Sound Tigers Rd. 1 Playoff Preview
Northeast Division Champs face Whale in first round
Tuesday, 04.17.2012 / 3:52 PM
/ News
Print Team Record: 41-26-3-6Last Game: 3-2 W vs. WBS Season Series: 6-2-2-1 |
 Team Record: 36-26-7-7Last Game: 2-1 SOL @ SYR Season Series: 4-2-3-1 |
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Poulin's play down the stretch has carried the Sound Tigers to their first division title in a decade. The Montreal native has started 20 of the last 22 games and recorded an impressive 11-5-3 record in that span. Poulin finished the season with a 26-18-4 record overall in 49 games, including three shutout victories. In his final 10 appearances, Poulin faced an average of 38 shots per game and posted a 9-1-0 record. |
Audy-Marchessault has been a go-to guy for the Whale all season. The rookie forward appeared in every game for the Whale this year and tied for the team lead in points (24-40-64) with Kris Newbury. Audy-Marchessault has been a thorn in the Sound Tigers side, posting 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 10 games between the two teams. |
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 Home Sweet Home: The Sound Tigers hold a perfect 5-0-0-0 record against the Whale at Webster Bank Arena this season. That includes three overtime victories, the most recent coming on March 25 when Matt Donovan scored on the power play with 2.0 seconds left in the extra session for a 4-3 win.
Balanced Attack: Rhett Rakhshani led the Sound Tigers with 49 points in the regular season, the lowest total to lead the club in team history. However, the Sound Tigers boast 16 players with 20 or more points this year and ranked seventh in the AHL with 233 goals scored. Nail Biters: The Sound Tigers and Whale have played 10 times this season, with eight of their contests being decided by one goal and six games going past regulation. The Sound Tigers have fared well in close games this year, posting a 25-9-3-6 record in one-goal games.. |
 Matt Donovan netted the game-winning power play goal with 2.0 seconds left in overtime as the Sound Tigers defeated the Whale 4-3 at Webster Bank Arena on March 25. Kevin Poulin made 42 saves to earn the win, Steve Oleksy netted his first AHL goal, and 10 different skaters recorded a point as the Sound Tigers earned a sweep of the Whale on home ice for the regular season.
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| Quote of the Day - Head Coach Brent Thompson: "It doesn't matter who gets the accolades, at the end of the day it's the results you want. It was a 'team first' attitude and that is part of the reason why we were able to get through those down times during the year and came out of it in a positive fashion." |
Sound Tigers
Power play: 17.5%Penalty kill: 81.8% Home record: 29-9-2-2 Road record: 16-17-1-4 Goals For: 233 Goals Against: 219 |
Whale
Power play: 17.4%Penalty kill: 84.3% Home record: 21-9-3-5 Road record: 15-17-4-2 Goals For: 210 Goals Against: 208 |
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 Sound Tigers Expected Lineups
Forwards: 23 John Persson - 11 Casey Cizikas - 10 Rhett Rakhshani 24 David Ullstrom - 29 Brock Nelson - 65 Thomas Marcinko 18 Micheal Haley - 20 Kael Mouillierat - 16 Sean Backman 9 Justin DiBenedetto - 28 Trevor Frischmon - 5 Blair Riley Defensemen: 46 Matt Donovan - 15 Steve Oleksy 71 Mark Katic - 27 Aaron Ness 6 Ty Wishart - 12 Calvin de Haan Goaltenders: 38 Kevin Poulin 30 Kenny Reiter |
Whale Expected Lineups
Forwards: 11 Kris Newbury - 18 Jonathan Audy-Marchessault - 23 Christian Thomas 41 Marek Hrivik - 19 Casey Wellman - 14 Steve Moses 10 Tommy Grant - 90 Kelsey Tessier - 55 Andreas Thuresson 17 Ryan Bourque - 46 Jordan Owens - 37 Shane McColgan Defensemen: 6 Wade Redden - 44 Tim Erixon 27 Jared Nightingale - 5 Blake Parlett 25 Pavel Valentenko - 48 Mike Vernace Goaltenders: 30 Chad Johnson 33 Cam Talbot |
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