2008-2009 Calder Cup

[razer]

It was a tight checking game that could of went either way. Scheinder played great once again. Hodgson played on the fourth line, and even got some powerplay time late in third.

[Mr. Hockey]

[img src="

theahl.com.ismmedia.com/ISM3/thumbcache/2f610472f8083de1a5fa36a4596fe758.200.jpg"]

Game Two

Well game 2 is in the books, and it was different story. Manitoba come out to play tonight after winning game two 5 to 2. The Moose picked up goals from Jason Krog, Michael Grabner (2), Cody Hodgson, Raymond Sawada. The Aeros goals were scored from J.P. Testwuide and Macro Rosa. Houston really didn't show up to play tonight which cost then game 2. Now they go back home down 2 game to 0 to the Moose. There was 9,736 fans at the game.

Game One

The bruins came into Hershey and they took home ice avantage away from the bears after winning game one 3 to 2. Providence would get 2 powerplay goals in the first period by getting goals from Jeff Penner and Jordan Knackstedt. In the second period Hershey would get a early goal from Oskar Osala, but 5 minutes later Providence would take a 3 to 1 lead from a big goal by Matt Marquardt. The bears would make it a one goal lead from a goal by Osala. That would be his second goal of the night. Hershey would get a powerplay with 30 seconds left in the 3rd period by they couldn't get a goal pass Tuukka Rask. Provudence leads series 1 game to 0.

Around the AHL.

- Game 2 goes tonight between Providence and Hershey
- Game 3 between Manitoba and Houston will go Monday night in Houston.

[razer]

I found moose played a full 60 minute game last night. I did not expect it to be 3-0 after 1 as a result houston changed goalies to start 2nd. Sure was nice to see Hodgson get his first pro goal, I really think he should be on the 2nd line.

[Mr. Hockey]

Game Two

Game 2 was a close one till the 3td period. Hershey got the 1st goal of the game with Andrew Joudrey would pass a shot behind Tuukka Rask. 2 minutes later Alexander Giroux would put the bears up by 2 with a powerplay goal. The bruins would make it a one goal game with a powerplay marker in the last minutes of play. The series between the 2 is tried at one.

Around the AHL

- Game 3 between Manitoba and Houston goes tonight in Houston
- Game 3 between Providence and Hershey goes Tuesday night in Providence

[Mr. Hockey]

The Manitoba Moose are one win away from the calder cup finals after winning game three 4 to 3. Manitoba would get a nice goal from captain Mike Keane. Alexander Bolduc would add another one to but Manitoba up by 2. Midway into the second period Houston would get then self on the board with a goal by Matt Beaudoin. But 2 minutes later Manitoba would take a 2 goal lead with a goal by Michael Grabner. At the start of the 3rd period Houston would get 2 fast goals from Corey Locke and Danny Irmen to tied up the game at 3's. BUt the Manitoba Moose would have the last laugh in last nights game. Michael Grabner would put on behind goalie Nolan Schaefer to give the moose the win.

[Mr. Hockey]

Houston is going to see another game after winning game 4. 5 to 4 in overtime. This game was a close one along. Moose had a 2 lead early in the second then the aeros came back to tie it all up. Houston takes lead Manitoba ties it up right after. The thing that got me was that Houston plays Anton Khudoin for the whole game. Then when ot came along they put Nolan Schaefer in net.

Around the AHL

the 2 series will be playing tomorrow night.

[razer]

Their will be a game six after as the moose lost in double overtime to the houston aeros last night. Game 6 goes monday night at the mts center in winnipeg LETS GET LOUD winnipeg our team needs us. GO MOOSE GO

[Mr. Hockey]

I'm pretty sure the game will be loud. If we lose, I am going to be mad. So it may be a quite road home razer lol

[Mr. Hockey]

The Manitoba Moose have won the Robert W. Clarke Trophy as the American Hockey League’s Western Conference champions for 2008-09, advancing to the Calder Cup Finals with a 3-1 victory over the Houston Aeros at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg on Monday night.

It is the first conference championship in franchise history for the Moose, who began play in Winnipeg in 1996 and joined the AHL in 2001.

The top affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, Manitoba finished first overall in the AHL during the regular season with a record of 50-23-1-6 and 107 points, capturing its second North Division title. The Moose, featuring AHL goaltender of the year Cory Schneider and AHL coach of the year Scott Arniel, defeated the Toronto Marlies in the division semifinals (4-2), the Grand Rapids Griffins in the division finals (4-0) and the Aeros in the conference finals (4-2).

