AHL Quick Hits

Published on January 24, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL) News Release

Ray Emery turned aside 33 shots for his fourth shutout of the season as Binghamton extended its East Division lead with a 3-0 win over second-place Bridgeport on Wednesday night. The line of Joe Murphy (2g, 1a), Toni Dahlman (1g, 2a) and Jason Spezza (2a) provided all of the offense for the Senators, who are 5-0-1-0 in their last six games.

Eric Meloche scored with 55 seconds left in regulation to lift Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 4-4 tie at Hershey's Giant Center on Wednesday. The goal by Meloche, who also registered two assists on the night, allowed the Penguins to improve to 2-3-1-1 against Hershey this season. Marek Svatos scored twice for the Bears, who saw their winless skid hit six games (0-4-2-0).

Wed 1/22
BINGHAMTON 3, Bridgeport 0... CINCINNATI 2, Cleveland 1 (OT)... HAMILTON 3, Albany 1... Houston 6, HARTFORD 0... HERSHEY 4, Wilkes-Barre 4 (OT)... Saint John 5, MANITOBA 3... MILWAUKEE 4, San Antonio 1... NORFOLK 3, Grand Rapids 3 (OT)... Utah 2, PHILADELPHIA 0

Thu 1/23
SPRINGFIELD 3, St. John's 1

LOOKING AHEAD:

Hamilton brings a 14-game road unbeaten streak (13-0-1-0), one off the AHL record, into a two-game set in Winnipeg tonight and Saturday (7:30 CT, 8:30 ET). Recalls and injuries haven't done much to cool the Bulldogs, who are 21-1-3-2 in their last 27 games and have opened up a 33-point lead over second-place Manitoba in the Canadian Division. These are the first two meetings of the season between the clubs.

Houston's road show comes to Bridgeport for games tonight (7:35 ET, 6:35 CT) and Saturday (7:05/6:05). The Aeros are 14-1-2-0 in their last 17 games, including a 6-0 win in Hartford on Wednesday. Hnat Domenichelli and Jean-Guy Trudel have led the offense with 24 points combined in Houston's last eight games, but the Aeros managed just two goals in a two-game series with the Sound Tigers at the Compaq Center in December. Bridgeport is returning home this weekend after a 2-4-1-0 road trip dropped them out of first place in the East Division.

Worcester hosts Chicago tonight (7:05 ET, 6:05 CT) in another interconference battle for the IceCats, who are playing five of their next 10 games against the West Division. Worcester lost three games last weekend by identical 3-2 scores; the Wolves have one regulation loss in their last nine (5-1-2-1) as they continue an eight-game road trip. Chicago's three top scorers – Steve Maltais, Simon Gamache and Mark Hartigan – have a combined 40 points in the last 10 games.

Philadelphia heads next door to the First Union Center to entertain Grand Rapids on Saturday (3:05 ET) and Utah on Sunday (1:35 ET, 11:35am MT). The Phantoms are 6-4-5 all-time in the regular season at the Center, home of the parent Philadelphia Flyers, with an average of 14,040 fans attending those 15 games. Saturday's matinee marks the first-ever meeting between the Phantoms and Griffins, while the Grizzlies have won each of the first three head-to-head contests with the Phantoms this season, including a 2-0 decision on Wednesday night.

(all times local)
Fri 1/24
St. John's at Albany, 7:00... Providence at Lowell, 7:00... Hershey at Binghamton, 7:05... San Antonio at Cleveland, 7:05... Springfield at Hartford, 7:05... Manchester at Portland, 7:05... Chicago at Worcester, 7:05... Philadelphia at Norfolk, 7:30... Wilkes-Barre at Syracuse, 7:30... Houston at Bridgeport, 7:35... Rochester at Cincinnati, 7:35... Hamilton at Manitoba, 7:30

Sat 1/25
Milwaukee at Cleveland, 12:35... Grand Rapids at Philadelphia (First Union Center), 3:05... Norfolk at Hershey, 7:00... St. John's at Lowell, 7:00... Wilkes-Barre at Binghamton, 7:05... Houston at Bridgeport, 7:05... Utah at Worcester, 7:05... Albany at Syracuse, 7:30... Rochester at Cincinnati, 7:35... Chicago at Hartford, 7:35... Providence at Portland, 7:35... Manchester at Springfield, 7:35... Hamilton at Manitoba, 7:30

Sun 1/26
Utah at Philadelphia (First Union Center), 1:35

Mon 1/27
Lowell at Portland, 7:05

Tue 1/28
Houston at Grand Rapids, 7:00... Chicago at Manitoba, 7:30

ALUMNI WATCH:
D.J. Smith (Colorado), John Tripp (N.Y. Rangers), Jani Rita (Edmonton), David Ling (Columbus) and John Erskine (Dallas) all scored their first NHL goals this week... Rich Brennan and Martin Samuelsson – two of nine AHL recalls in the game – each recorded an assist as Boston defeated Pittsburgh, 4-1.

ON THE AIR:
Friday, Providence at Lowell -- AT&T 3 (Hockey Night New England) -- 7:00 ET (live)
Friday, Wilkes-Barre at Syracuse -- Time Warner 13 (Syracuse) -- 7:30 ET (live)
Saturday, Chicago at Hartford -- CLTV (Chicago) -- 6:35 CT (live)
Saturday, Providence at Portland -- WMTW-TV 8 (Portland) -- 7:35 ET (live)
Sunday, Utah at Philadelphia -- CN8 (Comcast Network) -- 1:30 ET (live)

American Hockey League Stories from January 24, 2003

• Bears and Sens Tie 6-6 in Wild One - Hershey Bears
• Checkers Knock Off Atlantic City 4-1 - Charlotte Checkers
• Canucks Acquire Mikko Jokela From New Jersey and Assign to Manitoba - Manitoba Moose
• Bulldogs Down Manitoba, 5-3 - Hamilton Bulldogs
• Wolves Howl, 'Cats Meow - Worcester IceCats
• Sound Tigers Lose 3-2 In OT To Houston - Bridgeport Islanders
• Phantoms lose 3-0 at Norfolk - Adirondack Phantoms
• Noronen stops 25 shots in shutout over Ducks - Cincinnati RailRaiders
• Morrison recalled to Moose - Manitoba Moose
• G Stirling Signs PTO With Father's Sound Tigers - Bridgeport Islanders
• Murphy added to All-Star roster - AHL
• Canucks reassign Helmer to Moose - Manitoba Moose
• Cincinnati Mighty Ducks Tonight - Cincinnati RailRaiders
• AHL Quick Hits - AHL
• Garon Recalled by Canadiens - Hamilton Bulldogs
• Maple Leafs Weekend Game Notes - Toronto Marlies
• Hunter & Vellinga Join Bulldogs - Hamilton Bulldogs

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