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AHL Morning Skate

Published on June 7, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


2010 CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS:

Complete Results || Scoring Leaders || Goaltending Leaders

2010 Calder Cup Finals - Series "O" (best-of-7)

E1-Hershey Bears vs. W2-Texas Stars

Game 1 - Thu., June 3 - Texas 2, HERSHEY 1

Game 2 - Sat., June 5 - Texas 4, HERSHEY 3

Game 3 - Mon., June 7 - Hershey at Texas, 8:30

Game 4 - Wed., June 9 - Hershey at Texas, 8:30

*Game 5 - Fri., June 11 - Hershey at Texas, 8:30

*Game 6 - Mon., June 14 - Texas at Hershey, 7:00

*Game 7 - Wed., June 16 - Texas at Hershey, 7:00

*if necessary... All times Eastern

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SATURDAY'S THREE STARS:

1. Ex-Bear Travis Morin notched the game-winning goal with 45.3 seconds left in regulation to lift Texas past Hershey by a 4-3 count in Game 2.

2. Texas forward Perttu Lindgren recorded a pair of assists in the winning effort.

3. Hershey defenseman Patrick Wellar registered two assists and a plus-2 rating on the night.

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GAME NOTES (all times ET):

Game 3 - Hershey at Texas, 8:30 (TEX leads series, 2-0)

Video Webcast: AHL Live (www.ahllive.com)

TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (DirecTV 642, Dish 424), ABC-27 Harrisburg

Satellite Radio: XM 204, Sirius 208

The 2010 Calder Cup Finals shift to the Lone Star State and the Austin suburb of Cedar Park tonight as Texas, leading 2-0 in the series, hosts Hershey for Game 3... The Stars have won four straight road games since their last appearance at the Cedar Park Center, a 3-0 loss to Hamilton on May 22 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals... Texas owns its 2-0 series lead in the Calder Cup Finals after taking a pair of one-goal victories over the Bears last week at Giant Center, a building where Hershey had been 8-0 this postseason and 37-1-0-0 in its last 38 games overall... Hershey is the ninth team in AHL history to open the Finals with two home losses and the first since Chicago in 2005; all eight previous teams went on to lose the series... The Stars claimed Saturday's Game 2 by a 4-3 final when ex-Bear Travis Morin broke a 3-3 tie with just 45.3 seconds left in regulation, giving his club its fourth one-goal advantage of the night... Morin recorded his first tally since Game 7 of the division finals at Chicago on May 11, snapping an eight-game drought... Aaron Gagnon, Garrett Stafford, and Mathieu Beaudoin also had goals on Saturday for the Stars, who opened the game's scoring after surrendering the first goal in their previous 11 contests... Gagnon shows a point in each of the first two games of this series (1-1-2), as do Scott McCulloch (1-1-2) and Greg Rallo (1-1-2)... Perttu Lindgren recorded a pair of assists in Game 2 to give him five points (1-4-5) in his last three outings... AHL leading playoff scorer Jamie Benn (14-11-25), who was held without a point for the Stars in Game 1, picked up an assist on Gagnon's goal in Game 2, which came just 60 seconds after the opening face-off... Stars goaltender Matt Climie improved to 7-3 this postseason (2.51, .923) with 25 saves in net... Hershey has lost four of its last six games after winning 10 of 11 to begin the playoffs... The Bears battled back from a trio of one-goal deficits on Saturday, receiving markers from Steve Pinizzotto, Francois Bouchard, and Andrew Gordon... Gordon's third-period strike gave him 11 goals in just 13 games this postseason (11-5-16), ranking him second on Hershey behind Alexandre Giroux's 12 scores (12-9-21)... Giroux went scoreless for a second straight game to begin this series, the first time the former AHL MVP has been held without a point in consecutive contests since Mar. 20 and 21 vs. Syracuse and Adirondack... Bouchard now has a goal in the first two games of the series and in three of his last four outings overall (3-0-3), while Pinizzotto's tally snapped a five-game goal-scoring drought... Defenseman Patrick Wellar chipped in two assists for the Bears in Game 2, his first points since recording a helper in Game 3 of the division finals at Albany on Apr. 27, and Keith Aucoin added a single assist to give him a league-leading 19 helpers (1-19-20) in 17 games this postseason... Hershey is 0-for-its-last-15 on the power play dating back to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs. Manchester, including 0-for-6 in the first two contests vs. Texas... The Bears have not suffered a three-game losing streak all season.