Manitoba will take on the Hershey Bears in the 2009 Calder Cup Finals beginning Saturday night.

Michael Grabner notched the game-winning goal for the Moose on Monday, breaking a 1-1 tie on the power play at 9:46 of the third period with his seventh postseason tally. Defenseman Nolan Baumgartner picked up the lone assist.

Matt Pope and Mark Fistric also netted goals in the win, and Schneider finished with 16 saves as the Moose held a 36-17 advantage in shots.

The Aeros initially took a 1-0 lead when Corey Locke potted his league-leading and career-high 12th goal of the playoffs on the power play 12:52 into the contest.

But Houston, which had staved off elimination four previous times this postseason and twice in this series, could not beat Schneider again and were ultimately unable to overcome an early 3-0 series deficit.

Established in 1990, the AHL’s Western Conference championship trophy honors the late Robert W. Clarke. Mr. Clarke served as the Chairman of the AHL’s Board of Governors from 1967-94, and in 1956, he played an instrumental role in the formation of the Rochester Americans, one of the most successful franchises in AHL history and themselves a seven-time recipient of the Clarke Trophy.

Hershey Bears have won the Richard F. Canning Trophy as the AHL’s Eastern Conference champions for 2008-09, claiming the title with a 5-2 victory over the Providence Bruins in Game 5 of their best-of-seven series at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence on Monday afternoon.

The Bears are heading to the Calder Cup Finals for the third time in four years since becoming the top development affiliate of the Washington Capitals, and for the 21st time overall, extending their own league record. Hershey’s most recent AHL championship came in 2006.

Chris Bourque, whose father Ray played 21 seasons with the Boston Bruins, scored the series-clinching goal on a shorthanded rush 6:46 into the third period as the Bears continued their late-game domination of the B’s. In the series, Providence owned a 6-0 lead on the scoreboard in the first period, but were outscored 18-6 from the second period on.

Hershey controlled the first period on Monday, outshooting the Bruins by a 13-3 margin, but the game was scoreless after 20 minutes. Andrew Gordon cashed in on a two-man advantage early in the second period, but Brad Marchand answered with Providence’s eighth power-play goal of the series just 2:28 later.

Alexandre Giroux converted a fortuitous bounce out of the corner to give the Bears the lead heading into the third but the Bruins drew even again on a goal by Mikko Lehtonen 1:57 into the final frame.

Darren Reid got a much-needed insurance goal with 9:41 to play, his third goal in six games this postseason after scoring twice in 38 regular-season matches. And Quintin Laing, who missed eight weeks with a torn spleen before returning to the Bears lineup in Game 3 of the series, finished things off with an empty-net tally after assisting on the first two goals of the period.

Rookie goaltender Michal Neuvirth, who assumed the Bears’ starting role after Simeon Varlamov was recalled by Washington prior to the start of the postseason, made 27 saves to improve his playoff record to 12-4.

In his first full season as head coach, Bob Woods guided the Bears to a first-place finish in the East Division during the regular season with a record of 49-23-2-6 (106 points). Hershey defeated Philadelphia in the division semifinals (4-0) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the division finals (4-3) before ousting Providence (4-1) for the Eastern Conference championship.

Calder Cup Finals

Schedule

Game 1 – Sat., May 30 – Hershey at Manitoba, 8:30
Game 2 – Tue., June 2 – Hershey at Manitoba, 8:30
Game 3 – Sat., June 6 – Manitoba at Hershey, 7:00
Game 4 – Sun., June 7 – Manitoba at Hershey, 5:00
*Game 5 – Tue., June 9 – Manitoba at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 6 – Fri., June 12 – Hershey at Manitoba, 8:30
*Game 7 – Sun., June 14 – Hershey at Manitoba, 8:30
*if necessary... All times Eastern

Notes:

Both teams didn’t face each other in the season. So its really hard to pick who will come on top in this seasons. I since I’m from Manitoba I’m going with the Moose in 6 or 7 to win there first Calder Cup.

I got the information from the ahl site. Its www.theahl.com.

[razer]

Im going with Moose in 6 just cuz of the fact that im from manitoba and dont know how good hershey is.

[razer]

Already over 10,000 tickets sold for saturday nights game 1 at the mts center. The place should be rocking, hopefully get a sell out.

