AHL Quick Hits

Published on May 8, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL) News Release

The AHL goes national tonight as Rogers Sportsnet televises Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal between Hamilton and Manitoba live across Canada (7:00 ET), from St. John's to Sicamous and Dawson City to Digby... The Bulldogs, who finished first in the AHL during the regular season, own a 3-2 series lead over the Moose, who have won five of their seven road contests this postseason... Only two teams in AHL history have ever won both Games 6 and 7 of a series on the road... Hamilton and Manitoba are a combined 4-for-58 (6.9%) on the power play in the series... Eric Fichaud, who played briefly with the Moose in 2001-02, is 3-1 with a 1.22 GAA and a .950 save percentage in four playoff appearances for the Bulldogs... Moose goaltender Tyler Moss split goaltending duties with J-S. Giguere for the Calder Cup runner-up Saint John Flames in 1998... Hamilton has scored 20 goals in four even-numbered series games this spring, and eight goals in five odd-numbered games.

Houston finds itself back in the conference finals after a 3-1 victory over Norfolk last night gave the Aeros their third consecutive win and a 4-2 series triumph. After Igor Korolev opened the scoring for the Admirals four minutes into the game, the Aeros' Jay Henderson and Zbynek Michalek scored 2:04 apart in the second period and Jean-Guy Trudel added the big insurance marker 53 seconds into the third. Johan Holmqvist, a deadline-day acquisition by Houston from the New York Rangers organization, stopped 29 shots to improve to 7-2 on the postseason and 11-3 in his last 14 decisions overall. The higher seed has won all eight series in the West, setting up a conference final between top-ranked Grand Rapids and #2 Houston, to begin Monday night at Van Andel Arena.

TONIGHT'S GAMES

Game 6 – Manitoba at Hamilton, 7:00

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 – Houston 4, NORFOLK 1
Game 6 – HOUSTON 3, Norfolk 1
(Houston wins series, 4-2)

Western Conference Final
1-Grand Rapids vs. 2-Houston
Game 1 – Mon 5/12 at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 2 – Wed 5/14 at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 3 – Fri 5/16 at Houston, 7:30
Game 4 – Sat 5/17 at Houston, 7:30
*Game 5 – Mon 5/19 at Houston, 7:00
*Game 6 – Wed 5/21 at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 7 – Thu 5/22 at Grand Rapids, 7:00

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 – Hamilton 6, MANITOBA 2
Game 5 – MANITOBA 3, Hamilton 1
Game 6 – Thu 5/8 at Hamilton, 7:00
*Game 7 – Sun 5/11 at Hamilton, 1:00
(Hamilton leads series, 3-2)

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 – Binghamton 2, BRIDGEPORT 1 (Binghamton wins series, 4-2)

*if necessary... All times local

BY THE NUMBERS:

5 -- Canadian cities that have been home to a Calder Cup champion: Halifax, N.S. (1972, 1976, 1977), Moncton, N.B. (1982), Sherbrooke, Que. (1985), Sydney, N.S. (1993) and Saint John, N.B. (2001).

ON THIS DATE:

1985 – The Sherbrooke Canadiens, featuring Brian Skrudland, Michel Therrien and 19-year-old rookie goaltender Patrick Roy, defeat the Maine Mariners, 6-5 in double overtime, to advance to the Calder Cup Finals... 1974 – The Hershey Bears wrap up a Calder Cup championship with a 4-3 win over the Providence Reds in Game 5 of the Finals.

ON THE AIR:

Thu., May 8 – Manitoba at Hamilton – Game 6 -- 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 8, 2003

• Bulldogs, Moose Going to Game Seven - Hamilton Bulldogs
• Join Serge Payer at Rampage Meet & Greet this Friday - San Antonio Rampage
• Griffins Hold Jersey Auction On-Line - Grand Rapids Griffins
• AHL Quick Hits - AHL
• Top Two Seeds Clash in Western Conference Finals - Grand Rapids Griffins
• Atlantic City and Columbia Begin 2003 Kelly Cup Final - Charlotte Checkers

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