The Houston Aeros pushed it to the limit Wednesday night in Milwaukee. They went into the game riding a 2 game losing streak. They had blown a 3-1 series lead. Their backs were truly against the wall and they were in enemy territory. But rookie goaltender Anton Khudobin stopped 28 of 30 shots to help lead the Aeros to a decisive 5-2 Game 7 victory. Corey Locke scored twice for the Aeros. Krys Kolanos, Clayton Stoner and Bryan Lundbohm also added goals in the winning effort. Former Silvertip Mitch Love saw lots of ice time in this series, contributed a goal and lots of fireworks in this series.

Now, Houston prepares to face off against the first place Manitoba Moose in the Western Conference finals. The Moose had the week off after sweeping the Grand Rapids Griffins in 4 games. Former Silvertip Shaun Heshka is in the post-season lineup. Former 'Tip Taylor Ellington has not been in the lineup, but we hold out hope that we'll see him.

The Aeros and Moose meet for Game 1 tonight in Winnipeg. So, Houston plays the role of "road warriors" once again. The game gets under way at 6:30pm Central time. that's 4:30 here. You can listen to Houston's play by play of the game by going to: www.aeros.com. You can listen to Manitoba's play by play by going to: www.moosehockey.com.

The Worcester Sharks saw their season end Wednesday night, with a heartbreaking 5-1 Game 6 loss against the Providence Bruins. Former 'Tip Zach Hamill had an assist for Providence. The heat of the game seemed to have gotten the best of former 'Tip Riley Armstrong, who received a 5 minute major for boarding. Then things quickly spiraled out of control. As he was being escorted out of the penalty box, Riley got into a scrap with Bruin Johnny Boychuk and got hit with a major penalty for spearing. To add insult to injury, a referee levied two game misconducts on Armstrong. Worcester's Brad Staubitz also dropped the gloves with Jeremy Reich. Providence goalie Tuukka Rask stopped 34 shots in the winning effort.

Providence goes on to meet the Hershey Bears in the Eastern Conference finals. Hershey beat cross-state rivals the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 7 games; a different outcome than their NHL counterparts. AHL MVP Alexandre Girous, Chris Bourke and Keith Aucoin lead the Bears in goals and other stats. The team says it's ready to face the Bruins. We'll find out tomorrow night when the puck drops in Hershey for Game 1. The action gets underway at 4pm Pacific time. You can listen to Providence's play by play of the game by going to: www.providencebruins.com. If you want to listen to Hershey's view of the game, go here: www.hersheybears.com.

Now that we're one series away from the Calder Cup finals, weigh in. Tell me who you think will meet up for the final series and who will end up hoisting the Cup.