After winning the first three games of their Eastern Conference semifinal series, the B’s AHL affiliate in Providence proceeded to drop four straight to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh’s farm club), who completed the comeback with a 5-0 shellacking of the P-Bruins on their home ice Wednesday night.

It marked just the third time in AHL history that a team has come back from 3-0 to win a series, a collapse that of course brings back memories of 2010, when the big-league Bruins blew an identical lead to the Flyers in the same round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The P-Bruins, owners of the league’s best record in the regular season, seemed primed to advance after Carter Camper‘s overtime goal in Game 3 brought them a win away from closing out the series. But the Penguins rallied to win the next two games (including a rowdy, brawl-filled Game 5 in Wilkes-Barre) before scoring two unanswered goals to take Game 6 in OT at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

After routing the Baby B’s in Game 7, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton now advances to take on the Syracuse Crunch in the Eastern Conference finals.

With the P-Bruins trailing 3-0 in their second-round series with the Penguins, things got a little out of hand in front of Penguins goalie Brad Thiessen. At 14:37, a Providence player fell into Thiessen and that set off just about everyone on the ice. The two teams paired up and started to scrap all over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton zone. When it was all said and done, 52 penalty minutes were handed out for the altercation.

Just a couple of minutes later, as the Penguins scored to make it 4-0, Providence goalie Niklas Svedberg slashed Paul Thompson in front of the Providence net, and that led to another brouhaha.

Game 6 is slated for Monday in Providence.

See all of the pugilistic action in the video below (starting at 6:45) with a stick tap to Yahoo’s Puck Daddy blog.

An Oklahoma man allegedly tried to steal the Zamboni from the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., according to multiple local sources. The arena is home to the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons.

Police say that Spencer Holt, 24, jumped on the Zamboni and drove through a couple locked gates onto the ice. Maintenance crews subdued the man until police arrived on the scene, at which time he was arrested.

Holt was charged with, among other crimes, destruction of private property and public drunkenness.

Photo via Facebook/Cox Convention Center

Toronto Marlies goaltender Drew MacIntyre made what has been widely referred to as the “greatest save ever” in Game 1 of the Marlies’ first-round playoff series against the Rochester Americans. With the game tied 3-3 near the end of the second period, MacIntyre threw his glove hand behind his back to rob Zemgus Girgensons on a wide-open scoring chance.

The behind-the-back, no-look stop stunned both the Marlies’ television announcers and Girgensons himself, who could do nothing but stand by the boards with a dazed look on his face.

The 29-year-old MacIntyre is the definition of a journeyman goalie, playing for 12 different professional clubs since being drafted in 2001 — including brief NHL stints with the Sabres and Canucks.

It’s a save that simply needs to be seen to be believed, so check it out for yourself in the video below.

The boys down on the farm — the AHL squads — are also finding their share of success this season. That’s something that hasn’t always been the case in the past, either.

Both the Providence Bruins and the Springfield Falcons clinched postseason berths over the weekend, something that’s been a rarity for both in past years.

Providence clinched its first postseason berth since 2009 on Friday when the P-Bruins defeated the Albany Devils in Albany. The Baby B’s also seem poised to wrap up the Atlantic Division title soon, as they enter Monday holding a 12-point lead over the Portland Pirates.

On the same night Providence made the playoffs, Springfield clinched its first postseason appearance since 2003, although they did so with a loss. A day later, the Falcons wrapped up their first division title since the 1997-98 season when they beat the Portland Pirates 4-2 in Portland.

The Bruins (93 points) and Falcons (91 points) will now wrestle for the top seed in the Eastern Conference and all of the AHL. Providence holds the two-point edge over Springfield, as both look to hold off No. 3 Syracuse. The Texas Stars lead the Western Conference with 91 points.

Portland enters this week’s slate in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, while the Connecticut Whale currently sit No. 7, where they could be on a collision course for a first-round matchup with nearby Springfield.

After all, Wellwood is a hockey player.

On Sunday, the forward for the Adirondack Phantoms, the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, suffered a gruesome cut to his right leg, just above the ankle, according to PostStar.com.

The 23-year-old from Ontario was sliced by a skate away from the play during the Phantoms’ 4-1 loss to Bridgeport, and blood began to fill his boot immediately.

