Big…and surprising news…from the Mohawk Valley this afternoon.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo visited Griffiss AFB in Rome for a pair of announcements for the city of Utica: first, an additional $10.5 million dollars in state funds will go towards more renovations for the newly named Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium, on top of the 7 million already tied into the current project.
Second, the AHL announced that the 2018 All Star Classic will be returning to Utica for the second time in four years, taking place January 28th and 29th between the Adirondack Bank Center and Turning Stone Resort & Casino, who again will be the main sponsor. For those that wonder why the Comets got the All Star events back so quickly…well, it’s based on city interest in hosting the event, which includes having adequate hotel and meeting center space, among other things.
My first All Star event was in Utica back in 2015, and I must say the Comets did an amazing job. I’m definitely looking forward to making my fourth straight All Star trip!
Meanwhile, in the Southern Tier, the next chapter of Binghamton hockey began with the opening of Devils camp. Four Thunder signees–Tim Boyle, Pierre-Luc Mercier, Tim Harrison, and the newly signed Desmond Bergin–are invites, along with defenseman Tim Erixon (recently cut by New Jersey) and veteran forward Tim Kennedy, who split last season between Sweden and Rochester.
Finally, my first opportunity to put together an actual AHL post!
Just when I thought I wasn’t going to do a Free Agent Tracker this summer…well here we are on August 1st. So how have the four New York teams fared since free agency began exactly one month ago? Here’s where everyone stands:
New Jersey/Binghamton
New Arrivals: Bracken Kearns, Brian Strait
Departures: Yohann Auvitu (Edmonton); Seth Helgeson (NY Islanders); Andrew MacWilliam (Rochester); Vojtech Mozik (Europe); Karl Stollery (Europe); Luke Gazdic (Calgary); Petr Straka (Europe); Max Novak (Toronto); Ben Sexton (Ottawa); Carter Camper (Cleveland)
Staying Put: Brian Gibbons, Viktor Loov, Scott Wedgewood (RFA), Joe Blandisi (RFA), Blake Pietila (RFA), Blake Coleman (RFA), Kevin Rooney (RFA), Ben Thomson (RFA)
Still Available: Rod Pelley, Jan Mandat, Shane Harper
Other News: On Saturday, the logo was officially revealed and…you be the judge. Let’s just say I’m a bigger fan of the sleeve patches and leave it at that. Otherwise, it’s been a fairly quiet offseason, outside of Nicomania hitting the Garden State.
Buffalo/Rochester:
Arrivals: Adam Wilcox, Andrew MacWilliam, Stevie Moses, Barry Goers, Adam Krause, Kyle Criscuolo, Kevin Porter
Departures: Mat Bodie (Tampa Bay); Cole Schneider (NY Rangers); Patrick Mullen (Europe); John Muse (Lehigh Valley); Jean Dupuy (Toronto); Erik Burgdoerfer (Ottawa); Derek Grant (Anaheim); Justin Kea (ECHL Florida); Paul Geiger (Hershey)
Staying Put: Daniel Muzito-Bagenda, Evan Rodrigues (RFA)
Still Available: Tim Kennedy, Matthew Lane, Justin Vaive, Brady Austin, Mac Bennett, Tyson Strachan
Other News: It’s been a summer of change in western New York, as a new regime takes over in Buffalo–new GM (Randy Sexton), new coaching staff (Chris Taylor and Gord Dineen take over behind the bench), and quite a few veteran signings by the Amerks/Sabres with the aim of helping Rochester get back to being competitive again.
Tampa Bay/Syracuse:
Arrivals: Michael Leighton, Mat Bodie, Jamie McBain, Carter Verhaeghe, Alex Gallant, Reid McNeill
Departures: Tanner Richard (Europe); Mike McKenna (Dallas); Bryon Froese (Montreal); Kristers Gudlevskis (NY Islanders); Matt Taormina (Montreal); Henri Ikonen (Europe); Joel Vermin (Europe)
Staying Put: Michael Bournival, Jake Dotchin, Matthew Peca, Slater Koekkoek, Cory Conacher, Yanni Gourde, Gabriel Dumont, Kevin Lynch, Nic Riopel
Still Available: Stefan Fournier, Mike Halmo, Pierre-Luc Leblond, Mathieu Brodeur, Dylan Blujus, Adam Comrie, Jonathan Racine
Other News: Just a summer of reloading for the defending Eastern Conference champs, as the Lightning have done a great job of not only re-signing key members of last year’s Crunch team, but bringing in a netminder of Michael Leighton’s caliber.
