Pirates, Wolf Pack in Game 1 tonight

The second round of the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs get started tonight as the Hartford Wolf Pack meet the Portland Pirates in Game 1 of the Atlantic Division Finals.

The action from the Hartford Civic Center gets underway at 7:00 p.m. ET.

The Pirates, who finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference during the 2005-06 regular season, needed six games to eliminate the Providence Bruins in the first round. The Wolf Pack are coming off a seven-game victory over the Manchester Monarchs.

Portland and Hartford have met once before in the postseason, with the Wolf Pack prevailing in five games in a 2004 division semifinal series.

Dating back to the regular season, Pirates forward Zenon Konopka has recorded a point in 18 straight games, with 12 goals and 16 assists in that span. Rookie Colby Genoway led the Wolf Pack with nine points (3g, 6a) in the first round.

Team MVP Jarkko Immonen and Second Team AHL All-Star Thomas Pock are back with Hartford after spending much of the last month in the NHL with the New York Rangers. Portland remains without forwards Dustin Penner, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, who are preparing for tomorrow’s Game 7 of the parent Anaheim Mighty Ducks’ playoff series with Calgary.

If you can’t make it to tonight’s game, don’t miss the live video webcasts of all the action from B2 Networks. You can also follow along live on the AHL’s real-time scoreboard, and access live scores from your web-enabled cell phone at wap.ahl.leaguestat.com.