AHL Quick Hits

Published on May 4, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL) News Release

Ray Emery stopped all 26 shots he faced as a full house at the Broome County Arena watched Binghamton defeat Bridgeport last night, 3-0, to take a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven series. Josh Langfeld, Chris Bala and Chris Kelly provided the offense for the Senators, who are 5-0 on home ice during these playoffs. Langfeld's tally late in the second period ended an 0-for-23 power play drought for the Sens; all three of his goals this postseason have been game-winners.

Manitoba hosts Hamilton in Game 4 at the Winnipeg Arena this afternoon (2:00 CT, 3:00 ET) looking to pull even after the Bulldogs double-overtime win on Friday night. Jani Rita's goal late in the fifth period gave Hamilton the Game 3 victory and left the Moose with their first series deficit this postseason. Both teams went with a change in starting goaltenders for Friday's game, with Eric Fichaud getting the call for Hamilton and Tyler Moss returning from injury for Manitoba; the two combined to stop 91 of 94 shots on the night.

Houston visits Norfolk in a pivotal Game 5 at Scope this afternoon (4:00 ET, 3:00 CT). The Aeros leveled the series at 2-2 with a 3-2 victory on Friday night, clinched by a Hnat Domenichelli goal in the third period. Stephane Veilleux, who played his first 38 NHL games with Minnesota this season, leads Houston with 10 points in the playoffs, including six against Norfolk. The Admirals have split goaltending duties in the first four games of the series between Michael Leighton (2-0) and Craig Andersson (0-2).

TODAY'S GAMES

Game 4 – Hamilton at Manitoba, 2:00
Game 5 – Houston at Norfolk, 4:00

SERIES SCHEDULES

Western Conference Semifinals
1-Grand Rapids vs. 4-Chicago
Game 1 – GRAND RAPIDS 4, Chicago 3 (OT)
Game 2 – GRAND RAPIDS 3, Chicago 1
Game 3 – Grand Rapids 2, CHICAGO 1
Game 4 – Grand Rapids 2, CHICAGO 0
(Grand Rapids wins series, 4-0)

2-Houston vs. 3-Norfolk
Game 1 – HOUSTON 5, Norfolk 4 (2OT)
Game 2 – Norfolk 4, HOUSTON 0
Game 3 – NORFOLK 3, Houston 2
Game 4 – Houston 3, NORFOLK 2
Game 5 – Sun 5/4 at Norfolk, 4:00
Game 6 – Wed 5/7 at Houston, 7:00
*Game 7 – Thu 5/8 at Houston, 7:00
(Series tied, 2-2)

Eastern Conference Semifinals
1-Hamilton vs. 9-Manitoba
Game 1 – Manitoba 2, HAMILTON 1
Game 2 – HAMILTON 5, Manitoba 2
Game 3 – Hamilton 2, MANITOBA 1 (2OT)
Game 4 – Sun 5/4 at Manitoba, 2:00
Game 5 – Mon 5/5 at Manitoba, 7:30
*Game 6 – Thu 5/8 at Hamilton, 7:00
*Game 7 – Sun 5/11 at Hamilton, 1:00
(Hamilton leads series, 2-1)

3-Binghamton vs. 5-Bridgeport
Game 1 – BINGHAMTON 2, Bridgeport 1 (OT)
Game 2 – BINGHAMTON 3, Bridgeport 2
Game 3 – BRIDGEPORT 5, Binghamton 0
Game 4 – BRIDGEPORT 3, Binghamton 2
Game 5 – BINGHAMTON 3, Bridgeport 0
Game 6 – Mon 5/5 at Bridgeport, 7:05
*Game 7 – Tue 5/6 at Binghamton, 7:05
(Binghamton leads series, 3-2)

*if necessary... All times local

FROM CALDER TO STANLEY:

Niko Kapanen scored twice in Dallas's 4-1 win over Anaheim on Saturday... Kapanen participated in the 2002 Calder Cup Playoffs with Utah, recording two goals and an assist in the conference quarterfinals vs. Houston.

BY THE NUMBERS:

80.3 -- Entering this postseason, there have been 76 best-of-seven series in Calder Cup Playoff history that have been tied at 2-2... Of those, 61 of the teams that won Game 5 (80.3%) went on to win the series.

ON THIS DATE:

1989 – Randy McKay scores 3:05 into the second overtime as Adirondack beats New Haven, 7-6, in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals... 1973 – The Cincinnati Swords open the Calder Cup Finals with a 7-3 win over defending champion Nova Scotia.

ON THE AIR:

Thu., May 8 – Manitoba at Hamilton – Game 6 (if nec.) -- Rogers Sportsnet (national) -- 7:00 ET
Sun., May 11 – Manitoba at Hamilton – Game 7 (if nec.) -- Rogers Sportsnet (national) -- 1:00 ET

American Hockey League Stories from May 4, 2003

• Bulldogs Take 3-1 Series Lead - Hamilton Bulldogs
• AHL Quick Hits - AHL

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