Vancouver/Utica:
Arrivals: Jaime Sifers
Departures: Mike Zalewski (Europe); Chad Billins (Europe); Alexandre Grenier (Florida); David Shields (Europe); Curtis Valk (Florida); Derek Hulak (Lehigh Valley)
Staying Put: Darren Archibald, Joseph LaBate, Evan McEneny
Still Available: Colby Robak, Cody Kunyk, Pascal Pelletier, Borna Rendulic, John Negrin, Michael Garteig
Other News: It’s the fifth season of the AHL return to Utica, and other than the renovation of the Aud, it’s been a rather quiet summer for the Comets to this point player-wise. Behind the bench, former Crunch coaches Trent Cull and Gary Agnew take over for the promoted Travis Green and Nolan Baumgartner (now with Vancouver), and Ryan Johnson was brought in as the new general manager.
First, the color scheme…old school black and white. Kind of like a classic newspaper look. And topped off with part of the Herb Brooks Miracle on Ice speech (photo taken by me during my trip to Lake Placid last year).
Second…what am I writing about?
Instead of focusing on just one team…I’m taking on five teams.
Five, you ask?
The five teams that are minor league professional in the state of New York: Adirondack, Syracuse, Utica, Rochester, and Binghamton.
Yes, I said Binghamton too. But more on that later.
Since I couldn’t make up my mind on exactly where I wanted to go for the 2017-18 season…why not split it up amongst a few cities and be more objective than just a fan blog?
My goal now is to have a space where the reader can keep up with the teams of New York State. I have been on a state tourism kick in recent years…I’m probably on the I Love New York site at least once every other week looking for new places to visit. And…maybe some travel related stories thrown in too, kind of like a fan’s guide to each city. For those who have known me for awhile, you know how I do my trips…have to hit other spots too!
Obviously, I may be going to certain arenas more often than others due to distance, but I will try my best to cover everyone equally. I may be a little more in depth with Adirondack due to the Thunder being the closest. In fact, I plan on a Thunder article before the week is out.
I’m sure you’re asking, but you said over and over again you didn’t want to ever set foot in Binghamton. Well…I’ve had an epiphany.
You know how there’s 5 stages of grief? This move saw me go through all of it:
Denial: That was back in January when the rumors first started. No way. Why would you leave Albany for a smaller market?
Anger: The initial press conference comments completely set me off. And even up to a week or so ago, I still was angry about it.
Bargaining: Maybe all those sales pitches I got from other teams were this?
Depression: With every schedule hint and opponent list released, it made me sad not to see Albany listed anywhere.
Acceptance: Finally, after a few days to soul search (and now with the AHL schedule out)…
I’m done with being angry about the situation. It’s hard to continue to hold a grudge when in reality I don’t have a problem with 90% of the people there, potential players included. Does it still hurt? Absolutely. But…I have made a personal decision to drop the resentment and move on. What’s done is done, and I may not have to like it, but I have chosen to accept it. In fact…I may even be willing to go to a game there at some point. (Which means I may have to delete all those #NotMyDevils tweets now…)
I’m hoping to do at least one article a week, maybe two. We’ll see how my work/travel schedule and news works out.
At approximately 1:03 AM this morning, a Ryan Carpenter overtime goal in San Jose would officially put an end to the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs.
Since Friday, the field of 8 has been set…and there are some surprises.
-On Sunday, the top two seeds in the Atlantic were both knocked out in Game 5’s:
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the regular season champs, became the first team since 1996 to finish first overall in the AHL, then get knocked out in the first round after Providence defeated the Penguins 2-1. Lehigh Valley, the second seed, would go down in Game 5 to Hershey 3-2. In any other season, these would be two major upsets, but with the strength of the top 5 teams in the division (Bridgeport, the 5th place team, would have ran away with the North Division title if the old crossover rule was still in effect), both series truly could have gone in either direction.