“Wellwood coasted from where he fell into the boards in front of the penalty box across the ice to the bench on his own,” Diana C. Nearhos reports. “When he got to the bench, everyone saw the blood. One player said Wellwood’s skate filled with blood, calling it ‘scary.’”

Wellwood had surgery Sunday night and will have another surgery Monday, according to head coach Terry Murray.

Teammate Danny Syvret tweeted out a picture of his comrade’s bloody boot and compared him to former MLB hurler Curt Schilling. The photo can be seen below.

Scary incident today. Here's to hoping Eric Wellwood and his Curt Schilling Skate recover quickly. #Phantomaniac http://t.co/UjPQr3uQOk

—
Danny Syvret (@DannySyvret) April 08, 2013

On Sunday night the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs (Chicago’s affiliate), and the Chicago Wolves (Vancouver’s affiliate) showed hockey fans that the bad blood between the franchises trickles down into the AHL, too.

Pointed out by Yahoo! Sports’ Puck Daddy, the two teams had a bench brawl on Sunday night after former Boston College standout Ben Smith was pummeled by Guillaume Desbiens of the Wolves with just a few seconds left in the Ice Hogs’ 2-1 win. Smith took a vicious hit from behind in front of the Hogs’ bench and, either due to the door being ajar or the force of the hit, he actually went through the gate and into the bench.

That’s when chaos broke out and 27 penalties ensued, which can be seen in the video below.

According to a team statement, Jordan Caron has been recalled to the Bruins’ NHL squad, while Chris Bourque has cleared waivers and will be joining the AHL’s Providence Bruins. Caron skated with the Bruins at Ristuccia Arena during practice Friday.

Bourque was waived by the B’s on Thursday after posting 1-3-4 totals and a minus-6 rating in 18 games played.

Caron had a cup of coffee in the NHL last season, totaling seven goals and eight assists in 48 games played. The team’s first-round pick in the 2009 draft, the 22-year-old has 10 goals and five assists through 48 games with the P-Bruins this year.

That changed Friday night when the Springfield Falcons and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers squared off in AHL action. The two clubs, two Northeast Division rivals, turned back the clock Friday, with a black-and-blue ode to the good old days of the Springfield Indians at the Springfield Civic Center.

The division-leading Falcons pasted the Sound Tigers 5-2, but the real fireworks came with the fists. The two teams combined for an absurd 244 penalty minutes, with things getting completely out of hand in the third period. There were a ridiculous 214 penalty minutes assessed in the game’s final period.

Oh, and making the night even more memorable for the home crowd was that Springfield’s Andrew Joudrey scored on a penalty shot. Not a bad little night at the rink for the paying customers.

Check out the gongshow in the video below (stick tap to Puck Daddy). Business really starts to pick up at the 2:45 mark.

MacLeod experienced the seizure after being sent into the boards by Adirondack’s Brandon Manning late in the second period of Sunday night’s game. Officials chose to suspend the rest of the contest as MacLeod was rushed to the hospital, but he was reported in stable condition later that night and left the hospital with his family the following afternoon, according to Masslive.com. An official diagnosis of MacLeod’s injury is expected later this week.

Both the 26-year-old and a spokesman from the Springfield organization declined comment, but MacLeod’s stepfather, Garth Essery, said that he is in strong condition.

“Wade is resting, and feeling a lot better,” Essery said. “He was alert all night, and he has a good appetite. His doctors and the hospital staff have been fantastic in their care. … There has been an impressive outpouring of support through the social media, and Wade is very appreciative of it. He thanks everybody for thinking of him.”

Currently a prospect in the Blue Jackets system, MacLeod played four years for Northeastern. He graduated with 61 goals and 76 assists, and is the Huskies’ all-time leader in games played. The winger has played in 95 games for the Falcons over the past three seasons, totaling 15 goals and 28 assists.

Photo via Twitter/@wademacleod

The game was suspended with Adirondack leading 2-1 after MacLeod suffered the seizure. The 26-year old was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield following the hit. According to a statement from the Falcons, MacLeod is stable and alert just hours after suffering the seizure.

MacLeod holds the Northeastern University record for games played. He totaled 61 goals and 76 assists during his four years with the Huskies. He has four goals and seven assists through 20 games with Springfield this season, including one assist on Sunday.

