AHL Texas Stars

Texas Stars Playoff Update #24

Published on May 7, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Following a split of the first four contests, Chicago and Texas will suit up for a crucial Game 5 in the West Division Finals tonight at the Cedar Park Center. The host Stars need a victory to avoid needing two wins back in Chicago to advance. After playing back-to-back overtime games to begin the series, the teams have each collected a regulation win in suburban Austin, most recently a 3-2 Stars triumph on Wednesday night. Texas coughed up leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in that contest before finally prevailing after a power-play goal by defenseman Dan Jancevski with 6:17 to play in regulation. It marked Jancevski's first Calder Cup Playoff goal since June 4, 2007, when he scored in Game 3 of the Calder Cup Finals as a member of the eventual champion Hamilton Bulldogs. Rookie Travis Morin, who was second on the Stars with 21 goals during the regular season, had gone without a goal in the playoffs before scoring twice in Game 4. Morin registered seven points - all assists - in the Stars' first-round sweep of Rockford, but Wednesday's performance marked his first points of the division finals. Francis Wathier and former Calder Cup champion Landon Wilson each contributed an assist for Texas; Wathier has a point in all four games this round (1-4-5), while Wilson shows a point in five of his last six outings (1-4-5). Stars goaltender Brent Krahn bounced back from consecutive losses to stop 21 of 23 shots in the Game 4 victory. Brett Sterling nabbed both goals for the Wolves, giving him three goals in his last two games and points in all four games vs. Texas (3-4-7). Jason Krog is also on a four-game scoring streak (2-3-5) for Chicago, while defenseman Nathan Oystrick has a point in three of his last four outings (2-2-4). This is the fourth time the Wolves have been tied 2-2 in a best-of-7 playoff series since joining the AHL in 2001-02, and they went on to win the series in each of the three prior instances.

West Division Finals Schedule (best of seven)

Game 1 - Texas 4 at Chicago 3 (OT)

Game 2 - Texas 3 at Chicago 4 (OT)

Game 3 - Chicago 5 at Texas 3

Game 4 - Chicago 2 at Texas 3 (Series tied 2-2)

Game 5 - Fri., May 7 - Chicago at Texas, 7:30 p.m.

Game 6 - Sun., May 9 - Texas at Chicago, 3:00 p.m.

Game 7 - Tues., May 11 - Texas at Chicago, 7:00 p.m. -X

X = If Necessary

Manchester goes for series win tonight at home against Worcester

Worcester becomes the first regular-season division champion to face elimination this postseason as the Sharks need a win in Game 6 at Manchester tonight. The Monarchs, meanwhile, are just one victory away from their second trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in four years. Manchester improved to 4-1 on the road this postseason by eking out a 1-0 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Baz Bastien Award winner Jonathan Bernier made 30 saves for the Monarchs and collected his second shutout of Worcester in a three-game span. Bernier (7-2) now leads all AHL playoff goaltenders in goals-against average (1.54) and save percentage (.950), and his two shutouts are tied with Chicago's Peter Mannino for the league lead. Manchester's Bud Holloway tallied the only goal of the game on Wednesday and tied Darren Haydar's AHL record with his sixth game-winning marker of the postseason. The defending Calder Cup Champion Hershey bears await the winner of the series.

Abbotsford Pulls Even With Hamilton after 4-1 win in Game 4 at Home

Rookie Mitch Wahl tallied three points - including his first two AHL playoff goals - and David Shantz made 26 saves in net as Abbotsford evened up the North Division Finals with a 4-1 win over Hamilton at the Entertainment & Sports Centre on Thursday. The best-of-7 series is now deadlocked at two games apiece, with Game 5 to be played on Saturday night in Abbotsford. The Heat's win guarantees that the teams will return to Hamilton for Game 6 on Monday.

FRIDAY'S GAME 5-7-10:

Game 5 - Chicago at Texas, 7:30 CDT (Series tied, 2-2)

Game 6 - Worcester at Manchester, 7:30 ET (MAN leads series, 3-2)

THURSDAY'S SCORE:

Game 4 - Hamilton 1 at Abbotsford 4 (Series tied, 2-2)

SERIES SUBPLOTS.......

- Texas forwards Francis Wathier and Greg Rallo, have both recorded an assist in three straight games.

- After totaling eight points in his first five playoffs games, Texas rookie Jamie Benn has been held scoreless in the last three games against Chicago.

- In the AHL's 109 previous best-of-seven series tied at 2-2, the Game 5 victor has won the series 86 times (78.9 percent).

Playoff Format.......

Four rounds, with each round slated as a best of seven series. The top four teams in each division qualify for playoffs. The teams play within their division for the first two rounds. The division winners will meet in the conference finals. The winner of the Western Conference will play the winner of the Eastern Conference for the Calder Cup. In order to take the Calder Cup, a team must win 16 games.

The Calder Cup.......

The coveted Calder Cup has been a motivational force for American Hockey League teams throughout the League's 73-year history. It is one of our sport's greatest challenges and ultimate honors to hoist the Calder Cup in victory.

The trophy is named for Frank Calder, who served as the National Hockey League's first President from 1917 to 1943. During the 1920's, Mr. Calder was instrumental in guiding hockey into the mainstream of America's major cities including Boston, New York, Detroit and Chicago, while helping in the formation of the American League.

The Calder Cup trophy itself was actually first awarded in 1938 to the Providence Reds for winning the second International-American Hockey League championship. (In 1996, George Parsons of the Syracuse Stars was presented the Calder Cup in a ceremony at the Onondaga County War Memorial, as it is believed the Stars never received a trophy for their 1937 championship.

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American Hockey League Stories from May 7, 2010


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