A pretty neat gesture from the PHPA and the AHL: Ticket revenue from Wednesday’s Game 3 of the Western Conference Final will go toward relief for the OKC area, struck by tornadoes over two days last week.* There will be fundraisers at each game in Oklahoma this week.
And Oklahoma City will definitely see three games. Mark Arcobello had the game-winner at 7:45 of the third as the Barons evened up the series with the Griffins. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won Game 1 in Syracuse; a goal for Trevor Smith, two big goals for Alex Grant, and, ho-hum, just 24 saves for Brad Thiessen.
Former Sound Tigers goalie Riley Gill was the playoff MVP as Reading finished off the Kelly Cup Final in five games with a blowout in Stockton. Gill went 13-4 in the playoffs with four shutouts, a .930 save percentage and a 1.91 goals-against. (That was a step down from his regular season, when he finished the year allowing only 17 goals in 14 appearances, a 1.28 goals-against and a .952 save percentage, after playing most of the year in the Southern Pro League.) Brief BST forward Ethan Cox was another one of the Royals, who won the Kelly Cup for the first time.
Canada’s governing body has taken body checking out of pee wee. I wrote something from a local angle two years ago when USA Hockey instituted a similar ban at the same level.**
And tip of cap to our boy Mike Cardillo.
*-The PHPA is directly involved because, as you may know and as that “revenue sharing” implies, playoff ticket revenue goes into a pool that’s divided according to the CBA between the league and the players. That’s where each player’s playoff share comes from.
**-As a complete aside, I was sick as a dog when I reported it and barely remember writing it. I do remember the coughing, though.
