AHL Opening-Round Series Schedules Set

By www.theahl.com  Published on: Monday April 12, 2010

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has released the following schedules for the division semifinal round of the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs:

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division Semifinal – Series “A” (best-of-7)

Worcester Sharks vs. Lowell Devils

• Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 14 – Lowell at Worcester, 7:05
• Game 2 – Thu., Apr. 15 – Lowell at Worcester, 7:05
• Game 3 – Sat., Apr. 17 – Worcester at Lowell, 7:00
• Game 4 – Tue., Apr. 20 – Worcester at Lowell, 7:00
• *Game 5 – Wed., Apr. 21 – Worcester at Lowell, 7:00
• *Game 6 – Sat., Apr. 24 – Lowell at Worcester, 7:05
• *Game 7 – Sun., Apr. 25 – Lowell at Worcester, 5:05

SERIES NOTEBOOK:

Worcester and Lowell split 10 meetings in the regular season, with each team winning three times in the other’s building. Sharks rookie Logan Couture led all scorers with 13 points in six games vs. Lowell, but he begins the postseason on NHL recall to San Jose. Alex Stalock set an AHL rookie record with 39 wins, but was 2-3-0 with a 3.27 GAA against the Devils... Lowell leading scorer Ben Walter has reached the playoffs previously with Providence (2006, 2007) and Bridgeport (2009).

Atlantic Division Semifinal – Series “B” (best-of-7)

Portland Pirates vs. Manchester Monarchs

• Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 16 – Manchester at Portland, 7:00
• Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 17 – Manchester at Portland, 7:00
• Game 3 – Mon., Apr. 19 – Portland at Manchester, 7:00
• Game 4 – Tue., Apr. 20 – Portland at Manchester, 7:00
• *Game 5 – Thu., Apr. 22 – Manchester at Portland, 7:00
• *Game 6 – Sat., Apr. 24 – Portland at Manchester, 7:00
• *Game 7 – Sun., Apr. 25 – Manchester at Portland, 7:00

SERIES NOTEBOOK:

Portland was 7-2-1-0 against Manchester in 2009-10, but three of the wins came via the shootout... Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who played his junior hockey up the road from Portland in Lewiston, Maine, was the AHL leader in save percentage (.936) and shutouts (9)... Rookie Corey Elkins led Manchester with 21 goals on the year...Jhonas Enroth, who has missed the last month due to injury, was 5-1-0 (1.30, .956) against the Monarchs in the regular season... Fifth-year pro Mark Mancari set a career high with 73 points for the Pirates.

East Division Semifinal – Series “C” (best-of-7)

Hershey Bears vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers

• Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 14 – Bridgeport at Hershey, 7:00
• Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 16 – Bridgeport at Hershey, 7:00
• Game 3 – Sat., Apr. 17 – Hershey at Bridgeport, 7:00
• Game 4 – Sun., Apr. 18 – Hershey at Bridgeport, 3:00
• *Game 5 – Wed., Apr. 21 – Bridgeport at Hershey, 7:00
• *Game 6 – Fri., Apr. 23 – Hershey at Bridgeport, 7:00
• *Game 7 – Sat., Apr. 24 – Bridgeport at Hershey, 7:00

SERIES NOTEBOOK:

Coming off a 60-win, 123-point regular season, Hershey sports a roster that currently features 17 players who won the Calder Cup with the Bears a year ago.. A series win by Bridgeport, which finished 37 points behind Hershey in the standings, would match Rochester’s ouster of Binghamton in 1993 as the biggest upset in terms of point differential in AHL history.

East Division Semifinal – Series “D” (best-of-7)

Albany River Rats vs. W-B/Scranton Penguins

• Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 14 – W-B/Scranton at Albany, 7:00
• Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 16 – W-B/Scranton at Albany, 7:00
• Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 18 – Albany at W-B/Scranton, 3:05
• Game 4 – Mon., Apr. 19 – Albany at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
• *Game 5 – Wed., Apr. 21 – W-B/Scranton at Albany, 7:00
• *Game 6 – Sat., Apr. 24 – Albany at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
• *Game 7 – Sun., Apr. 25 – W-B/Scranton at Albany, 5:00

SERIES NOTEBOOK:

The Pens were 6-1-0-1 against Albany in 2009-10 and have won eight straight over the River Rats at the Mohegan Sun Arena, including a 4-3 victory on the final Friday of the regular season... Albany’s Jerome Samson (37-41-78) was a First Team AHL All-Star at right wing...Oskar Osala, a Calder Cup champion with Hershey last season, scored 10 goals in 16 games after joining the River Rats at the NHL trade deadline... Dustin Jeffrey paced the Penguins with 47 assists and 71 points, while Tim Wallace led the way with 27 goals.

