BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – The Calder Cup playoffs have their final four teams set to battle to for an opportunity to win the 2018-19 AHL Championship.
On Friday, the Charlotte Checkers and Toronto Marlies will do battle in the East while out West, the San Diego Gulls and Chicago Wolves will each meet in a 2-3-2 format. Charlotte hosts Games One and Two against Toronto on Friday and Saturday before the series switches over the Canadian border to Toronto on Tuesday.
Charlotte, the AHL’s regular-season best team, winners of seven of their eight postseason matchups face the Toronto Marlies, who are a perfect 7-0 since the season ended.
Toronto features ex-Pack, Chris Mueller, who has nine points in seven playoff games. Mason Marchment, the son of ex-Hartford Whaler Bryan Marchment, and ex-Sound Tiger, Steve Olesky, and former New York Ranger, Josh Jooris.
Charlotte features a pair of ex-Pack members from different era’s in Bobby Sanguinetti, who has seven points in six games, and goaltender, Dustin Tokarski.
Chicago hosts the Gulls before they head out West from the Windy City for Game 3 on Wednesday.
San Diego has former Wolf Pack center, Adam Cracknell, who’s third in AHL post-season scoring race with 12 points in nine games. He’s having a strong playoff as is Max Jones, the son of former Nighthawk, Brad Jones.
Behind the bench is former Beast of New Haven alumni, Dallas Eakins. He’s the head man and his assistants are ex-Wolf Pack players in Sylvain Lefebvre and David Urquhart.
The Chicago Wolves have defenseman ex-Sound Tiger, Griffin Reinhart, and Jake Leschyshyn, the son of ex-Whaler, Curtis Leschyshyn.
ECHL MONARCHS FOLD
Sad hockey new to report the ECHL Manchester Monarchs are no more after 18 years in New Hampshire.
The team announced Wednesday there ceasing operations after four years at the ECHL level after the NHL LA Kings moved their AHL affiliate to Ontario, CA to help build the new AHL West Coast-based Pacific Division and flip-flopped the teams and leagues.
There many great Wolf Pack-Manchester meetings over the years and the SNHU Arena (formerly Verizon Wireless Arena) was sterling hit with many a packed house, but the drop down in league levels met with a corresponding reduction in attendance and Kings sold the team to a private group in Boston three years ago. Read it HERE
MEMORIAL CUP
The quartet is all set as the Prince Albert Raiders scoring late in the first overtime edged the Vancouver Giants 3-2 to advance to the championship tournament for the first time since 1985.
They will kick off the Memorial Cup playing the host team the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday night (8 pm NHL Network).
The other teams are the OHL champion Guelph Storm and the QMJHL postseason champs, the Rouyn Noranda Huskies.
Guelph features two assistant coaches with CT connections. Ex-Pack Chad Wiseman and ex-New Haven Senator Jake Grimes and the Huskies have former New Haven Senator teammate of Grimes in Claude Savoie on their scouting staff.
The Raiders feature two former Springfield players as coaches in Marc Habscheid (Springfield Indians) and Jeff Truitt (head coach with the Springfield Falcons) and have former Whaler, Dallas Guame as one of the senior scouts.
NEWEST CT JUNIOR HOCKEY TEAM
The Danbury Ice Arena added a second hockey tenant within two days.
The Danbury Colonials announced their birth as the 31st team in the Tier 3 NA3HL that spreads across the US from Wyoming to Maine.
The team’s managing partner is none other than former Ranger and NHL enforcer, Colton Orr. He is a part of the ownership for both squads.
Orr played 13 NHL season with 477 games with 12 goals and 24 points and 1,186 well-earned PM and was one of the fiercest fighters in NHL history. His total career including the AHL and junior WHL career is 817 games with 34 goals and 31 assists and 2,364 in the penalty box.
The FHL announced a third return to Danbury with Danbury Hat Tricks for 2019-20 earlier in the week.
PLAYER MOVEMENTS
-Ex-Wolf Pack and CT Whale Jordan Owens who played with the Sheffield Steelers (England-EIHL) this season signs for some summer hockey with the Melbourne Ice (Australia-AIHL).
Ex-Pack Caleb Herbert signs with HC Innsbruck (Austria-EBEL).
-Some AHL players to Europe has begun to pick up the latest is Bridgeport Connor Jones is joining his twin brother Kellen as both have signed with HC Thurgau (Switzerland-LNB) for next season. Kellen played on Sweden last year leading Vasterviks VIK (Sweden-Allsvenskan) in scoring. Connor played 300 AHL games all with Bridgeport.
Both played for the Quinnipiac University Bobcats (ECACHL).
The two are grandsons of former New Haven Blades player, Terry Jones.
Jens Looke heads from Tucson to Timra IK (Sweden-SHL), goalie Anthony Peters from Wilkes Barre/Scranton to Iserlohn (Germany-DEL) and Springfield’s Vincent Praplan currently playing for the Swiss World Hockey championship team will stay in is Switzerland and play for NLA league SC Bern squad next season.
Adam Ollas Mattsson of Stockton is in talks with Malmo IF (Sweden-SHL) a city on the Norway-Sweden border to return home to play according to Swedish Hockey News.se
As we reported last month is now official Ludwig Bystrom is leaving Springfield for Karpat Oulu (Finland-FEL).
That makes now 16 AHL’ers to sign for Europe.
-Three more college players have signed North American pro deals Jack Ramsay from the University of Minnesota (Big 10) who played a few games for Indy (ECHL) at the end of the regular season signs with the Rockford for 2019-20. Joining him in Rockford is Liam Coughlin from the University of Vermont (HE).
Kasper Bjorkqvist, Providence College (HE) signs with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
-The first player to go from college to Canadian major junior has happened as Sean Comrie leaves University Denver (NCHC) to the Kelowna Rockets (WHL).
-The college players to Europe has picked up as UCONN Husky rearguard Philip Nyberg 22, heads home after his junior season to play for Mora IK (Sweden-Allsvenskan) which is the second highest league in Sweden.
-The college players heading to France continues at Division 1 level as Michael Babcock son of the Maple Leafs head coach Mike completed his four years at Merrimack (HE) and has signed with Amiens (France–FREL) and Michael Floodstrand Harvard University (ECACHL) to Marseille (France Division-1).
Then two players from Division III Hobart College Tanner Shaw and Matt Pizzo signed with Strasbourg (France Division-1) and Alex Corvi Nazareth College (UCHC) signs with HC Brest (France Division-1).
That makes it 171 Division I players that have and a total of 204 collegians who have signed North American and European pro deals.
-Several prep school players are off to the Canadian Junior A ranks in Moe Acee from Avon Old Farms to Alberni Valley (BCHL) and Noah de la Durantaye from Deerfield Academy to Coquitlam (BCHL).
-Chase Stillman, grandson of ex-Nighthawk Bud Stefanski who was drafted by the Sudbury Wolves in the 2nd round in last month’s OHL’s Priority Draft. His father Cory is the head coach and grandfather is the assistant coach of the team has signed a commitment letter with the Wolves. That also makes him ineligible to play NCAA hockey and he gave a verbal commit Providence College (HE) for 2022-23.
-Dan Petric makes a commit to Sacred Heart University (AHA) from Madison (USHL) for the upcoming season.
