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December 11, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


Former Sound Tiger Dave Morriset broke a 1-1 tie early in the second period and Chris Mason finished with 26 saves as San Antonio won its fourth game in a row, defeating Bridgeport on Tuesday night, 2-1. The first-year Rampage are 7-0-2-0 in their last nine home games, and have now earned a point in the standings in 13 straight games overall (7-0-4-2).

Tue 12/10
Syracuse 5, CLEVELAND 4... SAN ANTONIO 2, Bridgeport 1... Hamilton 5, ST. JOHN'S 4

LOOKING AHEAD:

A night after becoming the first team to reach 20 wins in the AHL this season, Hamilton visits St. John's again tonight (7:35 NT, 6:05 ET) looking to extend its franchise-record six-game road winning streak. The Maple Leafs took a 4-3 lead into the waning moments of Tuesday's game before Francois Beauchemin (17:45) and Benoit Gratton (19:24) brought the Bulldogs back. The Leafs, 3-14-2-0 in their last 19 games, wrap up an eight-game homestand tonight before playing their next nine on the road.

Manchester brings its league-best 7-1-2-2 road record to Winnipeg for a pair of games against Manitoba, beginning tonight (7:30 CT, 8:30 ET). The Moose won the final three stops on a four-game road trip last week, and are 11-4-1-0 against New England-based teams this year. The Monarchs' Joe Corvo leads all AHL defensemen in scoring with 25 points in 25 games, while Manitoba's Ryan Ready is tied for sixth overall with 28 points.

Norfolk hosts Hershey tonight (7:15 ET) in the first of a two-game set between the top two teams in the South Division. The Bears are unbeaten in six and 6-1-4-0 in their last 11 outings; the Admirals are 4-6-0-1 since their 12-1-1-2 start. Brian Willsie has 12 points in his last eight games for Hershey, while Brett McLean, Norfolk's hot hand with 11 points in his last seven AHL contests, earned a recall to Chicago this week, becoming the 37th AHL graduate to make his NHL debut this year when he skated for the Blackhawks on Tuesday night. The Admirals enter play with a four-point lead over their rivals from Chocolatetown.

Bridgeport and Houston, two division leaders who were both among the final four in last year's Calder Cup Playoffs, face off in a two-game series at the Compaq Center beginning Thursday (7:00 CT, 8:00 ET). The Sound Tigers' Rick DiPietro has dropped three in a row since a personal 14-game unbeaten streak, but Steve Valiquette has reeled off four straight wins in the Bridgpeort cage. Houston owns the Western Conference's highest-scoring offense with 82 goals in 24 games, led by Jean-Guy Trudel and Curtis Murphy with 11 goals apiece. The series could provide a reunion between DiPietro and Houston goalie Derek Gustafson, who last faced each other in a four-overtime national quarterfinal game during the 2000 NCAA tournament.

(all times local)
Wed 12/11
Hamilton at St. John's, 7:35... Hershey at Norfolk, 7:15... Syracuse at Cincinnati, 7:35... Worcester at Chicago, 7:00... Manchester at Manitoba, 7:30... San Antonio at Utah, 7:00... Binghamton at Wilkes-Barre, ppd.

Thu 12/12
Rochester at Cleveland, 7:05... Lowell at Portland, 7:05... Bridgeport at Houston, 7:00... Worcester at Milwaukee, 7:12

Fri 12/13
Albany at Saint John, 7:30... Binghamton at Hartford, 7:05... Wilkes-Barre at Philadelphia, 7:05... Portland at Providence, 7:05... Hamilton at Grand Rapids, 7:30... Hershey at Norfolk, 7:30... Syracuse at Rochester, 7:35... St. John's at Springfield, 7:35... Cincinnati at Chicago, 7:30... Bridgeport at Houston, 7:30... Manchester at Manitoba, 7:30... San Antonio at Utah, 7:00

ALUMNI WATCH:
New Jersey's Martin Brodeur made 28 saves for his 58th career NHL shutout, a 2-0 win over St. Louis on Tuesday... Andre Savage scored his first goal as a Flyer in Philadelphia's 5-2 win over Florida on Tuesday... Martin Prusek made 26 stops on Tuesday as Ottawa doubled up Buffalo, 4-2... Tyler Arnason, the Dudley "Red" Garrett Award winner as the AHL's outstanding rookie last year, scored his fourth game-winning goal of the season in Chicago's 3-2 victory over the N.Y. Islanders on Tuesday.

ON THE AIR:
Saturday, Houston at Utah -- KPNZ-TV 24 (Utah)/KTBU-TV 55 (Houston) -- 7:00 MT/8:00 CT
Sunday, Manchester at Lowell -- AT&T 3 (Hockey Night New England) -- 4:00 ET

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American Hockey League Stories from December 11, 2002


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