CHICAGO, Ill. – If you love a defensive game of hockey, you got one. It took four and a half periods for Mario Bliznak to score the game-winner for the Manitoba Moose as the defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs to tie the series at two games apiece. In the earlier game, the Charlotte Checkers are one game away from eliminating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Checkers goalie Mike Murphy faced 44 shots in shutting out the Penguins with Chris Terry scoring the only goal of the game.
The only game on tap for Thursday night will try to see if the Houston Aeros can tie up the series against the Milwaukee Admirals.
SECOND ROUND Atlantic Division Finals PORTLAND vs. BINGHAMTON Binghamton leads series 3 – 2
The series returns to Portland as the Binghamton Senators can win the Atlantic Division Finals and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Offense has been the key to the Senators as the playoffs top two scorers are the Ryans in Potulny (10 goals, 9 assists in 12 games) and Keller (6 goals, 9 assists in 12 games).
Game 1 – Wed Apr 27 7:00 PM Binghamton 3, PORTLAND 2 Game 2 – Thu Apr 28 7:00 PM Binghamton 5, PORTLAND 3 Game 3 – Sat Apr 30 7:05 PM Portland 3, BINGHAMTON 2 Game 4 – Mon May 2 7:05 PM BINGHAMTON 6, Portland 1 Game 5 – Tue May 3 7:05 PM Portland 6, BINGHAMTON 2 Game 6 – Fri May 6 7:00 PM Binghamton at Portland Game 7 – Sat May 7 7:00 PM * Binghamton at Portland East Division Finals W-B/SCRANTON vs. CHARLOTTE Charlotte leads series 3 – 1
Let’s see how we can sum up this game. Blank, blank, blankity, blank, blank, penalty, shoot, score, and done. The Charlotte Checkers are one game away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals as they defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins by the score of 1-0. Matt Murphy earned the shutout and the win stopping all 44 shots he faced.
Ten seconds into the third, Penguins center Keven Veilleux was sent to the box for a tripping call. With time winding down on the man-advantage, the Checkers left winger Chris Terry scored his second of the playoffs with assists from Bryan Rodney and Jon Matsumoto for the only goal in the game.
Game 1 – Thu Apr 28 7:05 PM Charlotte 3, W-B/SCRANTON 2 Game 2 – Sat Apr 30 7:05 PM W-B/SCRANTON 3, Charlotte 0 Game 3 – Mon May 2 7:00 PM CHARLOTTE 2, W-B/Scranton 1 OT Game 4 – Wed May 4 7:00 PM CHARLOTTE 1, W-B/Scranton 0 Game 5 – Fri May 6 7:00 PM W-B/Scranton at Charlotte Game 6 – Sat May 7 7:05 PM * Charlotte at W-B/Scranton Game 7 – Mon May 9 7:05 PM * Charlotte at W-B/Scranton North Division Finals HAMILTON vs. MANITOBA Hamilton leads series 2 – 2
It took double overtime to win this one as Jordan Schroeder tried to make a play happen but could not find an opportunity to get close to the crease. He then spotted Mario Bliznak, who was moved back to center, and fired a tape-to-tap shot. Bliznak one-timed the pass and got it in top shelf through Drew MacIntyre at 11:54. Yann Sauve got the other assist.
With a total of nine goals being score in the last game, you knew that you would go into Wednesday’s playing tight as the defense and goaltending picked it up.
Hamilton scored first on the power play with 6:50 gone in the second period. Center Gabriel Dumont scored his fourth of the playoffs with assists from his defenseman in Kyle Klubertanz and Brendon Nash.
Manitoba didn’t have a lot of time left, but right winger Guillaume Desbiens pick the right time to score his first of the playoffs to tie the game with 2:02 left in the game. Bliznak and Kevin Clark provided the helpers.
Both goaltenders were tremendous in goal but Eddie Lack let in one goal less as he faced a total of 44 shots and letting one in for the win. One thing you don’t see much, the Manitba Moose were given a penalty shot in the first overtime but Desbiens couldn’t convert.
Game 1 – Thu Apr 28 7:30 PM HAMILTON 4, Manitoba 1 Game 2 – Sun May 1 4:00 PM HAMILTON 4, Manitoba 2 Game 3 – Tue May 3 7:30 PM MANITOBA 5, Hamilton 4 Game 4 – Wed May 4 7:30 PM MANITOBA 2, Hamilton 1 Game 5 – Fri May 6 7:30 PM Hamilton at Manitoba Game 6 – Sun May 8 7:30 PM Manitoba at Hamilton Game 7 – Mon May 9 7:30 PM * Manitoba at Hamilton West Division Finals MILWAUKEE vs. HOUSTON Milwaukee leads series 2 – 1
Going into Thursday game you can’t tell which way this series will go. The games have been alternating and if it flows through, the Houston Aeros should win by two goals.
Game 1 – Fri Apr 29 7:00 PM MILWAUKEE 3, Houston 1 Game 2 – Sun May 1 5:00 PM Houston 2, MILWAUKEE 0 Game 3 – Tue May 3 7:05 PM Milwaukee 5, HOUSTON 3 Game 4 – Thu May 5 7:05 PM Milwaukee at Houston Game 5 – Fri May 6 7:35 PM Milwaukee at Houston Game 6 – Sun May 8 5:00 PM * Houston at Milwaukee Game 7 – Tue May 10 7:00 PM * Houston at Milwaukee FIRST ROUND Atlantic Division Semifinals PORTLAND vs. CONNECTICUT Portland wins series 4 – 2 Atlantic Division Semifinals MANCHESTER vs. BINGHAMTON Binghamton wins series 4 – 3 East Division Semifinals W-B/SCRANTON vs. NORFOLK W-B/Scranton wins series 4 – 2 East Division Semifinals HERSHEY vs. CHARLOTTE Charlotte wins series 4 – 2 North Division Semifinals HAMILTON vs. OKLAHOMA CITY Hamilton wins series 4 – 2 North Division Semifinals LAKE ERIE vs. MANITOBA Manitoba wins series 4 – 3 West Division Semifinals MILWAUKEE vs. TEXAS Milwaukee wins series 4 – 2 West Division Semifinals HOUSTON vs. PEORIA Houston wins series 4 – 0 (* if necessary)
Contact the writer at matt.chin@prohockeynews.com
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