The Atlantic Division Finals will get underway on Saturday in Hershey, with Game 2 to follow Sunday afternoon. The series will then shift to Rhode Island on May 11th, 12th, and the 14th if necessary. Games 6 and 7 would be in Hershey on May 16th and 17th.
-The Central Division gets underway tonight in Chicago, as the Wolves and Grand Rapids will square off. Game 2 is Friday in Chicago, then the series shifts to Michigan on Saturday for Game 3 and Monday for Game 4. If necessary, Game 5 is May 13th in Chicago, Game 6 May 15th in Grand Rapids, and Game 7 May 16th in Chicago.
-Syracuse and Toronto will kick off the North Division finals in central New York, with Game 1 on Friday and Game 2 Saturday. The series then heads to Canada for Game 3 May 9th and Game 4 on May 10th. If necessary, Game 5 is May 13th in Syracuse, Game 6 May 15th in Toronto, and Game 7 May 17th in Syracuse.
-Finally, in the Pacific, San Jose and San Diego both finished off 5 game series wins on Tuesday, with the Barracuda finishing off Stockton and the Gulls eliminating Ontario. Their division final gets started on Friday in San Jose, followed by Game 2 on Saturday. The series moves to San Diego on May 10th, with Game 4 on the 12th. If necessary, Game 5 is May 13th, then Games 6 and 7 are in San Jose on May 16th and 17th.
Two pieces of Devils news to report (as we are still celebrating the Draft Lottery win on Saturday):
-Vojtech Mozik became the first departure on Wednesday, signing with the KHL’s HC Vityaz Podolsk. Thus begins the fun with translation season.
The series moved north of the border to Toronto on Wednesday, as both teams looked to go up 2-1 in the best of five. Mackenzie Blackwood was back between the pipes looking for redemption, while Jan Mandat and Blake Speers were in for the injured Joe Blandisi and Miles Wood. Scott Wedgewood was cleared and would serve as backup in place of Ken Appleby.
Brendan Leipsic would strike first 3:49 into the opening frame with his first of the postseason for a 1-0 Toronto lead. John Quenneville would match that with his third straight goal of the series, on the Devils’ first power play of the night, less than seven minutes later. In the second, Leipsic would strike a second time with 2:01 remaining for a 2-1 Marlies lead. That lead would last all of 23 seconds…Carter Camper would score his first of the postseason to re-tie the game up at 2. After a scoreless third that saw both teams fail to capitalize on power play chances, it was on to overtime. And 45 seconds in, Colin Greening would end it with the first shot, giving the Marlies the 2-1 edge in the series and putting Albany on the brink. Blackwood rebounded nicely from Game 2’s disaster despite taking the loss, stopping 22 of 25 shots. Four different Devils would have one assist each.
Lines:
Ben Sexton-Carter Camper-Blake Pietila
John Quenneville-Blake Coleman-Nick Lappin
Brian Gibbons-Kevin Rooney-Blake Speers
Ben Thomson-Rod Pelley-Jan Mandat
Defense:
Seth Helgeson/Steve Santini
Josh Jacobs/Viktor Loov
Karl Stollery/Vojtech Mozik
Mackenzie Blackwood/Scott Wedgewood
Scratches: Joe Blandisi, Max Novak, Luke Gazdic, Ryan Kujawinski, Shane Harper, Miles Wood, Petr Straka, Brandon Gignac, Austin Cangelosi, Andrew MacWilliam, Yohann Auvitu, Colton White, Colby Sissons, Jacob MacDonald, Evan Cormier, Ken Appleby
Power Play: 1 for 4. Penalty Kill: 2 for 2. Penalty Minutes: 8. Shots on Goal: 29. Shots Allowed: 25.
Friday night’s mission for Game 4 was a simple one: Win, and play Saturday. Lose, and it’s all over.