Phantoms defenseman Brandon Manning was assessed a two-minute boarding penalty for the hit, and apologized to MacLeod via Twitter after the game.

would like to give my best to Wade MacLeod and his family. never had any intention of ever hurting another player..

—
Brandon Manning (@BManning28) February 17, 2013

hope for a speedy recovery and see him back on the ice soon. thoughts and prayers to him and his family

—
Brandon Manning (@BManning28) February 17, 2013

Photo via Facebook/Wade MacLeod

The P-Bruins became the latest professional sports team to join in the effort to end homophobia in sports, an effort that is being led by the You Can Play Project. The ongoing project, created by Philadelphia Flyers scout Chris Burke (son of former Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke), was built to honor the memory of Chris’ brother, Brendan.

Brendan, who was openly gay and worked to end homophobia in sports, passed away in 2010 and the organization was started to continue his efforts. The You Can Play Project has received support across the sports world, particularly in hockey where notable NHL players like Zdeno Chara and Henrik Lundqvist have lent their support.

The P-Bruins are the latest to do so, taking a pledge to rid their team of homophobia as part of the ongoing mission.

See a video of them taking the pledge below.

That was not the case Saturday night in the American Hockey League, when Syracuse’s Dustin Tokarski and St. John’s Eddie Pasquale engaged in a netminder battle for the ages.

The ruckus got started when Dimitry Korobov of the Tampa Bay-affiliate Crunch sent IceCaps captain Jason Jaffray hard into the boards midway through the second period. St. John’s — the Winnipeg Jets’ AHL affiliate — took exception to the hit and fists started flying, with the brawl culminating in Tokarski (in white) and Pasquale leaving their respective creases to throw down at center ice.

Both goalies got in a number of solid shots, but we give the slight edge to Tokarski. Check out the video below to decide for yourself. (stick tap to Puck Daddy)

NESN will be live at the Dunkin Donuts Center with all the action, with the game itself capping off four days of festivities beginning on the 25th. So while the Bruins will be live on NESN the evening of the 28th, you’ll also have the option of switching over to NESNPlus to watch the NHL’s next crop of stars before they hit the big time.

Check out the grid below for a complete list of television providers and corresponding channels to see how you can catch the AHL All-Star Game on NESNPlus.

Channel listings subject to change.

An AHL game between the Blackhawks’ Rockford IceHogs and the Red Wings’ Grand Rapids Griffins devolved into quite the scrum on Saturday night. Rockford was losing, 6-3, and had just taken a bunch of penalties when fights began to break out. The fighting didn’t end until 13 game misconducts and several other penalties were assessed. Rockford ended up losing 11-6.

Check it out in the video below, with a hat tip to Puck Daddy.

Speaking isn’t the easiest task for Sena Acolatse, but the Sharks deemed him the man for the job. In the video, Acolatse not so easily explains that this Saturday, the first 4,000 fans at the Sharks’ game will receive a bobblehead featuring Rob Gronkowski — who has some fun history visiting the Sharks — before the Sharks take on the Adirondack Phantoms.

Hey, Gronkowski’s hurt, and the guy promoting his bobblehead night may as well be, too. Check it out in the video below.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, the Worcester Sharks hosted the Portland Pirates in a classic physical battle. The Sharks would go on to win the game 5-1 but the six total goals weren’t making the headlines in this one, as the teams combined for 15 total fighting majors and 143 PIMs.

Check out a list of the penalties below, compliments of TheAHL.com:

