Hockey News

HOUSTON, Texas - The Houston Aeros returned home last week with a 1-1 series tie in the West Division Semifinals but are now packing their bags for the summer rather than the next round. The Aeros dropped all three home contests last week and were eliminated 4-1 in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

After seeing how tight the division was in the regular season everyone knew it wouldn’t be an easy task to win in the playoffs. The Rockford IceHogs bested the Aeros with three of the five games decided by only one goal, including the longest 0-0 tied game in league history. Rockford will go on to play Chicago in the second round beginning this week.

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2008 Playoff Record: 3-3 (1-2 Home, 2-1 Road), Tied 3-34 In East Division Semifinal

Week 30 Recap:

The River Rats headed into Week 30 on a high, having earned a split of Games 2 & 3 in Philadelphia to take a 2-1 series lead back to Albany. But the Phantoms were not deterred by playing in the Times Union Center, as they shutdown the River Rats offense last Tuesday with a 2-1 win in Game 4 to even the series. Then history was made. Thursday night’s Game 5 on April 24th will go down in the annals of hockey lore as the two teams battled it out into the fifth overtime before the Phantoms grabbed a 3-2 win, setting an AHL record for the longest game in the league’s 72-year history. Faced with a win-or-go-home situation, the River Rats traveled back to Philadelphia and stayed alive as Kirk MacDonald scored in overtime to give Albany a 1-0 win in Game 6, forcing a decisive Game 7 at the Wachovia Center.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -Center Ryan Carter, who appeared in 34 games for Anaheim as a rookie this past season, signed a three-year contract with the Ducks.

The 24-year-old Carter had four goals and four assists, with 36 penalty minutes. He scored his first NHL goals on Feb. 8 against New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur, with his goals less than 8 minutes apart leading Anaheim to a 2-1 win.

The Ducks originally signed Carter as a free agent out of Minnesota State University in the summer of 2006.

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DALLAS - As strange as it sounds, the Dallas Stars might have preferred staying on the West Coast even though they are coming home with a 2-0 series lead.

It’s San Jose that instead really needed to escape the Shark Tank.

What about home-ice advantage? Well, there doesn’t seem to be any whenever the Sharks and Stars play, whether in the regular season or the playoffs. The home team has won three of the past 16 games dating to last season.

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THIS WEEK

WEST DIVISION FINAL

Thu., May 1 vs. Rockford IceHogs Allstate Arena 7:00 p.m.

Sat., May 3 vs. Rockford IceHogs Allstate Arena 7:00 p.m.

Sun., May 4 at Rockford IceHogs Rockford MetroCentre 4:00 p.m.

Wed., May 7 at Rockford IceHogs Rockford MetroCentre 7:00 p.m.

Fri., May 9* vs. Rockford IceHogs Allstate Arena 7:30 p.m.

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Springfield, MA - The Springfield Falcons, proud members of the American Hockey League, announced today that

they have partnered with Executive Valet to offer an additional incentive for individuals to purchase Falcons’ season tickets. Any individual who purchases a Falcons’ season ticket during the month of May will receive one week of free parking at Executive Valet. Parking offer can be used up until November 15 and Executive Valet is located on Route 75 at Bradley Field.

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ALBANY, NY - The Albany River Rats announced today that Game Seven of their East Division Semifinals series with the Philadelphia Phantoms will be broadcast live on 88.3 FM The Saint. The River Rats also announced that the team will host a Game Seven Viewing Party at Broadway Joe’s in the Times Union Center complex.

Catch all the action of Albany’s second Game Seven in their 15-year history on Tuesday, April 29th at 7:05 pm from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. The broadcast begins with the River Rats Pre Game Show at 6:45 pm on 88.3 FM The Saint (WVCR-FM). Albany has a 1-0 record in Game Seven action, beating the Rochester Americans 6-2 in Game Seven of the 1997 Empire Division Finals on May 14th, 1997 at the Rochester War Memorial.

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MONTREAL - The knock on the Montreal Canadiens before the playoffs was that they were too small and too European to do well in the rough and tumble of post-season hockey.

It seems that someone forgot to tell that to wingers Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn, or their stocky centre Tomas Plekanec.

The brothers combined for seven goals and Plekanec had one through the Canadiens’ first eight playoff games.

Plekanec said heart matters more than size or nationality.

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PHILADELPHIA - It has been a challenging year for Montreal Canadiens forward Michael Ryder.

The 28-year-old from Bonavista, N.L., struggled with just 14 goals in the regular season and was a healthy scratch for a fifth straight playoff game Monday.

Habs coach Guy Carbonneau decided to sit fourth-liner Mathieu Dandenault for Game 3 of Montreal’s second-round series against Philadelphia, but rather than call on Ryder, he went with 20-year-old Guillaume Latendresse.

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WINNIPEG - Derek MacKenzie wasn’t interested in discussing his overtime goal Saturday night - he wanted instead to rave about his star teammate.

MacKenzie’s goal 10:54 into overtime lifted the Syracuse Crunch to a 3-2 victory over the Manitoba Moose on Saturday, and a 3-2 lead in their American Hockey League North Division semifinal.

MacKenzie took a perfect pass from Derick Brassard, raced to the front of the crease, outguessed Schneider and backhanded the puck into the net. After the game, MacKenzie lauded Brassard for setting up the game winner.

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