[Mr. Hockey]

HERSHEY 5, MANITOBA 4 (OT)
Alexandre Giroux poked home a loose puck in the crease on the power play at 13:33 of overtime, completing a hat trick and giving Hershey a 5-4 win over Manitoba on Saturday in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals at a sold-out MTS Centre. Giroux now has a team-leading 12 postseason goals for Bears, who erased a 3-1 deficit in the third period en route to the win.

Game 2 is set for Tuesday in Winnipeg.

The AHL’s most valuable player, Giroux led all AHL scorers with 60 goals during the regular season and has now combined to notch 72 on the campaign, an AHL record for a single year.

Rookie Oskar Osala scored twice for the Bears on Saturday, and first-year goaltender Michal Neuvirth earned the victory with 26 saves in net.

The Moose grabbed a 1-0 lead when Mark Cullen converted a 5-on-3 power play by burying a cross-crease pass from Jason Krog at the bottom of the right face-off circle, lifting the puck over Neuvirth.

But the Bears rebounded just 56 seconds later as Giroux capitalized on a Manitoba turnover and potted a shorthanded goal from the slot.

Michael Grabner put the Moose back on top at 13:18 of the second frame, as he collected a cross-ice pass at the red line and burst down the left wing before cutting to the slot and flipping a backhand past Neuvirth. The 21-year-old Grabner then extended Manitoba’s advantage to 3-1 at 6:12 of the middle frame when he converted a partial breakaway chance for his second tally of the night, again on the backhand.

Grabner, drafted 14th overall by Vancouver in 2006, added an assist and has racked up eight goals (8-2-10) in his last six games and shows a team-high nine goals on the playoffs (9-5-14).

However, the resilient Bears rallied for a trio of goals in the third period. Osala brought Hershey within 3-2 just 2:34 into the third period, and Giroux tallied the equalizer at 11:01. A little more than four minutes later, Osala took a wrap-around shot from the bottom of the right face-off circle that hit the skate of Manitoba netminder Cory Schneider and just trickled over the goal line, giving Hershey a 4-3 advantage.

Buoyed by a lengthy 5-on-3 power play, the Moose knotted the score once more when Maxime Fortunus’s shot from the point found its way through a screen and past Neuvirth with 1:16 to play.

But the Moose could not score in the extra session, and Schneider fell to 0-7 in his AHL career in playoff overtime contests, including an 0-3 mark this postseason.

[Mr. Hockey]

Jason Jaffray scored two of his three goals in the third period as Manitoba rallied past Hershey for a crucial 3-1 win in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals on Tuesday before 14,737 fans at the MTS Centre, tying the series at a game apiece. Jaffray wristed home the game-winner for the Moose with just 47 seconds left in regulation.

The 27-year-old Jaffray then completed his hat trick with an empty-net power play tally in the closing seconds. Jaffray, who entered the game with six goals in 17 postseason contests, registered his first three-goal effort since Nov. 15 vs. Toronto.

It marked the second consecutive Finals game featuring a hat trick, as Hershey’s Alexandre Giroux potted three scores in the Bears’ 5-4 overtime triumph to open the series on Saturday night.

Giroux picked up where he left off in Game 2, giving Hershey a 1-0 lead 12:31 into the contest with his league-leading 13th goal of the playoffs. The AHL MVP picked up a pass from Graham Mink on the left wing and beat Moose goaltender Cory Schneider on a partial breakaway.

The Bears nursed that advantage into the first intermission, marking their first lead after the opening period since also holding a 1-0 edge after 20 minutes in Game 7 of the East Division Finals against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on May 12.

But Manitoba evened it up on the power play midway through the second frame, as Jaffray tallied his first of the night at 7:59. The Moose held a 14-4 shots advantage during the second period but could not put another puck past Hershey goaltender Michal Neuvirth in the stanza.

The Calder Cup Finals seemed destined to begin with consecutive overtime tilts for the first time since 1998 before Jaffray’s heroics in the closing minute of regulation sent the Moose fans home happy.

Michael Grabner picked up an assist and had a game-high seven shots on goal for the Moose, and Schneider stopped 27 of 28 shots in the winning effort.

Deadlocked at 1-1, the series will now shift to central Pennsylvania and Giant Center for the next three contests. After three days off, the Bears will host the Moose for back-to-back games on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, and Game 5 is set for next Tuesday night.

What a game last night in Winnipeg. Manitoba didn't came out a play in the first period then they woke up and played great in the last two period.