1 – POR Klinkhammer, 6:33 – Unsportsmanlike conduct, 2 min
1 – WOR Gourde, 6:33 – Slashing, 2 min
1 – POR Dziurzynski, 12:16 – Roughing, 2 min (PP)
1 – WOR Mashinter, 14:14 – Roughing, 2 min (PP)
2 – POR Brown, 1:42 – Fighting, 5 min
2 – WOR Gogol, 1:42 – Fighting, 5 min
2 – POR Louis, 2:15 – Fighting, 5 min
2 – WOR McLaren, 2:15 – Fighting, 5 min
2 – POR Rechlicz, 2:17 – Fighting, 5 min
2 – WOR Bonneau, 2:17 – Fighting, 5 min
2 – POR Brodeur, 3:06 – Fighting, 5 min
2 – POR Lane, 3:06 – Unsportsmanlike conduct, 2 min (PP)
2 – POR Lane, 3:06 – Fighting, 5 min
2 – WOR Acolatse, 3:06 – Fighting, 5 min
2 – WOR Mashinter, 3:06 – Fighting, 5 min
2 – POR Summers, 3:47 – Cross-checking, 2 min (PP)
2 – WOR Stalberg, 11:06 – Tripping, 2 min (PP)
3 – WOR Tennyson, 0:13 – Interference, 2 min (PP)
3 – POR Louis, 6:25 – Slashing, 2 min (PP)
3 – POR Louis, 6:25 – Fighting, 5 min
3 – WOR Acolatse, 6:25 – Fighting, 5 min
3 – WOR Reid, 8:01 – Hooking, 2 min (PP)
3 – POR Dziurzynski, 11:47 – Fighting, 5 min
3 – POR Rechlicz, 11:47 – High-sticking, 2 min (PP)
3 – POR Rechlicz, 11:47 – Roughing, 2 min (PP)
3 – POR Rechlicz, 11:47 – Roughing, 2 min (PP)
3 – POR Rechlicz, 11:47 – Unsportsmanlike conduct, 2 min
3 – POR Rechlicz, 11:47 – Game misconduct – Continuing altercation, (46.5) 10 min
3 – WOR Acolatse, 11:47 – Roughing, 2 min
3 – WOR Doherty, 11:47 – Roughing, 2 min (PP)
3 – WOR Reid, 11:47 – Fighting, 5 min
3 – POR Lane, 11:50 – Roughing, 2 min (PP)
3 – WOR Pelech, 11:50 – Instigating, 2 min (PP)
3 – WOR Pelech, 11:50 – Fighting, 5 min
3 – WOR Pelech, 11:50 – Misconduct – Instigating, (46.10) 10 min
3 – WOR Pelech, 11:50 – Game misconduct – Aggressor, (46.2) 10 min
3 – WOR Irwin, 16:28 – Hooking, 2 min (PP)

Matt Pelech (27 PIMs) of the Sharks and Joel Rechlicz (23 PIMs) of the Pirates led the way in individual PIMs in this one, which can be seen in the video below.

The Binghamton Senators goalie absolutely lost it in the second period after members of the Syracuse Crunch crashed Lehner's net pretty hard, taking some liberties after the whistle. 

That led to a few isolated tussles between skaters. Once the dust started to settle around the net, Lehner got to his feet and went after one of the perceived offenders. He was able to get a few shots in before he was pulled back by an official.

However, Lehner broke an unwritten rule by going after those players, which set off Riku Helenius at the other end. The Syracuse netminder then skated the length of the ice, a decision he'd soon regret.

Lehner was even more fired up upon dropping the glove and blocker to take on Helenius, pummeling with a couple of good right hands (for a goalie fight, at least), before the scrap finally ended. Lehner was assessed a game misconduct, but he was able to ham it up for the fans on his way off the ice.

Here's the thing, though. It was all downhill for Lehner and the Sens from there. The hot-headed goalie was sent off with Binghamton holding a seemingly safe 5-0 lead. However, the Crunch stormed back the rest of the way, eventually forcing overtime and winning the game in the extra time.

See video of the brawl below (with a stick tap to Puck Daddy for this one).

He better be. With the NHL lockout in full effect, quite a few more eyes are on the AHL.

Cooper's players hit the ice in earnest Saturday, and right now, the year promises to be like no other on his short-but-impressive resume.

Sure, he'll have to juggle lines, but not rosters. The incessant shuttling of players between the AHL and the National Hockey League will be on hold while the lockout continues.

"I guess there's no threat of losing guys to call-up," Cooper said Friday with a smile as his players went through strength testing before an optional afternoon skate. "Your only demon is injuries. It's the one thing in the American League — I guess I've become immune to it — going to the rink for a game and there's a message on your [answering] machine in warmups that so-and-so can't play because he's getting called up. You don't have to worry about that, so I guess there is a bonus out of that."

It's about the only one, it seems.