One lineup change: Karl Stollery out, Jacob MacDonald in. Mackenzie Blackwood back between the pipes.
In the first, it was all Toronto, as they outshot the Devils 11-4 and went up 1-0 8:55 in on a Travis Dermott goal. Albany would have to kill off an early penalty in the second, but managed to tie the game up at 1 late in the second on Carter Camper’s second goal of the playoffs. After that, the rookie goalies–Blackwood and Toronto’s Kasimir Kaskikuo–would take over, mostly Blackwood. While the Devils were only able to manage 17 shots against through regulation, Blackwood was practically standing on his head, stopping 40 of 41 shots through the first 60 minutes. In the first overtime, the Devils would finally outshoot the Marlies by a 10-8 margin, but blew a chance at a win by not producing on a 4 minute power play. On to the second overtime, where the Marlies managed 6 shots to the Devils’ 4, but Albany was able to kill off a Ben Thomson penalty to stay alive. Then came the third overtime, where 6:43 in, and on Toronto’s 60th shot of the night, Justin Holl would connect and get the series clincher, sending the Marlies to the second round and Albany into extinction.
In his last start of the season, Blackwood was absolutely amazing. Despite a very hard loss, he stopped 58 of 60 shots, and was singlehandedly the reason Albany was able to extend their run by 46 more minutes. John Quenneville and Ben Sexton had the lone helpers.
Lines:
Ben Sexton-Carter Camper-Blake Pietila
John Quenneville-Blake Coleman-Nick Lappin
Brian Gibbons-Kevin Rooney-Blake Speers
Ben Thomson-Rod Pelley-Jan Mandat
Defense:
Seth Helgeson/Steve Santini
Josh Jacobs/Viktor Loov
Jacob MacDonald/Vojtech Mozik
Mackenzie Blackwood/Scott Wedgewood
Scratches: Ken Appleby, Andrew MacWilliam, Joe Blandisi, Max Novak, Luke Gazdic, Ryan Kujawinski, Karl Stollery, Shane Harper, Miles Wood, Petr Straka, Yohann Auvitu, Colby Sissons, Brandon Gignac, Evan Cormier, Austin Cangelosi, Colton White
Power Play: 0 for 3. Penalty Kill: 2 for 2. Penalty Minutes: 4. Shots on Goal: 31. Shots Allowed: 60.
Let’s check in on the rest of the Calder Cup field:
Much like Albany, St. John’s is also extinct. A tying goal by former Devil Stefan Matteau forced overtime in the IceCaps Game 4 matchup against the Crunch on Friday, but Gabriel Dumont would get the game winner, setting up a Syracuse-Toronto North Division final beginning on Friday night in central New York.
Wilkes-Barre and Lehigh Valley, the top two teams in the Atlantic Division, both find themselves on the brink. Hershey could wrap up the series with the Phantoms on Saturday night with a win in Game 4 (if needed Game 5 would be in Allentown on Sunday afternoon), while the Penguins and Bruins will play Game 5 in Wilkes-Barre Township on Sunday after Providence took Game 4 on Friday night.
The Central Division final is set: Chicago defeated Charlotte in 5 games, while Grand Rapids swept Milwaukee. The Wolves and Griffins start their series on Wednesday in Chicago.
In the Pacific, San Jose is up 2-1 on Stockton, and can wrap the series up with a win on Sunday on the road (Game 5 if needed is Tuesday in San Jose). San Diego is up 2-1 against Ontario, and they can advance with a win against the Reign on Monday (Game 5 would also be Tuesday).
Up North with the Thunder:
Sadly, the season has come to an end for Adirondack, as they dropped Game 6 6-5 to Manchester in overtime on Tuesday night, dropping the series 4 games to 2. The Thunder would fall behind 5-4 in the 3rd period, only to have Patch Alber tie the game up with 2:34 left in regulation to force overtime, extending the season by about 3 minutes. Dennis Kravchenko scored twice and finished one assist shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick, Ryan Culkin would have 3 assists, and Brandon Baddock would get his first point of the postseason with a second period assist on Brian Ward’s goal. J.P. Anderson would stop 37 of 43 Monarch shots. Forward Brett Pollock and defenseman Keegan Kanzig have joined Stockton for the remainder of the Heat’s playoff run.
