“let’s play.”
Calgary Rangers coach Mitch Love Ready to chase the Calder Cup.
Love, who won the Louis AR Pieri Memorial Trophy as the AHL’s best coach in his first two seasons in the league, has had enough of practice and waiting. The Wranglers, the AHL regular season champions, have not played since the 3-2 win in Abbotsford on April 15.
Calgary meets the Canucks again tonight, this time at the Scotiabank Saddledome for Game 1 of the Pacific Division Semifinals. Love intends to use the lessons learned a year ago, when Stockton’s Flames affiliate reached the Western Conference finals, to spur another Calder Cup run this spring.
“This has been a long layoff for us,” said Love. “We have a little bit of experience in this area from last year. So the guys who came back to us have been good in terms of leading the rest of the guys who might not have gone through this.”
To that end, Love set up a schedule of managing an 11-day break between games. The team took a vacation before returning to ice training. From there, Love steadily increased the intensity of the run to lead to Game 1.
“If you’re a team looking to go deep into the playoffs, you have to treat your injuries,” Loew said. “You have to stay healthy. You have to get your rest, not only physically, but mentally, after a long regular season.”
The Wranglers have not played on home ice since a 5-1 win over Henderson on March 31. Between the six-game road trip that ended the regular season and this extended break, the Wranglers will have gone 26 days without going in the first leg. in tonight’s match.
Love believed it was a useful break to play three games against Abbotsford to finish the regular season. The Wranglers have won eight of their 12 club encounters overall, but the Canucks have won two of those last three.
“We’re excited to get along,” Love said. “They’ve played us hard in the last three games of the regular season. It’s been a really good test for our team in terms of what their brand of playoff hockey is going to look like. We just have to try and go and play our game and see what happens.
“They’ve been well educated in terms of the way they need to play the game. They play very fast. It’s competitive. They have some players who win, and the goalkeeping is good. We see it as a very good challenge for us.”
“Now it’s time to play. The guys are getting nervous. We’re just excited to drop the puck here at home.”
Every Calder Cup contender needs a contributor to move forward in the postseason, and the Colorado Eagles have got that up front. Cedric Barry and defenseman Malinsky himself.
Both players helped the Eagles sweep Ontario in a best-of-three first-round series and set up a date with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Game 1 of the Pacific Division semifinal showdown is set for tonight in Colorado.
Malinsky, 24, signed a two-year contract with parent Colorado Avalanche and joined the Eagles on a trial deal. After three seasons at Cornell, he quickly moved up to the AHL, tallying five points (three goals, two assists) in his first seven regular season seasons followed by four assists in the two games against the Reign.
Malinski focused on improving his footwork and was rewarded with a regular role by the Eagles’ head coach Greg Cronin.
“There was definitely some adjustment, especially on the defensive side of the puck,” said Malinski, who earned First Team All-ECAC honors for the second straight season after producing 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in 34 games. With Cornell in 2022-23.
Also 24, Barry came to the Eagles midway through the year, signing a professional tryout on November 29 after starting the season with Belleville & Welling (ECHL) and then signing a full AHL contract on January 26. The Boston Bruins draft pick found a fit for him with Colorado; After posting 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 42 regular season games, Barry recorded three goals and an assist in his first two Calder Cup games.
Barry worked to earn Cronin’s trust during the season, and was used in the front row with the veterans Alex Galichnyuk And Charles Huddon And also on power play.
“I [got] Confident in the last two weeks at the end of the season in playing in the top six,” Barry said.[The coaches are] Really honest. I love that. They told me what to work on, and I worked on it, so I’m grateful for that.”
The Firebirds, who finished second in the AHL in the regular season, are Colorado’s next challenge.
“This is the most fun time of the year and something we are all looking forward to,” Malinsky said.
– Patrick Williams