[Mr. Hockey]

HERSHEY, Pa. ... Hershey received power-play goals from Graham Mink and Alexandre Giroux and a 28-save shutout by goaltender Michal Neuvirth en route to a 3-0 win over Manitoba in Game 3 of the Calder Cup Finals on Saturday before a sellout crowd of 10,696 fans at Giant Center. Holding a 2-1 series lead, the Bears will host Game 4 on Sunday.

Hershey improved to 8-1 at home this postseason and handed Manitoba just its second shutout of the entire season. San Antonio’s Josh Tordjman backstopped his club to a 1-0 victory over the Moose on Dec. 7, 2008.

Neuvirth (14-5) picked up his league-leading fourth shutout of the playoffs, the most by an AHL rookie since Rochester’s Mika Noronen racked up an overall-record six during the 2000 postseason. All four of Neuvirth’s playoff shutouts have come at Giant Center, and Saturday also marked the first shutout by a home team in the Calder Cup Finals since Chicago’s Pasi Nurminen blanked Bridgeport in Game 3 of the 2002 championship series.

Playing at home for the first time since May 17, the Bears took a 1-0 lead in the opening period as Mink tipped home Staffan Kronwall’s shot from the left circle for his first goal of the series and sixth of the playoffs at 6:22.

Hershey extended its advantage to 2-0 at 9:38 of the second frame when Giroux tallied his league-leading 14th goal of the postseason. Stationed in the right circle, the AHL MVP one-timed a feed from Keith Aucoin past Moose goaltender Cory Schneider for the Bears’ second power play goal of the night.

Kronwall picked up his second assist of the game on the play, as the defenseman began the scoring sequence by saving a Manitoba clearing attempt at the left point.

Hershey’s Quintin Laing added an unassisted shorthanded goal into an empty-net in the game’s closing minute for his second tally of the playoffs.

The Bears finished 2-for-3 on the power play, registering multiple man-advantage markers for the second time in three Calder Cup Finals games and for the third time in their last four contests overall.

Meanwhile, Hershey’s penalty kill denied all five Manitoba power play attempts, including a 50-second 5-on-3 opportunity during the second period.

The Moose had gone 15 straight games without suffering a regulation loss since dropping a 2-1 decision at Toronto on Apr. 19 in Game 3 of the division semifinals. Schneider finished with 21 saves in the losing effort.

[Mr. Hockey]

HERSHEY, Pa. ... Keith Aucoin broke a 1-1 tie with a 5-on-3 power play goal midway through the third period, and Hershey held on for a 2-1 win over Manitoba on Sunday before another sellout crowd of 10,739 fans at Giant Center.

The Bears now own a 3-1 series lead in the Calder Cup Finals and can clinch their 10th championship when they host Game 5 on Tuesday night.

In Calder Cup Finals history, only three teams have rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to claim the title. To extend the series, Manitoba will have to defeat a Hershey squad which is now 9-1 at Giant Center this postseason.

The Moose, who had been blanked by Hershey goaltender Michal Neuvirth the night before, took a 1-0 lead at 11:37 of the first period on Sunday. Jason Jaffray sent a pass from the right face-off dot to Raymond Sawada in the slot, and Sawada one-timed it past Neuvirth high to the blocker side.

Sawada, a 24-year-old rookie, snapped a seven-game scoring drought with his first point since posting a goal and a helper against Houston on May 16, and Manitoba carried the one-goal edge into the first intermission despite being outshot 13-6 in the period.

But Hershey broke through for the equalizer just 5:11 into the second stanza. After speeding down the left wing, Kyle Wilson picked up trickling puck in the left slot and snapped off a quick wrist shot that handcuffed Manitoba goaltender Cory Schneider.

Andrew Gordon and rookie defenseman John Carlson assisted on Wilson’s third goal of the playoffs and first since Game 1 of the division finals against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on May 2. Carlson, for his part, had not found the scoresheet since tallying his first professional goal against the Penguins on May 3.

The Bears then cashed in on their 5-on-3 advantage to take a 2-1 lead at 7:17 of the third frame. Alexandre Giroux’s initial shot from the center point sailed wide of the net, but Aucoin took the rebound off the end boards and slid it into the short side before Schneider was able to recover.

Manitoba crashed the Hershey zone in the last 10 minutes of regulation in a furious attempt to send the tilt to overtime, and the Moose took 13 of the game’s final 14 shots on goal.

But Neuvirth (15-5) stood tall to finish with 30 saves, and for the second straight night, the Bears held Manitoba’s power play scoreless on five opportunities.