IceHogs’ first power-play goal of the playoffs (1-for-31)… Chicago has outscored its opponents 16-3 in the first and second periods of games this postseason, but has been outscored 12-11 in the third period and overtime… The Wolves have had four 2-0 series leads in AHL postseason play, and have gone on to complete a four-game sweep three times.