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December 20, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


Texas may be the second-largest of the 50 United States of America, but on Thursday night, two fleets of Admirals cut the Lone Star State down to size. In a battle of division leaders at the Compaq Center, Kent Huskins and Casey Hankinson scored and Michael Leighton stopped 32 shots to lead Norfolk to a 2-0 victory over Houston, extending the Aeros' winless streak to six games (0-5-1-0). And up at the Bradley Center in Wisconsin, Wyatt Smith had two goals and an assist and Brian Finley, the sixth overall pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, earned his first American Hockey League victory with a 36-save shutout as Milwaukee bested San Antonio, 3-0.

Wed 12/18
ALBANY 4, Springfield 1... HAMILTON 2, Bridgeport 2 (OT)... HARTFORD 10, Utah 6... Norfolk 5, SAN ANTONIO 1... Cincinnati 3, SYRACUSE 1... St. John's 4, WORCESTER 3

Thu 12/19
Norfolk 2, HOUSTON 0... MILWAUKEE 3, San Antonio 0

LOOKING AHEAD:

The West Division, suddenly separated by just five points top to bottom, can get a little tighter this weekend. Riding a nine-game winning streak, Chicago plays three times in just over 48 hours, including Saturday's battle with Milwaukee, the teams' fourth of six meetings between Dec. 6 and Jan. 2. First-place Houston is mired in an 0-5-1-0 slump as South-leading Norfolk returns to the Compaq Center on Saturday. With just two wins in 16 road games, San Antonio visits Grand Rapids tonight in their pre-holiday finale. And Utah looks to bounce back from Wednesday's 10-6 loss with a visit to Worcester tonight and a return to Hartford on Saturday.

Looking to find their footing, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks visit two of the hottest teams in the AHL this weekend, with games in Rochester tonight (7:35 ET) and Sunday (6:05) around a trip to Hamilton on Saturday (7:00). A 3-1 victory in Syracuse on Wednesday snapped a seven-game winless skid, and gives the Ducks a chance to win back-to-back games for just the second time all year. The Amerks, who sit two points ahead of Cincinnati in the Central Division, and the league-leading Bulldogs both enter the weekend on eight-game unbeaten streaks.

St. John's calls on the Moose for a two-game set at Winnipeg Arena, tonight (7:30 CT, 10:00 NT) and Saturday (7:30/10:00). The Maple Leafs, whose roster includes ex-Moose Brad Leeb, Josh Holden, Harold Druken, Ryan Bonni and Doug Doull, defeated Manitoba in Newfoundland on Oct. 22 and 23, but are 5-16-2-1 since then. Former Leaf Jeff Farkas has seven goals and eight points in his last eight games for the Moose, who have dropped five of their last six on home ice.

Binghamton tangles with Springfield tonight (7:35 ET) in an East Division tilt in "The Nest." The Falcons have won eight of their last nine home contests, including a 3-0 blanking of the Senators back on Nov. 30, and rookie Jeff Taffe has nine points in his last six games to give him a team-best 26 points on the year. Former Springfield Indian John Paddock's Senators are 2-4-1-0 against division opponents this season.

(all times local)
Fri 12/20
Portland at Hamilton, 7:00... Chicago at Cleveland, 7:05... Hershey at Philadelphia, 7:05... Lowell at Providence, 7:05... Utah at Worcester, 7:05... San Antonio at Grand Rapids, 7:30... Albany at Syracuse, 7:30... Saint John at Manchester, 7:35... Cincinnati at Rochester, 7:35... Binghamton at Springfield, 7:35... St. John's at Manitoba, 7:30

Sat 12/21
Grand Rapids at Cleveland, 12:35... Manchester at Saint John, 7:00... Worcester at Albany, 7:00... Cincinnati at Hamilton, 7:00... Rochester at Hershey, 7:00... Portland at Binghamton, 7:05... Lowell at Bridgeport, 7:05... Utah at Hartford, 7:05... Philadelphia at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05... Springfield at Syracuse, 7:30... Milwaukee at Chicago, 7:00... Norfolk at Houston, 7:30... St. John's at Manitoba, 7:30

Sun 12/22
Worcester at Providence, 4:05... Lowell at Binghamton, 5:05... Portland at Wilkes-Barre, 5:05... Chicago at Houston, 5:00... Cincinnati at Rochester, 6:05

Mon 12/23
Hartford at Bridgeport, 7:05

ALUMNI WATCH:
On Thursday night, Binghamton captain Steve Martins had a goal and an assist and was named the game's first star in Ottawa's 9-3 win over San Jose... Rick DiPietro made 15 saves to backstop the N.Y. Islanders to a 4-2 win over Minnesota... Jose Theodore stopped 41 shots in Montreal's 3-1 win over the N.Y. Rangers.

ON THE AIR:
Friday, Hershey at Philadelphia -- CN8 (The Comcast Network) -- 7:05 ET (live)
Friday, Portland at Hamilton -- Cable 14 (Hamilton) -- 7:00 ET (live)
Friday, Cincinnati at Rochester -- Time Warner 98 (Rochester) -- Sat., 11:00 am ET (tape)
Saturday, Philadelphia at Wilkes-Barre -- Adelphia 63/WNEP-DT 16-2 (NE Pennsylvania) -- 7:05 ET (live)
Sunday, Chicago at Houston -- CLTV (Chicago) -- 5:00 CT (live)

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