Weekly Wrap-Up - North Division (Week 28)
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It’s the last North Division Notebook of the regular season! Before the division semifinals - and the quest for the Calder Cup - get underway on Friday, let’s look at how the final week played out for all seven teams.
Wednesday, April 11th
Syracuse 1, Rochester 0
Matthew Peca’s goal 1:22 into the third period was all the offense Connor Ingram would need, as he stopped all 38 shots and pitched his fourth shutout of the season in a road win over the Amerks. Linus Ullmark, in his first Rochester appearance since March 11th, stopped 17 of 18 in the loss.
Friday, April 13th
Syracuse 2, Utica 1 (OT)
Carter Verhaeghe’s goal with 39 seconds remaining in overtime would give the Crunch their second straight win, and in the process join Toronto and Lehigh Valley as the only AHL teams with 100 points. Daniel Walcott, sporting the C, scored his 5th of the season early in the second, and Eddie Pasquale had 27 saves. Michael Carcone scored the lone Comets goal, and Thatcher Demko added 20 saves.
Rochester 6, Belleville 4
The Senators had leads of 3-0 and 4-2, but the Amerks would respond each time, using a 3 goal third to put Belleville away in their regular season home finale. Justin Bailey scored twice, Danny O’Regan added a goal and two assists, Kevin Porter added a goal and an assist, Nathan Paetsch had two assists, and Ullmark had 26 saves. Filip Chlapik and Nick Moutrey each had a goal and an assist, and Filip Gustavsson stopped 32 shots for the Senators.
Hartford 2, Binghamton 1 (OT)
In their first matchup all season, the Devils trailed 1-0 entering the third, then Nathan Bastian’s 10th goal with 14:07 to go would tie it up. But, Cole Schneider would give the Wolfpack the home win in their finale with a goal 1:29 into overtime. Cam Johnson’s second professional start was a huge improvement compared to the first, as he stopped 31 of 33 shots.
Toronto 4, Laval 1
The Marlies kicked off a home and home series with a road win over the Rocket. Chris Mueller scored twice and added an assist, Ben Smith added two assists, and Garret Sparks had 24 saves. Rinat Valiev scored the lone Laval goal against his former team, and Charlie Lindgren added 22 saves.
Saturday, April 14th
Toronto 6, Laval 4
In their regular season home finale, the Marlies finished off the two-game sweep of the ice cold Rocket, who saw their winless streak to end the season hit 12 games. Miro Aaltonen scored twice, Carl Grundstrom added two assists, Kristian Pospisil scored his first professional goal and added an assist, Brady Ferguson had two assists, and Calvin Pickard had 26 saves. Four different Laval skaters would have at least one goal, and Michael McNiven had 31 saves. With a final points percentage of .382, the Rocket finishes at #31 in the AHL.
Belleville 3, Utica 1
The Senators finished off their home schedule in style with a win over Utica, officially giving the Comets fourth place in the North. Ryan Scarfo would have a goal and an assist, Ville Pokka added two assists, and Marcus Hogberg had 37 saves. Willie Corrin, one of many PTOs in the Utica lineup, had the lone Comet goal, and Richard Bachman had 24 saves.
Rochester 4, Syracuse 2
In what would become a first round playoff preview, the Amerks finished off their regular season with a road win over the Crunch, who rested several regulars in their final game. Four different Rochester skaters would have a goal, and Adam Wilcox stopped 24 shots. Alexander Volkov would have both Crunch goals, Olivier Archambault had two assists before leaving the game with an injury, and Olivier Mantha, brought up from Adirondack, had 39 saves in his AHL debut, making him the seventh different goaltender to appear in at least one game for the Crunch this season.
Hartford 4, Binghamton 2
The Devils finished their home slate by being swept by the Wolfpack in their brief 2 game season series. Brett Seney and Kevin Rooney would provide the offense with one goal each, while Ken Appleby stopped 27 shots.
Sunday, April 15th
Utica 4, Binghamton 3 (OT)
Lukas Jasek’s third goal of the season with 1:31 left in overtime would give the Comets a win in their regular season home finale over the Devils. Jonathan Dahlen would score his first as a professional and add an assist, Wacey Hamilton added two assists, and Demko had 30 saves in picking up his franchise record 25th win of the season. Jan Mandat, Nick Lappin, and Austin Cangelosi all had goals for the Devils, who finish their first season in the Southern Tier tied for 5th place in the North.
Toronto 4, Belleville 3
Despite having most of their regulars resting, the Marlies would defeat the Senators in their home regular season finale. Ian Scott made his pro debut in net and got the win with 27 saves. Jeremy Bracco, Adam Brooks, and Pierre Engvall each had a goal and an assist. Daniel Ciampini had a goal and an assist, and Gustavsson had 25 saves for Belleville, who will finish their inaugural season tied for fifth place with Binghamton.
News & Notes Around the North:
On Wednesday, Sparks was awarded the “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award, given to the AHL’s top goaltender. He is tied for the AHL lead in wins (31), is first in goals against average (1.79) and save percentage (.936), and second in shutouts (6).
Peca was recalled to Tampa Bay on Sunday, with injuries hitting the Lightning during their first-round playoff series with New Jersey.
North Division Standings (FINAL)
Toronto: 76 GP, 54-18-2-2, 112 points, .737 pct. Syracuse: 76 GP, 46-22-3-5, 100 points, .658 pct. Rochester: 76 GP, 37-22-11-6, 91 points, .599 pct. Utica: 76 GP, 38-26-8-4, 88 points, .579 pct. Binghamton: 76 GP, 25-38-9-4, 63 points, .414 pct. Belleville: 76 GP, 29-42-2-3, 63 points, .414 pct. Laval: 76 GP, 24-42-7-3, 58 points, .382 pct.
2018 Calder Cup Playoffs—North Division Semifinals:
(1) Toronto vs. (4) Utica
Game 1: Saturday, April 21st at Toronto, 4:00 PM Game 2: Sunday, April 22nd at Toronto, 4:00 PM Game 3: Wednesday, April 25th at Utica, 7:00 PM Game 4: Friday, April 27th at Utica, 7:00 PMGame 5: Sunday, April 29th at Toronto, 4:00 PM
(2) Syracuse vs. (3) Rochester
Game 1: Friday, April 20th at Syracuse, 7:00 PM Game 2: Saturday, April 21st at Syracuse, 7:00 PM Game 3: Wednesday, April 25th at Rochester, 7:05 PM Game 4: Friday, April 27th at Rochester, 7:05 PMGame 5: Saturday, April 28th at Syracuse, 7:00 PM
*if necessary
