Calder Cup Update: Checking on the Baby Penguins

Having disposed of Hershey and Springfield in Rounds 1 and 2 of the Calder Cup Playoffs, the Baby Penguins host the Toronto Marlies tomorrow night in Game 1 of the AHL Eastern Conference Final. The venues will follow a 2-3-2 rotation, with Games 1 and 2 (and 6 and 7 if necessary) slated for the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre.

Curious about how the kids are producing in wake of their 8-1 annihilation of Springfield in a recent series-deciding game, I took a gander at their stats. I was particularly interested to see how certain individuals were performing.

As it turns out, well, almost across the board. Topping the scoring parade with nine points, including four in the deciding game against Springfield, Tristan Broz continues to enhance his rep as a high-stakes player who almost always delivers in the clutch. (Hello Bryan Rust.) Ville Koivunen and Mikhail Ilyin are next in line with seven points apiece. Scrappy Avery Hayes and rookie pro Bill Zonnon have three goals each (the latter in only five games), while tying Broz for the club goal-scoring lead.

On defense, the tandem of hulking AHL vet Alex Alexeyev and hot-shot prospect Harrison Brunicke has been nothing short of terrific (a combined plus-15). Brunicke, in particular, is maturing by leaps and bounds and drawing rave reviews to boot.

Between the pipes, Sergei Murashov’s been masterful to the tune of a sterling 1.74 goals against average and lights-out .943 save percentage.

Particularly impressive to me? How evenly distributed the scoring is. Nine players have tallied at least two goals and 15 have at least one.

Everyone’s contributing. Fueling the team’s chances of hoisting the AHL version of Lord Stanley’s chalice.

Without further ado, here are the stats.