What’s Next?
Well…there’s still some Year in Review business to take care of, look for that next week. After that…stay tuned, I guess.
The first two games of the Devils-Marlies series could be described as a tale of two teams…on both sides. A shutout followed by a blowout, and we’re all tied at 1 as the series heads north.
With a 2-3 format and a Chainsmokers concert taking over the Times Union Center on Friday, the series would get underway with a rare Thursday night matchup. Mackenzie Blackwood, coming off his third shutout to close out the regular season the weekend before, drew the start, while Toronto countered with Garret Sparks. It was a rather quiet first period…until Ben Thomson would put the hosts on the board with 3:38 to go in the opening period for a 1-0 lead. Midway through the second, the Devils would find themselves in a 1:09 5 on 3 situation thanks to questionable calls on Blake Coleman and Brian Gibbons. But not only would Albany kill a majority of that off–a penalty on Toronto’s Andrew Nielsen would negate the last 23 seconds–on the ensuing power play, John Quenneville would connect for a goal to double the Albany lead. Brian Gibbons would finish it off with an empty net goal late in the third, starting the rematch in the Devils favor. Blackwood was magnificent, stopping all 27 Marlies shots. Nick Lappin and Seth Helgeson would each have one assist.
Fun fact: This was only the second time all season a team shut the Marlies out. Former Devil Yann Danis shut out Toronto 3-0 on March 5th.
Lines:
Carter Camper-Joe Blandisi-Ben Sexton
Blake Coleman-John Quenneville-Nick Lappin
Brian Gibbons-Kevin Rooney-Miles Wood
Ben Thomson-Rod Pelley-Blake Pietila
Defense:
Steve Santini/Seth Helgeson
Karl Stollery/Vojtech Mozik
Jacob MacDonald/Josh Jacobs
Mackenzie Blackwood/Ken Appleby
Scratches: Andrew MacWilliam, Max Novak, Jan Mandat, Luke Gazdic, Ryan Kujawinski, Shane Harper, Scott Wedgewood, Blake Speers, Petr Straka, Yohann Auvitu, Brandon Gignac, Evan Cormier, Colton White, Austin Cangelosi, Viktor Loov
Power Play: 1 for 5. Penalty Kill: 0 for 4. Penalty Minutes: 10. Shots on Goal: 23. Shots Allowed: 27.
3 Stars: 1. Mackenzie Blackwood; 2. Ben Thomson; 3. John Quenneville.
Less than 48 hours, the teams reconvened for Game 2. Only change for the Devils was Viktor Loov in, Jacob MacDonald out. Mackenzie Blackwood and Garret Sparks remained in net. But something was different compared to Thursday night…Toronto found their offense, grabbing an early 1-0 lead on a power play goal by Kerby Rychel 2:56 into the contest. Kevin Rooney would tie things up late in the period with his first postseason goal, only to have former Devil Sergey Kalinin give Toronto a 2-1 lead eleven seconds later. In the second, the Marlies would take over the contest, as goals by Frederik Gauthier and Colin Greening 2:23 apart would put the visitors ahead 4-1, chasing Blackwood out of the net in favor of Ken Appleby. The goalie switch seemed to wake the Devils up somewhat…John Quenneville would score for the second straight game to cut the deficit to 4-2. But a late power play goal by Andreas Johnsson would restore the 3 goal advantage for Toronto. Albany had a golden opportunity to get back in the game with a 1:48 5 on 3 chance, but could not take advantage. To finish off the rout, Trevor Moore would score 4:35 into the third, giving the Marlies the win and a split heading into Canada next week. Blackwood stopped 9 of 13 shots in 26:38, while Appleby stopped 8 of 10 in 33:12. Three Devils would add one assist each.