The NHL and the players association resumed negotiations Friday after more than two weeks apart and agreed on issues related to player safety and drug testing. However, the core economic divide that is preventing an end to the league's latest lockout was not even on the agenda, although negotiations are expected to last through the weekend.

They're the first talks since the lockout was put in place, and they came a day after the league canceled the preseason. The core issue separating the sides is the division of more than $3 billion in annual revenue.

Cooper said the lockout will present a lot of different challenges, such as "managing a bunch of players that probably aren't accustomed to playing in this league last year because they were playing in another league, and managing the players that would have been playing here that won't be because current NHLers are down."

It's also going to create more attention across North America.

"It brings a whole different dynamic because there's going to be guys that aren't going to make the team that would have had there not been a lockout," Cooper said. "Not only is this a tryout for our team, but with no [NHL] training camps, this is almost an internal tryout. Every NHL team has to fill their roster once the lockout ends, and if it ends in the next month or so, this is a tryout for anywhere from three to five guys on every team in the league."

And that can only bode well for the fans.

"You've got to come in here and prove to the coaches and prove to the management that you belong," said forward Brett Connolly, who played 68 games last season with the parent Lightning after being picked sixth overall in the 2010 NHL draft. "You've got to be coming in here with a good mindset that you're going to come in here and prove. It should be a pretty competitive week or two.

"I think it's a good thing for the younger guys. It's a place where we can all play and get better and not be sitting around. It's definitely tough on some guys, but we've got a good situation here in Syracuse. It should be a lot of fun."

Which is more than you can say for the labor meetings that are being held in the same state.

Flocks of NHL players are headed to the unknowns of the
European hockey circuit as a result of the NHL lockout. However, the vast
majority of the Boston Bruins are staying put … for now.

Backup goaltender Anton Khudobin was the
first player on the Boston roster to formally commit to playing in Europe, but
the immediate fear of most fans is "who's next?"

It is no secret that the Bruins are a young team with a lot to lose as a result of the lockout. After years of hard work, scouting, drafting and trading, the Bruins front office has finally been able to put together a talented roster from top to bottom filled with young, hard-working players. Nearly all of Boston's offensive production comes from players who are under the age of 30 and now, with the departure of Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask steps into the spotlight at age 25.

This past offseason, Bruins management put an emphasis on
keeping their core guys in Boston for the long term, and did so by signing
Tyler Seguin (6 years) Milan Lucic (3 years) and Brad Marchand (4 years) to contract extensions. For these three players signing on the dotted
line was the easy part. The hard part is deciding what to do while the TD
Garden is closed for business.

For the younger members of the Bruins roster this is an
important time in their development as hockey players. Less experienced players
such as Seguin, Marchand and Rask are considered to be more impressionable than
others, and changing leagues could make a large impact on how they play long
after the conclusion of this lockout.

European hockey is not something that is well-known by most
North American hockey fans, however it presents an interesting opportunity to
NHL players with no other opportunities in the U.S. Considered by some to be an "old man's paradise"
based on the less physical competition and tax-free pay, European hockey could
be the temporary home for some of the NHL's most talented young players.

The style of hockey that is promoted in most parts of Europe is
considered by experts to be "softer."
The games involve less contact, and offensive opportunities are created as a
result of speed and stick skills, not by imposing a physical
presence on the ice. Imagine Marchand and
Lucic spending a year in system where physicality was discouraged. Would it
change who they were as players when the NHL opens its doors again?

Another place where the young Bruins could plant their
stakes is in the AHL, but similar to Europe, there are concerns with what
playing in the league can do to player development. Would a young player benefit or be hurt by
competing in a less talented league with a group of guys who are fighting just
to be NHL players? If these athletes get
more comfortable playing at a slower pace and racking up easy points it's
possible it could damage their work ethic when they return to the Bruins.

The young guys on this team are now faced with a very
difficult decision. Do they let what
could be up to a year of their career go by with no competitive hockey being
played? Should they sign with a team in
a league that is less competitive than the NHL and could possibly stunt their
growth as a player? Or do they sit in Boston waiting for a compromise between
the players and the league?

There are those who say the only thing players have
to lose as a result of this lockout is money, but in Boston, these young Bruins
have a lot more riding on the work stoppage than numbers on a paycheck.