Notes from the Farm

Lost in the shuffle that has been my life (finally got a job!!) and the NHL playoffs, the AHL playoffs are in full swing. Our own Philadelphia Phantoms survived a seven-game war of attrition against the Albany River Rats in the first round, including a 3-2 victory in five overtime periods, which I believe is the longest game in AHL history, at least according to the write-up here. The Phantoms now find themselves up against the Wilkes-Barre Penguins...noteworthy since the two NHL franchises are playing each other later this week. And apparently, the mutual dislike between the two organizations filtered down to the minors. Right now the series is 2-1 in favor of the Pens. Can you tell I haven't been paying attention to this?

Claude Giroux, one of our most highly touted prospects, is currently rampaging through the Q-League playoffs like Patton through Sicily, putting up an impressive 42 points in 16 games. He played with the Flyers earlier this season against Ottawa and from the looks of things, he'll be a regular in Philly pretty soon. His team, the Gatineau Olympiques, are currently tied 1-1 with Rouyn-Noranda (???) in the QMJHL finals...which is great...I guess. Anyway, best of luck to Claude and his Olympiques against whatzername.

Game 1 between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh is scheduled for Friday, which means I'll be a nervous wreck come Thursday. Once again, the pundits are picking against the Flyers, which is fine by me seeing as how the "experts" are 0-2 so far. Friday cannot get here soon enough.