Lines:
Joe Blandisi-Carter Camper-Ben Sexton
John Quenneville-Blake Coleman-Nick Lappin
Miles Wood-Kevin Rooney-Brian Gibbons
Ben Thomson-Rod Pelley-Blake Pietila
Defense:
Steve Santini/Seth Helgeson
Vojtech Mozik/Karl Stollery
Viktor Loov/Josh Jacobs
Mackenzie Blackwood/Ken Appleby
Scratches: Andrew MacWilliam, Max Novak, Jan Mandat, Luke Gazdic, Ryan Kujawinski, Shane Harper, Blake Speers, Petr Straka, Yohann Auvitu, Brandon Gignac, Austin Cangelosi, Colton White, Scott Wedgewood, Evan Cormier
Power Play: 0 for 5. Penalty Kill: 5 for 7. Penalty Minutes: 28. Shots on Goal: 21. Shots Allowed: 23.
Let’s check in on the other AHL first round series:
In the other North Division matchup, Syracuse and St. John’s split their first two games in Newfoundland, with the Crunch winning in double overtime on Saturday. The series moves to Syracuse for Game 3 on Wednesday and Game 4 on Friday, with Game 5 if needed on Saturday.
Lehigh Valley finds themselves in a 2-0 hole to Hershey after the Bears took the first two games with a 1-0 overtime win on Friday, followed by a comeback 5-4 win on Saturday (the Bears were down 4-2 entering the third). Hershey’s first chance to wrap up the series comes Wednesday at home, with Game 4 scheduled for Saturday if needed.
Providence is up 1-0 on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after a 2-1 win at home on Friday night. Game 2 is Sunday afternoon in Rhode Island before the series moves to northeast Pennsylvania for Game 3 on Thursday.
Moving to the West, Chicago and Charlotte split their first two games in North Carolina, with the Checkers picking up a 4-0 shut out win on Thursday before the Wolves picked up a 3-2 win on Friday. Game 3 is in Illinois Sunday afternoon, with Game 4 on Tuesday and Game 5 if needed Wednesday.
Grand Rapids is up 1-0 on Milwaukee after a 4-3 overtime win on Friday. Game 2 is this afternoon in Michigan, before the series moves to Milwaukee for Game 3 on Wednesday.
San Jose is up 1-0 against Stockton after they shut the Heat out 4-0 on Friday. Game 2 is Sunday afternoon in San Jose, then the series goes to Stockton for Game 3 on Friday.
Finally, San Diego and Ontario are tied at 1 in their series after the Reign took Game 1 3-2 on Friday and the Gulls won 2-1 on Saturday. In the ever popular 1-1-1-1-1 series set up, Game 3 is on Friday in San Diego, with Game 4 in Ontario on Monday, May 1st.
Up North with the Thunder:
Adirondack, as mentioned last week, is in a unique situation in their first round series with Manchester: due to the circus coming in to the SNHU Arena, the Thunder gets the next 5 games of the 7 game series on home ice. In Game 3 on Tuesday, the Thunder cut the series lead to 2-1 with a 3-1 win over the Monarchs on Tuesday. Three different Thunder players would score, James Henry would add two assists, while J.P. Anderson stopped 26 of 27 shots. Manchester would take a 3-1 lead in Game 4 on Thursday night, a 2-1 win, despite only putting 16 shots on goal. Cullen Bradshaw had the lone Thunder goal, while Anderson stopped 14 of 16. Adirondack would stave off elimination in Game 5 on Saturday with a 2-1 win. Peter MacArthur and Dennis Kravchenko would each have a goal, and Anderson stopped 25 of 26. The Thunder will again attempt to keep their season alive in Game 6 on Tuesday, with Game 7 scheduled for Wednesday if necessary.
This Week’s Schedule:
The series shifts to Toronto for Games 3-5. We know for sure that Game 3 will be Wednesday and Game 4 is on Friday night. Will Game 5 on Saturday be needed? We shall see.
But the Devils have a daunting task of taking 2 out of 3 in Toronto in order to stave off extinction.
Before the postseason officially begins tomorrow night, there are a few storylines on both sides:
-The Devils added another forward on Tuesday: 2015 3rd rounder Blake Speers has joined the team after finishing his season with Sault Ste. Marie. He made three appearances in New Jersey early in the season, going scoreless before returning to the Greyhounds. If you recall, he was on the roster last season during the playoffs as an amateur tryout, but did not see any action.