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ALL-TIME CALDER CUP PLAYOFF LEADERS

Points

1. Darren Haydar, 135

2. Willie Marshall, 119

3. Jason Krog, 118

4. Jody Gage, 110

5. Fred Glover, 104

6. Alexandre Giroux, 94

Goals

1. Darren Haydar, 59

2. Jody Gage, 51

3(t). Willie Marshall, 48

3(t). Fred Glover, 48

3(t). Alexandre Giroux, 48

6. Brad Smyth, 46

7(t). Jason Krog, 42

Assists

1(t). Darren Haydar, 76

1(t). Jason Krog, 76

3. Willie Marshall, 71

4. Mike Nykoluk, 62

5. Domenic Pittis, 61

6. Jody Gage, 59

7. Keith Aucoin, 58

Games Played

1. Bryan Helmer, 134

2. Ken Gernander, 123

3. Fred Glover, 120

4. Jody Gage, 115

...

8(t). Alexandre Giroux, 108

8(t). Boyd Kane, 108

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MORNING HEADLINES:

STARS, UP 2-0, POISED FOR HUGE UPSET - Austin American-Statesman

How quickly the ringing of resentment was muffled Saturday. Less than a year after being dismissed by the Hershey Bears, Travis Morin exacted revenge on the team he said handed him a raw deal, chipping in a last-minute game-winner in a 4-3 victory that catapulted the Texas Stars to a commanding 2-0 lead in the American Hockey League's Calder Cup finals.

http://www.statesman.com/sports/pro/stars-up-2-0-poised-for-huge-upset-731156.html

STARS BEAT HERSHEY, TAKE 2-0 CUP LEAD - Austin American-Statesman

What might seem impossible clearly isn't for this Texas Stars team. The defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears had lost six home games all season - until the Stars came to town. Now they have eight losses, after Texas stunned Hershey 4-3 Saturday night in Game 2 of the Calder Cup finals, in front of a record crowd of 10,872 at Giant Center. Travis Morin, who played five games for the Bears last season, swatted home a rebound off the end boards with 46 seconds remaining to give the Stars a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

http://www.statesman.com/sports/pro/stars-beat-hershey-take-2-0-cup-lead-729924.html

GAME 2 LOSS TO TEXAS LEAVES HERSHEY IN HISTORICALLY TOUGH SPOT - Harrisburg Patriot-News

Making history has been a habit for the Hershey Bears in 2009-10. After getting stunned at Giant Center for a second straight time in a 4-3 loss to the Texas Stars in Game 2 of the Calder Cup finals Saturday night, they're going to have to make more of it to repeat as AHL champions. Eight previous teams have lost the first two games of the finals at home. None of them revived to win the Calder Cup.

http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2010/06/game_2_loss_to_texas_stars_lea.html

BEARS DOWN 0-2, SEEING STARS - Lebanon Daily News

Boring is beautiful, at least as far as the Texas Stars are concerned. Jamming up the neutral zone, cutting down the passing lanes, and playing opportunistic offense, the Stars put the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears in an 0-2 hole in their best-of-seven series Saturday night by posting a 4-3 victory at Giant Center. Former Bear Travis Morin gave the Stars their margin of victory when he picked up the puck after it rebounded off the back wall and lifted a backhander over goalie Michal Neuvirth with 45.3 seconds remaining.

http://www.ldnews.com/sports/ci_15235816

TEXAS TWO-STEP? - Harrisburg Patriot-News

Ninety degree temperatures greeted Hershey and Texas as the two Calder Cup finalists made the 1,600-mile trek to the Longhorn State today to continue preparations for Game 3 at 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Cedar Park Center. Excessive heat should be nothing new to Mark French's Bears. The defending champs have been on the hot seat since the underdog Stars rallied for a 2-1 triumph in Game 1 at the Giant Center. Hershey's fortunes took another disappointing twist in Game 2 Saturday night at home. In a near must-win situation, turnovers and penalties hurt the Bears throughout, leading to Texas' 4-3 win on a goal by Stars' forward Travis Morin with 45 seconds left.

http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2010/06/texas_two-step_the_hershey_bea.html

