The Devils’ two ties to playoff hockey for 2016 have both taken leads in their respective current playoff battles.
The A-Devils returned home to the Times Union Center on Mother’s Day to continue their AHL North Division Finals series with the Toronto Marlies. Nick Lappin scored a shorthanded goal with just 21 seconds left in game three to tie the game up at two and then scored again on the power play in overtime to give Albany a 3-2 victory and a 2-1 series lead. Rod Pelley had the other goal for the A-Devils. Albany now gains the lead in the best of seven series to determine one of the participants in the Calder Cup Playoff’s Eastern Conference Finals.
Game four is set for Tuesday night in Albany at 7 PM Eastern Time.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the continent, John Quenneville’s Brandon Wheat Kings took a 2-0 series lead over the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL Finals on Saturday night in Brandon, Manitoba. This game also went to OT, with Jayce Hawryluk scoring the game winner. The score was 3-2 in this game as well.
The WHL Final continues on Tuesday in Seattle for game three at 7:05 PM Pacific Time.
While the A-Devils seem to be in a dog fight with the Marlies, fighting for every inch of ice between two evenly matched teams, the Wheat Kings seem to be on their way.
Granted, OT was needed to settle both games one and two and the series is now shifting to Seattle to give the T-Birds home ice, but Quenneville and the Wheat Kings seem to be in a good position to win the series and continue on to play for the Memorial Cup.
Time will tell how each series pans out, after all, the game is settled on the ice, not on paper.