SSM teammate Colton White joined him earlier this afternoon.
-Also on Tuesday, the Marlies released their postseason roster. You may recognize a couple of names on the list…
…and one of those familiar names was profiled in today’s Times Union.
At least two Marlies regulars, Kasperi Kapanen and Nikita Soshnikov, are currently up with the Maple Leafs as they take on the Caps in Round 1. That series would finish by Tuesday at the latest, so depending on the result, you may or may not see anyone come down from the Leafs till the “if necessary” portion of the series.
-As for the rest of the AHL? Here’s your other first round matchups:
East:
N1 Syracuse vs. N4 St. John’s–series begins Friday in NFLD
A1 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton vs. A4 Providence–series begins Friday in RI
A2 Lehigh Valley vs. A3 Hershey–series begins Friday in Allentown
West:
C1 Chicago vs. C4 Charlotte–series begins Thursday in NC
C2 Grand Rapids vs. C3 Milwaukee–series begins Friday in MI
P1 San Jose vs. P4 Stockton–series begins Friday in SJ
P2 San Diego vs. P3 Ontario–series begins Friday in SD
Pregamer will be out an hour earlier than usual, at 3 PM on Thursday. This will be the only pregamer for the series. First recap will be on Sunday, time to be determined (as someone who has sat through multiple playoff OTs on a few occasions, you need to prepare for the worst I guess).
-For the first time in 2 years, the Booster Club was able to have a formal awards banquet, which sadly became the last one Tuesday night. So who were the big winners?
As voted on by the membership, including myself:
-Offensive Player of the Year: Ben Sexton (also my pick)
-Defensive Player of the Year: Vojtech Mozik (me: Blake Coleman)
-Unsung Hero: Ben Sexton (me: Kevin Rooney)
-Most Electrifying Player (by definition: the player who gets the crowd excited): Luke Gazdic (me: Joe Blandisi)
-Fan Favorite: Rod Pelley (me: Joe Blandisi)
Next, who was named as one of the three stars of the game the most?
2nd/3rd Star: Brian Gibbons
1st Star: Ben Sexton
Finally, who had the most Chili Goals? Definition: if a Devil scores the third goal of the game at home, you get free Wendy’s chili. The final Chili Goal champ is Blake Coleman with 4.
In roster news, the first of the class of 2016 has arrived on an amateur tryout, in the form of goaltender Evan Cormier. He finished off his season with Saginaw last week, where he went 23-19-2 with a 3.23 GAA and a .899 save percentage in 49 appearances for the Spirit.
And now a division playoff update:
While I was in New Jersey watching Dallas defeat the parent Devils in overtime(and also seeing Coleman score his first NHL goal), both St. John’s and Utica lost, while Toronto defeated Syracuse. That created a few changes in the North pecking order:
Toronto, 79 points, .581
Syracuse, 77 points, .575
Albany, 73 points, .545
St. John’s, 74 points, .544
Utica, 71 points, .530
The Devils magic number to clinch a playoff spot sits at 17 with 9 games remaining.
Syracuse takes on Binghamton tonight in the Southern Tier, where a win would put them right back in first place. This is especially important, with a two game showdown against the Marlies coming up at home this weekend. St. John’s opens a two game set at home this weekend against the Senators, while Utica has a 3 in 3 weekend with Rochester twice before a return trip to Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.
Think after the NHL Trade Deadline on March 1st no more moves could be made?
Well…not exactly.
The AHL has a trade deadline of their own, Wednesday at 3 PM, for final roster tweaks before the playoffs to be made. After this time, the only new players that will most likely be added are via junior callup (like Pavel Zacha here last year, for example) or college amateur tryout (i.e. Nick Lappin last year).
The Devils were quite busy before the deadline:
Sunday: Karl Stollery was summoned back to New Jersey for an emergency recall (it does not count against the 4 max recalls the parent Devils get for the rest of the regular season) thanks to an injury to Damon Severson. He did appear in the Devils’ 3-0 loss to the Blue Jackets at The Rock.
