Playoffs out of reach...

SPR-1
NOR-3

Jonathan Boutin stopped 24 of 26 shots faced but did not get the goal support. Travis Brigley scored the loan Falcons goal.

Game sheet from TheAHL.com.

First one to six wins...

TB-6
BOS-5

John Grahame stopped 21 out of 26 in his last start before joining Team USA at the Olympics. The Lightning have now cut Carolina's division lead to 12 points with the Hurricanes playing one more game tomorrow before the Olympic break. Vaclav Prospal had 2 goals including the game winner while Dimitry Afanasenkov had a flashback to his days in the QMJHL and had a pair of markers of his own. Among Lightning rookies, Ryan Craig had a goal and an assist while Paul Ranger chipped in a helper of his own.

Craig played 19:47 and was +2 with 4 shots on goal. Paul Ranger was +3 in 13:35 with 1 shot on goal. Evgeny Artyukhin played 12:03 with 3 shots on goal.

Game sheet from NHL.com.

In the rubber match of young Finns today it was Tuukka Rask who bested Karri Ramo in the shootout as Ilves defeated HPK 2-1. Ramo stopped 25 of 26 shots faced before falling in penalty shots. He was named third star of the game by the media and was again voted best player in the match in fan voting. Ramo's record is now 8-7-4 this season.

Big big win as the Chiefs strive to climb the ladder in the division.

TOL-3
JHN-5

Morgan Cey stopped 33 of 36 shots faced for the win. 1G 1A nights for Dimitri Tarabrin, Steve Cygan, Justin Kelly and Adam Henrich. 2A nights for Brad Thompson and Joe Tallari. Brandon Elliot also scored a goal for the Chiefs.

With the victory the Chiefs are now 20-17-10 and have lept over Toledo into 3rd place by one point. That's the good news. The bad news is that Toledo has 7 games in hand, so the Chiefs will have to remain red hot and do a considerable amount of scoreboard watching if they're to maintain their newfound position.

Game sheet from ECHL.com.

You've got to give Boutin more support than that.

SPR-2
NOR-5

Jonathan Boutin played better than the final score indicated stopping 37 of 41 shots faced before Norfolk added an empty net tally. Among the four goals Boutin allowed was a penalty shot goal by Quintin Laing who was obstructed by Gerard Dicaire on a shorthanded breakaway.

The frightening thing is that the Falcons only two goals came from newcomer Zdenek Blatny. The Falcons' big guns, Jason Jaspers and Ryan Vesce, were limited to just one shot on goal between them. Chris Dingman, Gerard Dicaire and Doug O'Brien had helpers in the contest.

Game sheet from TheAHL.com.