BEARS HAVE LITTLE MARGIN FOR ERROR - Lebanon Daily News

If the Hershey Bears win the 2010 Calder Cup championship, they will, for the first time in 30 years, be hoisting the Cup on home ice. It is, however, a big "if." The Bears dug themselves into an 0-2 hole Saturday night when they dropped a 4-3 decision to the Texas Stars in Game 2 of the Cup finals, the loss coming when the Stars scored with just 45.3 seconds remaining in the game Combined with their 2-1 win in the series opener, the Stars are now halfway to the championship with the home ice advantage for the next three games.

http://www.ldnews.com/sports/ci_15239422

RED WINGS PROSPECT TATAR IMPRESSIVE ON, OFF ICE WITH GRAND RAPIDS - Detroit Free Press

Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill was one of many who figured Tomas Tatar would spend the majority of his first season in North America playing in Plymouth, not Grand Rapids. Instead, Tatar, the 60th overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft, spent all last season with the Griffins of the American Hockey League. After playing for Zvolen in the Slovakian men's league in 2008-09, Tatar (5-feet-11, 176 pounds) showed he could handle playing against the men in the AHL.

http://www.freep.com/article/20100606/SPORTS14/6060532/1356/SPORTS/Tatar-impressive-on-off-ice-with-G.R.-Griffins-

BLUE JACKETS AWAIT WORD FROM BOUCHER; DEADLINE IS TUESDAY - Columbus Dispatch

All was quiet in Blue Jackets camp yesterday, as general manager Scott Howson and the club's hierarchy awaited word from Howson's coach of choice, Guy Boucher. The Blue Jackets offered the job to Boucher late last week, and they allowed him to take the weekend to decide whether he'll accept. Boucher is expected to notify Howson of his decision by Tuesday at the latest, but many expect a decision today.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2010/06/07/blue-jackets-await-word-from-boucher-deadline-is-tuesday.html?sid=101

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FROM CALDER TO STANLEY:

2007 AHL All-Star Dustin Byfuglien racked up two goals and two assists, and Kris Versteeg added a goal and two helpers as Chicago stormed to a 7-4 win over Philadelphia on Sunday night to take a 3-2 series lead in the Stanley Cup Finals... Dave Bolland, Brent Seabrook, and 2005 Calder Cup champion Patrick Sharp registered a goal and an assist apiece, while Flyers forward Ville Leino chipped in three assists in the losing effort.

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BY THE NUMBERS:

5 - Texas players who have a plus/minus rating of plus-10 or better this postseason - Dan Jancevski (plus-13), Jamie Benn (plus-10), Andrew Hutchinson (plus-10), Aaron Gagnon (plus-10), and Maxime Fortunus (plus-10).

2 - Hershey players who have a plus/minus rating of plus-10 or better this postseason - Bryan Helmer (plus-11) and Mathieu Perreault (plus-10).

10,872 - Attendance for Game 2 on Saturday night, the largest home crowd in the Bears' 72-year history... It also marked the 10th consecutive crowd of over 10,000 and the ninth sellout to watch a Finals game at Giant Center since 2006.

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ON THIS DATE:

June 7, 2009 - Michal Neuvirth stops 30 of 31 shots as Hershey takes a 3-1 series lead in the Calder Cup Finals with a 2-1 win over Manitoba in Game 4.

June 7, 2008 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scores five unanswered goals over the game's final 28 minutes, staving off elimination for a second straight night with a 5-1 victory over Chicago in Game 5 of the Calder Cup Finals.

June 7, 2007 - In front of 14,205 fans at Copps Coliseum, Ajay Baines' shorthanded goal midway through the third period lifts Hamilton to a 2-1 win over Hershey and the Bulldogs' first Calder Cup championship.

June 7, 2003 - Houston grabs a 3-2 series lead in the Calder Cup Finals with a 6-4 win over Hamilton in the last game ever played at the Compaq Center.

June 7, 1998 - Martin St. Louis records three assists as Saint John avoids elimination with a 6-1 home win over Philadelphia in Game 5 of the Calder Cup Finals.

June 7, 1997 - After a wild third period that saw five goals scored in the final 12:12 of regulation, Mike McHugh scores 56 seconds into overtime to give Hershey a 6-5 win over Hamilton and a 2-0 series lead in the Calder Cup Finals.

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AHL CHAT ROOM:

Texas Stars forward Jamie Benn steps into the AHL Chat Room on Tuesday, June 8, to answer fans' questions... Visit theahl.com to submit questions for Jamie.

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AHL LIVE:

Don't miss a step on the road to the 2010 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 theahl.com or ahllive.com for details.

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