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April 18, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


For the second game in a row, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scored four goals on the road against the stingiest defense in AHL history. But for the second game in a row, Bridgeport prevailed in overtime, this time on a Brandon Smith goal at 1:27 to earn another 5-4 victory last night. Marc-Andre Fleury, the first overall pick in last year's NHL draft, stopped 16 of 21 shots in his AHL debut for the Penguins; Wade Dubielewicz finished with 37 saves for Bridgeport. The Sound Tigers' Rob Collins leads all scorers with five points heading into Game 3 as the series shifts to Wilkes-Barre today (5:05 ET).

Shawn Mather, in just his third game as a Baron, scored 12:38 into the second overtime last night to give Cleveland a 2-1 win over Toronto and force today's deciding Game 3 (4:00 ET) in Strongsville. Cleveland survived a 52-second 5-on-3 disadvantage in the first OT period and got 44 saves on the night from Nolan Schaefer, who has combined with Roadrunners counterpart Tyler Moss to stop 149 of 155 shots (.961) in the series. The Barons are hoping to become the only fourth-place team to survive the qualifying round this spring.

Worcester took a 2-0 series lead over Manchester on Scott Pellerin's overtime goal last night, capping a 3-2 victory. Only four teams in AHL history have lost the first two games of a best-of-seven at home and rallied to win the series; the Monarchs try to take the first step and halt a seven-game playoff losing streak in Game 3 today (5:05 ET) at the Centrum Centre, where they were 1-1-3-0 in the regular season. After leaving Game 1 with an injury, Curtis Sanford returned to the IceCats' crease and made 28 saves last night.

Cincinnati knocked off Houston last night, 6-3, earning the franchise's first-ever series victory and assuring a new Calder Cup champion for 2004. Curtis Glencross, who spent this season at the U. of Alaska-Anchorage, recorded a goal and two assists in Game 2 and Tony Martensson picked up four helpers on the night, including three in the Ducks' decisive four-goal third period. Cincinnati will now face Milwaukee in the West Division semifinals, beginning Wednesday night.

Domenic Pittis scored twice and was one of six Amerks with two points as Rochester drubbed Syracuse, 6-0, to even their North Division semifinal at one game apiece. Ryan Miller made 30 saves for his first pro playoff shutout and the Amerks struck for three power play goals to win for just the second time in eight visits to the Onondaga County War Memorial this season. Game 3 is set for Wednesday night in Rochester.

Chicago and Grand Rapids collide in Game 2 tonight (6:00 ET, 5:00 CT), less than 48 hours after the Wolves' stunning 4-3 win in the series opener on Friday. Derek MacKenzie propelled Chicago to a 1-0 series lead with a shorthanded goal in the first minute of overtime, after Brian Swanson had tied the score with 11 seconds to go in regulation. Kevin Miller, a veteran of 61 Stanley Cup Playoff games, netted a hat trick for the Griffins in Game 1.


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TONIGHT'S GAMES
Game 3 – Toronto at Cleveland, 4:05
Game 3 – Bridgeport at Wilkes-Barre, 5:05
Game 3 – Manchester at Worcester, 5:05
Game 2 – Chicago at Grand Rapids, 6:00


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SERIES SCHEDULES
Atlantic Division Qualifying Series
4-Providence vs. 5-Portland
Game 1 – Portland 7, PROVIDENCE 1
Game 2 – Portland 6, PROVIDENCE 2

East Division Qualifying Series
4-Binghamton vs. 5-Norfolk
Game 1 – Norfolk 3, BINGHAMTON 0
Game 2 – Norfolk 3, BINGHAMTON 0

North Division Qualifying Series
4-Cleveland vs. 5-Toronto
§Game 1 – Toronto 3, CLEVELAND 1
§Game 2 – CLEVELAND 2, Toronto 1 (2OT)
§Game 3 – Sun 4/18 at Cleveland, 4:00
§at Strongsville, Ohio

West Division Qualifying Series
4-Houston vs. 5-Cincinnati
Game 1 – Cincinnati 3, HOUSTON 1
Game 2 – Cincinnati 6, HOUSTON 3

Atlantic Division Semifinal
2-Manchester vs. 3-Worcester
Game 1 – Worcester 2, MANCHESTER 1
Game 2 – Worcester 3, MANCHESTER 2 (OT)
Game 3 – Sun 4/18 at Worcester, 5:05
Game 4 – Tue 4/20 at Worcester, 7:05
*Game 5 – Thu 4/22 at Manchester, 7:05
*Game 6 – Sat 4/24 at Worcester, 7:05
*Game 7 – Sun 4/25 at Manchester, 4:05

East Division Semifinal
2-Bridgeport vs. 3-Wilkes-Barre
Game 1 – BRIDGEPORT 5, Wilkes-Barre 4 (OT)
Game 2 – BRIDGEPORT 5, Wilkes-Barre 4 (OT)
Game 3 – Sun 4/18 at Wilkes-Barre, 5:05
Game 4 – Tue 4/20 at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05
*Game 5 – Thu 4/22 at Bridgeport, 7:05
*Game 6 – Fri 4/23 at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05
*Game 7 – Sun 4/25 at Bridgeport, 4:05

North Division Semifinal
2-Syracuse vs. 3-Rochester
Game 1 – SYRACUSE 3, Rochester 2
Game 2 – Rochester 6, SYRACUSE 0
Game 3 – Wed 4/21 at Rochester, 7:05
Game 4 – Fri 4/23 at Rochester, 7:35
Game 5 – Sun 4/25 at Syracuse, 5:00
*Game 6 – Wed 4/28 at Rochester, 7:05
*Game 7 – Sat 5/1 at Syracuse, 7:30

West Division Semifinal
2-Grand Rapids vs. 3-Chicago
Game 1 – Chicago 4, GRAND RAPIDS 3 (OT)
Game 2 – Sun 4/18 at Grand Rapids, 6:00
Game 3 – Wed 4/21 at Chicago, 8:00
Game 4 – Fri 4/23 at Chicago, 8:30
*Game 5 – Sat 4/24 at Grand Rapids, 8:00
*Game 6 – Mon 4/26 at Chicago, 8:00
*Game 7 – Wed 4/28 at Grand Rapids, 7:00

*if necessary... All times Eastern


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FROM CALDER TO STANLEY:
Alex Auld, who spent most of the 2003-04 in the AHL with Manitoba, made 36 saves and 1998 AHL All-Rookie forward Brendan Morrison scored the winning goal as Vancouver edged Calgary in triple overtime last night, 5-4, to force a Game 7 on Monday.


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BY THE NUMBERS:
5 -- Total number of playoff games won by defending Calder Cup champions during the last four postseasons (Houston: 0-2 in 2004; Chicago: 3-4 in 2003, Saint John: DNQ in 2002; Hartford: 2-3 in 2001).

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