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April 17, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


Big third periods lifted the top seeds in the East to commanding 2-0 leads in their respective conference quarterfinal series on Tuesday. Trent Hunter registered three assists in the final frame as Bridgeport pulled away and defeated Manitoba, 4-1. Hunter has picked up 1+5=6 pts. in the first two games of the series. In Lowell, Jeff Heerema, Reggie Berg and Mike Zigomanis scored in a 94-second span as the Lock Monsters found the net four times in the third to beat St. John's, 4-1.

Jeff MacMillan's goal midway through the second period held up as the game-winner as Utah defeated Houston on Tuesday, 2-1, to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five Western Conference Quarterfinal series. John Purves opened the scoring just 30 seconds into the game, and Wade Flaherty finished with 23 saves, including 10 in the third period.

Jason Spezza, the second overall pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, is scheduled to make his professional debut tonight when he joins Grand Rapids for Game 3 of their series with Chicago (7:00 CT, 8:00 ET). The 18-year-old Spezza recorded 42 goals and 105 points in 53 OHL games this year, and looks to add some offensive punch to a Griffins team that has scored 35 goals in its last 21 games. Chicago's Steve Maltais leads all AHL playoff scorers with seven points in five contests.

After a three-day layoff, Syracuse hosts Philadelphia tonight in Game 2 (7:00 ET). Crunch defenseman Jamie Heward, who helped the Phantoms win the Calder Cup in 1998, tallied two assists and a plus-3 rating in Saturday's series-opening 5-3 win. The Crunch haven't won a playoff series since reaching the conference finals in 1996; the Phantoms have won nine of their 13 series since joining the AHL in 1997.

Hamilton can become the first team to reach the conference semifinals by closing out Quebec tonight at Copps Coliseum (7:30 ET). The Bulldogs, who have never swept a playoff series, took the first two games from the Citadelles at Le Colisee Pepsi... After a split of two back-and-forth affairs, the Wolf Pack and Monarchs head to Manchester for Game 3 tonight (7:05 ET). Jason Dawe scored three goals and Brad Smyth notched five assists in the first two games for Hartford... After evening their series with a 3-2 win on Saturday, Hershey hosts Norfolk tonight (7:30 ET) in Game 3. When the teams met in a best-of-seven last year, the Admirals won Game 1 before the Bears took four straight.

The Milwaukee Admirals and Nashville Predators announced on Tuesday an extension in their affiliation agreement through the 2003-04 season. The Admirals sent 16 players to the NHL this season, including Petr Tenkrat, Greg Classen, Bubba Berenzweig, Nathan Perrott and Jan Lasak.

TONIGHT'S GAMES:

Game 2 - Philadelphia at Syracuse, 7:00
Game 3 - Hartford at Manchester, 7:05
Game 3 - Quebec at Hamilton, 7:30
Game 3 - Norfolk at Hershey, 7:30
Game 3 - Grand Rapids at Chicago, 7:00

SERIES SCHEDULES:

Western Conference Quarterfinals
1-Syracuse vs. 8-Philadelphia
Game 1 - SYRACUSE 5, Philadelphia 3
Game 2 - Wed 4/17 at Syracuse, 7:00
Game 3 - Sun 4/21 at Philadelphia, 5:05
*Game 4 - Tue 4/23 at Philadelphia, 7:05
*Game 5 - Wed 4/24 at Syracuse, 7:00

2-Grand Rapids vs. 7-Chicago
Game 1 - GRAND RAPIDS 4, Chicago 1
Game 2 - Chicago 5, GRAND RAPIDS 1
Game 3 - Wed 4/17 at Chicago, 7:00
Game 4 - Fri 4/19 at Chicago, 7:30
*Game 5 - Sun 4/21 at Grand Rapids, 6:00

3-Norfolk vs. 6-Hershey
Game 1 - NORFOLK 4, Hershey 1
Game 2 - Hershey 3, NORFOLK 2
Game 3 - Wed 4/17 at Hershey, 7:30
Game 4 - Fri 4/19 at Hershey, 7:30
*Game 5 - Sat 4/20 at Norfolk, 7:30

4-Houston vs. 5-Utah
Game 1 - HOUSTON 4, Utah 0
Game 2 - Utah 3, HOUSTON 2 (OT)
Game 3 - UTAH 2, Houston 1
Game 4 - Thu 4/18 at Utah, 7:00
*Game 5 - Sat 4/20 at Houston, 7:00

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
1-Bridgeport vs. 9-Manitoba
Game 1 - BRIDGEPORT 5, Manitoba 0
Game 2 - BRIDGEPORT 4, Manitoba 1
Game 3 - Thu 4/18 at Manitoba, 7:30
*Game 4 - Fri 4/19 at Manitoba, 7:30
*Game 5 - Sun 4/21 at Bridgeport, 5:05

2-Lowell vs. 7-St. John's
Game 1 - LOWELL 3, St. John's 2
Game 2 - LOWELL 4, St. John's 1
Game 3 - Thu 4/18 at St. John's, 7:35
*Game 4 - Sat 4/20 at St. John's, 7:35
*Game 5 - Tue 4/23 at Lowell, 7:00

3-Quebec vs. 6-Hamilton
Game 1 - Hamilton 4, QUEBEC 3 (OT)
Game 2 - Hamilton 3, QUEBEC 1
Game 3 - Wed 4/17 at Hamilton, 7:30
*Game 4 - Fri 4/19 at Hamilton, 7:30
*Game 5 - Sun 4/21 at Quebec, 2:00

4-Hartford vs. 5-Manchester
Game 1 - HARTFORD 5, Manchester 3
Game 2 - Manchester 4, HARTFORD 3
Game 3 - Wed 4/17 at Manchester, 7:05
Game 4 - Fri 4/19 at Manchester, 7:35
*Game 5 - Sat 4/20 at Hartford, 7:05

*if necessary... All times local

FROM CALDER TO STANLEY:

Detroit and Vancouver begin their NHL Western Conference Quarterfinal series tonight at Joe Louis Arena. The underdog Canucks are led by head coach Marc Crawford, who knows about facing a team of Red Wings in the playoffs. Ten years ago, Crawford coached the St. John's Maple Leafs in an epic Calder Cup final, falling to Detroit's AHL affiliate from Adirondack in a seventh game.

AHL RINKSIDE:

Fri 4/19
Leafs TV, 11:00 pm ET... Rogers Sportsnet (East), 11:00 pm ET

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American Hockey League Stories from April 17, 2002


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