A compelling argument could be made that the two best teams in the American Hockey League East have advanced to the conference finals. Both the 110-pt. Manchester Monarchs and the 114-pt. Hershey Bears finished with 51 wins in the regular season, Manchester accumulating four more regulation losses.
If this series were being contested a year ago, all storylines would be centered on Bruce Boudreau’s dismissal from Manchester in the summer of 2005. But he and fellow Manchester refugee Dave Steckel have found a warm home in Hershey . . . and big diamond rings on their fingers, making any Manchester misery an afterthought in the spring of 2007.
A lot of the focus heading into tomorrow night’s Game 1 at the Giant Center will be between the pipes, where last spring’s playoff MVP, Frederick Cassivi, squares off against Jason LaBarbera, named the best goalie in the ‘A’ this season. LaBarbera ranked first in the ‘A’ this season with 39 wins and a .933 save percentage. Playoff hockey generally means lower scoring in general, but getting pucks past these two big bodies should be especially trying: Cassivi goes 6-4, 220, LaBarbera 6′3, 230.
Cassivi has looked more mortal this postseason than last, but beginning tomorrow night, he gets some help in front of his crease, as captain Dean Arsene is scheduled to make his Bears’ debut in the postseason.
But a fearsome forwards factor could keep red lamps lit regularly in this series. Hershey has plenty of firepower up front, but so too do the Monarchs. Manchester is particularly intriguing down the middle, where pint-sized pivot and former Denver Pioneer Gabe Gauthier (5′9, 200) often is replaced on the ice by newly signed NCAA giant Brian Boyle (6′7, 250). Boyle, a 2003 first round pick of the Kings, just completed a terrific career at BC, putting up 53 points in 42 games his senior season. NCAA signees rarely receive significant minutes let alone play key roles as AHL rookies in the postseason, but Boyle has made an immediate impact for the Monarchs, with 8 points in 12 games.
And there’s more first round talent up front: right wing Lauri Tukonen, and 2006 stretch-run riser Trevor Lewis. The Kings thought enough of Lewis to sign him to a three-year deal just about a month after drafting him, and he rewarded their faith with 73 points in 62 games with the Owen Sound Attack this season. Lewis has appeared in just two Monarchs’ postseason games this spring, but in eight games at the end of the regular season he scored 4 goals and added 2 assists.
Not to be overlooked up front is Patrick O’Sullivan. He scored 47 goals with Houston last season and notched 18 goals and 39 points in 41 games for Manchester this year.
The Monarchs’ blueline bears less glamour, but you can’t win 51 games with a bad one. It’s led by NHL vet Oleg Tverdovsky. He put up 13 points in just 14 regular season games and has maintained that productive pace in the postseason, with 11 points in 12 games.
The Bears and Monarchs met just twice during the regular season, Hershey winning both times, 5-4 at home on November 25 and 5-3 in Manchester on March 9. There isn’t much to be learned there . . . or is there? Tim Leone’s preview in the Patriot News this morning offers a bit of intrigue:
” . . . two of LaBarbera’s worst performances in 2006-07 came against Hershey during the team’s two regular-season meetings.
On Nov. 25, LaBarbera was pulled 8:22 into a 5-4 Hershey win at Giant Center after surrendering three goals on 10 shots. On March 9, he allowed five goals on 36 shots in a 5-3 Hershey win backstopped by Maxime Daigneault.
His save percentage against Hershey: .826.”
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