Western Conference

North Division Semifinal – Series “E” (best-of-7)

Hamilton Bulldogs vs. Manitoba Moose

• Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 15 – Manitoba at Hamilton, 7:30
• Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 17 – Manitoba at Hamilton, 2:00
• Game 3 – Mon., Apr. 19 – Hamilton at Manitoba, 8:30
• Game 4 – Wed., Apr. 21 – Hamilton at Manitoba, 8:30
• *Game 5 – Fri., Apr. 23 – Hamilton at Manitoba, 8:30
• *Game 6 – Sun., Apr. 25 – Manitoba at Hamilton, 7:00
• *Game 7 – Tue., Apr. 27 – Manitoba at Hamilton, 7:30

SERIES NOTEBOOK:

Following the most productive regular season in franchise history (52-17-3-8, 115 points), Hamilton draws the defending conference champions from Manitoba in the first round...Cedrick Desjardins (29-9-4, 2.00, .919) and former Moose Curtis Sanford (23-11-3, 2.13, .916) ranked first and third, respectively, in the AHL in goals-against average as Hamilton finished with the league’s top-ranked defense... David Desharnais (27-51-78) and Brock Trotter (36-41-77) placed in the top six in AHL scoring, while P.K. Subban was third among both rookies and defensemen with 53 points and tied for first overall with a plus-46 rating... Cory Schneider, who backstopped the Moose to the Finals last spring, won 35 games in 2009-10 and played more minutes than any other goaltender in the league...Marco Rosa and rookie Sergei Shirokov tied for the Manitoba team lead with 22 goals each.

North Division Semifinal – Series “F” (best-of-7)

Rochester Americans vs. Abbotsford Heat

• Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 15 – Abbotsford at Rochester, 7:05
• Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 17 – Abbotsford at Rochester, 7:05
• Game 3 – Mon., Apr. 19 – Rochester at Abbotsford, 10:00
• Game 4 – Wed., Apr. 21 – Rochester at Abbotsford, 10:00
• *Game 5 – Fri., Apr. 23 – Rochester at Abbotsford, 10:00
• *Game 6 – Sun., Apr. 25 – Abbotsford at Rochester, 5:05
• *Game 7 – Tue., Apr. 27 – Abbotsford at Rochester, 7:05

SERIES NOTEBOOK:

Rochester, back in the playoffs after a two-year absence, opens the 2010 postseason against Abbotsford, which took three of four meetings from the Americans in the regular season...Jamie Johnson (27-44-71) led Rochester in regular-season scoring but was held to just one goal in four games against the Heat... Amerks forward Graham Mink won Calder Cups with Hershey in 2006 and 2009... Rookie goaltender Alexander Salak went 29-14-0 on the year for Rochester while Tyler Plante was 7-4-1 (2.13, .935) after Mar. 1... Jason Jaffray, a Calder Cup finalist with Manitoba last season, led Abbotsford in goals (25), assists (29), points (54) and plus/minus (+24)...

West Division Semifinal – Series “G” (best-of-7)

Chicago Wolves vs. Milwaukee Admirals

• Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 14 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 8:00
• Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 16 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 8:30
• Game 3 – Sat., Apr. 17 – Chicago at Milwaukee, 8:00
• Game 4 – Mon., Apr. 19 – Chicago at Milwaukee, 8:00
• *Game 5 – Wed., Apr. 21 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 8:00
• *Game 6 – Thu. or Fri., Apr. 22 or 23 – Chicago at Milwaukee, 8:00
• *Game 7 – Mon., Apr. 26 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 8:00

SERIES NOTEBOOK:

Chicago’s leading scorer Jason Krog (14-61-75) won a Calder Cup with the Wolves in 2008 before returning to the Finals with Manitoba last year... In 14 career first-round games, Chicago’s Drew MacIntyre is 11-3 with a 1.49 GAA and a .948 save percentage, including a four-game sweep of Rockford while playing for the Admirals last spring...Mike Santorelli recorded 59 points in 57 games to lead Milwaukee, which is making its eighth consecutive trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs... Rookie defenseman Jonathon Blum had 41 points and a plus-17 rating while playing all 80 games for Milwaukee.

West Division Semifinal – Series “H” (best-of-7)

Texas Stars vs. Rockford IceHogs

• Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 16 – Rockford at Texas, 8:30
• Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 17 – Rockford at Texas, 8:00
• Game 3 – Wed., Apr. 21 – Texas at Rockford, 8:05
• Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 23 – Texas at Rockford, 8:05
• *Game 5 – Sat., Apr. 24 – Texas at Rockford, 8:05
• *Game 6 – Mon., Apr. 26 – Rockford at Texas, 8:30
• *Game 7 – Tue., Apr. 27 – Rockford at Texas, 8:30

SERIES NOTEBOOK:

Texas won six of eight meetings from Rockford in 2009-10, helping the Stars finish five points ahead of the IceHogs in the West Division and gain home-ice advantage in this series... Injury kept Brent Krahn from playing enough minutes to qualify for the AHL leaderboard, but the Texas netminder was 17-4-0 (1.83, .945) with five shutouts in 22 appearances, including 4-0-0 (0.99, .971) against the IceHogs... Stars forward Mathieu Beaudoin had 17 points in 20 playoff games for Houston in 2009... Aaron Gagnon led Texas with 27 goals and 58 points in 78 games after entering the season with 8-12-20 in 86 career AHL contests... IceHogs leading scorer Mark Cullen (21-32-53), who reached the Calder Cup Finals with Manitoba last year, had nine points in six games against Texas...Kyle Greentree scored a team-high 25 goals for Rockford.

All times Eastern

*if necessary