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December 6, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


All of Bridgeport's unbeaten streaks went up by one on Wednesday as the Sound Tigers blanked Providence, 1-0. Rick DiPietro made 30 saves for his third shutout of the season, and the first overall pick in the 2000 NHL draft is now 9-0-5 with a 1.77 GAA in his last 14 starts. The win also ran Bridgeport's overall unbeaten streak to nine games (6-0-3-0), and the Sound Tigers haven't lost at home since Oct. 16, a span of 11 games (9-0-2-0). Trent Hunter scored the game's only goal midway through the second period.

Wed 12/4
ALBANY 2, Portland 1... BRIDGEPORT 1, Providence 0... Manchester 4, HAMILTON 3 (OT)... HARTFORD 3, Manitoba 1... HOUSTON 3, Grand Rapids 2... NORFOLK 4, Milwaukee 3 (OT)... SAN ANTONIO 4, Utah 2... SYRACUSE 4, Cincinnati 3 (OT)

LOOKING AHEAD:

Manitoba wraps up a quick four-game New England road trip with three contests in 48 hours this weekend. The Moose begin in Bridgeport tonight (7:35 ET, 6:35 CT), where the Sound Tigers haven't lost in 11 tries since Oct. 16 (9-0-2-0). Then it's up to Springfield, where captain Brian Chapman returns for the first time since his three-year stint with the Indians (1990-93), which included winning the 1991 Calder Cup championship. Sunday, it's over to Worcester, where the Moose eliminated the IceCats in double-overtime of Game 3 in the teams' qualifying series last April.

Hamilton and Cleveland engage in a rare home-and-home-and-home series this weekend, with games at Copps Coliseum tonight (7:00 ET) and Sunday (4:00) sandwiching a meeting at Gund Arena on Saturday (7:05). The Bulldogs are 5-1-1 in their brief rivalry with the Barons, including a 6-3 win back on Oct. 19. Hamilton has the league's two leading scorers in Jason Ward and Benoit Gratton (32 pts. each), while Cleveland boasts the league's top-scoring rookie forward (Niko Dimitrakos) and rookie defenseman (Jim Fahey).

Grand Rapids tries to put the brakes on a four-game losing skid when Utah visits Van Andel for games tonight and Saturday (7:30 ET, 5:30 MT). The Griffins are 6-0-2-0 in their last eight home games, while the Grizzlies are 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 games overall, including 3-2-0-0 thus far on their seven-game road trip. The weekend marks a homecoming for Utah rookie goaltender and Michigan native Jason Bacashihua.

The AHL invades the Twin Cities on Sunday (4:00 CT) when Houston tangles with Milwaukee at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, home of the Aeros' NHL parent club, the Minnesota Wild. Ten Aeros have gotten the call from the Wild since the affiliation began in 2001, including current Minnesota regulars Richard Park and Stephane Veilleux. The Admirals come into the weekend with just one win in their last nine games (1-4-2-2), but still sit second only to Houston in the West Division.

(all times local)
Fri 12/6
Portland at St. John's, 7:35... Binghamton at Saint John, 7:30... Manchester at Albany, 7:00... Cleveland at Hamilton, 7:00... Worcester at Hartford, 7:05... Hershey at Philadelphia, 7:05... Lowell at Providence, 7:05... Utah at Grand Rapids, 7:30... Rochester at Norfolk, 7:30... Manitoba at Bridgeport, 7:35... Syracuse at Springfield, 7:35... Chicago at Milwaukee, 7:12... Wilkes-Barre at Houston, 7:30

Sat 12/7
Binghamton at Saint John, 7:00... Portland at St. John's, 7:35... Cincinnati at Hershey, 7:00... Philadelphia at Bridgeport, 7:05... Hamilton at Cleveland, 7:05... Lowell at Worcester, 7:05... Utah at Grand Rapids, 7:30... Rochester at Norfolk, 7:30... Albany at Syracuse, 7:30... Providence at Manchester, 7:35... Manitoba at Springfield, 7:35... Milwaukee at Chicago, 7:00... Wilkes-Barre at San Antonio, 7:00

Sun 12/8
Bridgeport at Albany, 4:00... Cleveland at Hamilton, 4:00... Manchester at Lowell, 4:00... Hartford at Providence, 4:05... Manitoba at Worcester, 4:05... Milwaukee vs. Houston, 4:00 (at St. Paul, Minn.)... Cincinnati at Hershey, 6:00

ALUMNI WATCH:

Michal Handzus, a 1998 AHL All-Star, scored on a penalty shot in overtime to give Philadelphia a 3-2 win over the N.Y. Rangers on Thursday... Adam Hall, Scott Walker and 1998 Calder Cup champion Andy Delmore scored on Thursday to lift Nashville past Los Angeles, 3-2.

ON THE AIR:

Friday, Portland at St. John's -- Rogers Cable 9 (St. John's) -- 7:35 NT
Saturday, Providence at Manchester -- AT&T 3 (Hockey Night New England) -- 7:35 ET
Sunday, Milwaukee vs. Houston at St. Paul, Minn. -- KTBU-TV 55 (Houston) -- 4:00 CT

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American Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2002


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