In modern times, the American Hockey League only began to schedule games on Boxing Day since the 2004-05 season.

It proved an immediate hit with the fans as games scheduled on this day in 2004 produced fifty goals in nine games.

The scoring continued in 2005 with teams combining for 38 goals in just six games. For those counting, an average of 6.33 goals per game.

Not only have there been some highly entertaining high-scoring encounters decided by the odd goal or overtime, but also a plethora of huge Boxing Day blowout victories.

None more memorable than the beating Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins handed the Hershey Bears in 2005.

Noah Welch opened the scoring for the home team Penguins with 9:43 on the clock.
Less than nine minutes later, WBS had built themselves a 7-0 lead.
Tallying up the numbers, thirty infractions were called, 63 Penalty Minutes awarded, there were 24 power-play opportunities and the final score was an 8-1 victory for the hosts.

You could make a case for a few Boxing Day encounters to be titled the craziest in AHL history, however for me, it was a match-up between the Lake Erie Monsters and Rochester Americans in 2012.

In the first period alone, the fans witnessed five goals, 29 shots registered on net, one fight, three special team markers and the lead held by both teams.

Brad Malone opened the scoring less than two minutes in for the visiting Monsters.
Less than sixty seconds later and tempers were boiling as Patrick Bordeleau and Nick Tarnasky dropped the gloves.

That fight seemed to lift the home team as they tied the game at one through Evan Rankin with a power-play marker at 5:18.

Undeterred, Lake Erie restored their lead three and a half minutes later through Mike Connolly but would find themselves behind after twenty minutes of play.

Rochester kept up their theme of special team scoring through a short-handed tally courtesy of Cody Hodgson and with fifteen seconds remaining in the period, T.J. Brennan netted on the power-play with a trademark booming shot to give the Amerks their first lead of the game.

Events took a left turn for the hosts during the middle frame as Lake Erie took a stranglehold on proceedings.

Just 26 seconds into the frame and David Van der Gulik tied the game at three.
The Monsters domination at even strength continued as Karl Stollery scored his second of the campaign to put the visitors back ahead three minutes later.

We had our second fight of the game at the six-minute mark between Thomas Pock and Marcus Foligno as the opponent’s dislike for one another grew intensity.
Stollery’s second goal of the period with 35 seconds left gave Lake Erie a commanding 5-3 lead through forty minutes.

This topsy-turvy encounter was far from over however and the Amerks came roaring back early in the third period.

It took all of 73 seconds for Cody Hodgson to give life back to his team and the home crowd with Rochester’s first even-strength tally of the game.
Inside six minutes and the game was tied at five as Zemgus Girgensons also found the net during 5 v 5 play.

Surely now the home team would go on to claim victory from this point.

No. That wasn’t in the script as the unflappable visitors once again regained the lead.
Van der Gulik netted his second of the game, a short-handed breakaway goal, to put Lake Erie up 6-5 with a little over eight minutes left in regulation.

This was now the fourth time that Rochester had trailed in this barnstorming game but yet again the home team raised themselves to find a tying goal.
During a frenetic scramble in the Lake Erie crease, Mark Mancari was credited with the final touch as Rochester tied the game at 6-6 with a little over five minutes remaining.

Neither team could find a breakthrough in the remainder of regulation play and overtime would be required to decide a winner.

After holding the lead for just forty seconds in the entire game, it was the never-say-die Rochester American who prevailed in overtime thanks to Marcus Foligno.

Lake Erie 6 v Rochester Americans 7 OT

T.J. Brennan was named the first star of the game due to a career-high five-point haul (1-4-5) and was ably assisted by Brayden McNabb (2-1-3), Mark Mancari (1-1-2), Brian Flynn (0-2-2) and Brayden McNabb (0-2-2).

David Van der Gulik led the way for Lake Erie with a pair of goals but the visitors must have wondered how they lost a game in which they held the lead for long periods.

It certainly wasn’t a memorable outing for either goaltender as established AHL veterans in Calvin Pickard and David Leggio combing for an 0.815 save percentage.

The two teams would resume hostilities two days later in a less dramatic affair as Rochester recorded a comfortable 4-1 victory.