Monday: In a rare post deadline trade, Brandon Gormley was dealt to Ottawa for the ever popular future considerations. Gormley was a victim of the defensive numbers game, only appearing in 35 games. He will be spending the rest of the season in Binghamton.
Also, defenseman Jacob MacDonald, who has spent the last two months with Albany on a professional tryout from Toledo, received a 2 year AHL contract that will run through next season. Since joining the team on January 6th, MacDonald has become one of the more consistent Devils on the blue line, with 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) in 19 appearances.
Tuesday: Stollery and Kevin Rooney were both returned to Albany as New Jersey kicked off a three game road trip in Columbus. In a whirlwind week for Rooney, he signed an entry level deal Monday, was recalled on Wednesday, made his NHL debut Thursday in Washington, played in front of over 50 friends and family Saturday in Boston, then got his first home game in on Sunday.
Meanwhile, around the North Division:
-Toronto picked up Rochester captain Cal O’Reilly on loan before the deadline Wednesday.
-Utica acquired forward Emerson Clark from Chicago on Wednesday for future considerations.
Three teams in the playoff race are in action this evening: Syracuse hosts St. John’s while Toronto visits Rochester. I’ll tweet out the standings once both games are complete tonight, setting up for the weekend.
Today is a big day…it’s NHL Trade Deadline Day, and also, rosters need to be set for AHL postseason. So to keep everyone up to speed, here is what New Jersey has done over the last couple of days:
Monday: Two transactions:
Blake Coleman was given his second recall of the season after Pavel Zacha was placed on IR. He appeared in the Devils 4-3 OT loss to Montreal at The Rock.
Also, it was announced that Kevin Rooney, who has been with Albany all season on an AHL deal, was signed to a NHL entry level deal for the remainder of this season. A well deserved reward for the rookie, who has been the only A-Devil to appear in every single game so far this season.
Wednesday:
-Rooney was recalled and is expected to make his NHL debut tomorrow night in Washington.
-Out of the three trades New Jersey made at the deadline, only one affected Albany: Reece Scarlett, who was the longest tenured current A-Devil, was dealt to Florida for forward Shane Harper. In 39 games with the Thunderbirds, Harper has 19 points (7 G, 12 A). He made his NHL debut with the Panthers on October 13th against New Jersey, and would appear in 14 games, scoring twice. Local fans may remember Harper from the Adirondack Phantoms, where he spent three-plus seasons.
Also this afternoon: Coleman, Rooney, Joe Blandisi, Steve Santini, and Miles Wood were all papered to Albany then recalled to New Jersey, making them eligible to return to the AHL anytime through the rest of the regular season and the playoffs. Seth Helgeson, who cleared waivers over the weekend, was officially reassigned with the addition of Dalton Prout from Columbus (for Kyle Quincey).
Now let’s take a look at what’s going on around the North Division:
-No changes for Utica despite the mumps hitting the Canucks hard.
-Binghamton lost defenseman Michael Kostka, who was dealt to Calgary as part of the Curtis Lazar-Jyrki Jokipakka deal.
-Rochester received former Union College defenseman Mat Bodie from the Rangers for forward Dan Catenacci on Tuesday.
-St. John’s lost forward Sven Andrighetto, who was dealt to Colorado for forward Andreas Martinsen.
-Syracuse ended up the big winners in the division thanks to a pair of deals:
In the Brian Boyle deal with Toronto, the Crunch picked up Marlies forward Byron Froese and his 22 goals. In a sort of related move, former River Rat/A-Devil Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond was loaned to the Marlies.
Tampa Bay and Florida swapped AHL goaltenders: Adam Wilcox is off to Springfield, while former A-Devil Mike McKenna will join Syracuse.
-Toronto also picked up former A-Devil Mike Sislo in a loan deal with San Antonio, sending Colin Smith to the Rampage.
The NHL deadline may have passed, but the AHL has until March 8th at 3 PM to finish up any intraleague trades or loans. So…there may be more to come, stay tuned.
Thoughts Inside The Box 