Just over a month since the men’s hockey team danced its way into the NCAA Tournament, two former Purple Eagles are making another postseason run, in the American Hockey League. Matt Caruana of the Portland Pirates and Kyle Rogers of the Toronto Marlies both are set to begin the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
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Kyle Rogers
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Caruana and Rogers signed with their professional organizations less than a week after the Purple Eagles played their final game in Albany, N.Y. on March 28. Needless to say, both players got thrown right into the mix.
“When I first got here I was nervous about getting into players faces, and getting a penalty,” Rogers said. “But then I got more comfortable and was less worried about that.”
“It’s a different game altogether,” Caruana said. “I went from getting a lot of playing time, being a senior captain, and now I am back at the bottom fighting for a spot in the lineup."
The Portland Pirates beat the Hartford Wolfpacks in the first round in five games and now trail by two games to the Providence Bruins in the second round. Caruana has yet to record a playoff point, but he did tally an assist in the regular season.
“It was great, I got the assist at home in front of a sold out barn,” Caruana said. “They announced it as my first career assist, and all the fans cheered. It was really great.”
The Toronto Marlies advanced to the second round of the playoffs after beating the San Antonio Rampage, 2-1, in game seven. They are set to take on the Syracuse Crunch starting Friday in Toronto.
Obviously, the format of the AHL postseason is drastically different than college hockey’s one-game showdowns.
“In the NCAA it’s game seven all the time, if you lose, you’re done,” Rogers explained. “But here, you can take it game-by-game, and if you have a bad night, there is the opportunity to bounce back.”
While the seven game series present more opportunities for victory, the intensity is hard not to notice. Both Rogers and Caruana have a similar day-to-day schedule with their respective programs.
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Matt Caruana
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Their days consist of being at the rink from 9am to noon or 1 pm where they work out, watch video and skate. The hours may be short compared to a standard eight-hour workday, but at the end of the day it may feel like eight hours.
“It’s great that we have the free time,” Rogers said, “but you work so hard, at the end of the day your body is drained, you don’t feel like doing anything.”
“I definitely needed the time to get settled,” Caruana explained. “I was living in a hotel for four weeks, and I just finally moved into an apartment.”
On the ice, both players have had their amount of success. Rogers has played five games in the playoffs and has a +1 plus/minus rating in the postseason. Caruana has seen ice in four games of the playoffs.
"I really just need to make the most of my ice time and contribute however I can,” Caruana said. I have already been put on the penalty kill, and gotten to take some key faceoffs."
Both the Marlies and the Pirates are fighting for the Calder Cup from opposite sides of the playoff bracket. In order to face each other in the postseason, both teams must win the next two rounds of the playoffs for the former Purple Eagles to battle for the Calder Cup.
