AHL Quick Hits

Published on May 10, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL) News Release

The AHL's conference semifinal round ends with a bang this afternoon as the Hamilton Bulldogs host the Manitoba Moose in Game 7, live on Rogers Sportsnet throughout Canada (1:00 ET)... The Moose forced the deciding game with a three-goal comeback on Thursday night to earn a 4-3 victory in Game 6... Mikko Jokela and Pat Kavanagh scored midway through the third period to cap the rally... Kavanagh added an assist in the game to tie for the AHL's playoff scoring lead with 11 points... Manitoba, 6-2 on the road in the playoffs, has added Brandon Reid and Nolan Baumgartner after parent Vancouver's Game 7 loss to Minnesota on Thursday... The Bulldogs are 3-for-57 (5.3%) on the power play this postseason... Hamilton is 4-1 in winner-take-all games in its history, including 1-1 in Game 7's... The Moose are 2-0 in such contests since joining the AHL, winning Game 3 of their qualifying series in 2002 and 2003... The team winning Game 1 has won every series during the 2003 AHL postseason (15-0); the Moose beat the Bulldogs in the opener, 2-1.

TODAY'S GAMES

Game 7 – Manitoba at Hamilton, 1:00

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 – Manitoba 4, HAMILTON 3
Game 7 – Sun 5/11 at Hamilton, 1:00
(Series tied, 3-3)

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

GAME 7 BY THE NUMBERS:

52 -- Previous Game 7's in Calder Cup Playoff history... Home teams are 28-24 (.538), while the team that won Game 6 is 25-27 (.481)... Additionally, there have been 113 winner-take-all games in Calder Cup Playoff history... Home teams are 69-44 (.611).

10 -- Teams that have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven series... Seven of the 10 (marked with asterisks below) won the Calder Cup that year:

2000, *Hartford def. Providence (CF)
1997, *Hershey def. Springfield (CF)
1992, Rochester def. Binghamton (DF)
1991, *Springfield def. Fredericton (DSF)
1989, *Adirondack def. Hershey (DF)
1973, Virginia def. Hershey (DSF)
1960, Rochester def. Cleveland (SF)
1949, *Providence def. Hershey (F)
1947, *Hershey def. Pittsburgh (F)
1946, *Buffalo def. Cleveland (F)

2 -- Teams in AHL history that have won both Game 6 and Game 7 of a series on the road: the 1996 Portland Pirates (def. Saint John) and the 1983 Maine Mariners (def. Nova Scotia)... Neither of them trailed 3-1 in the series.

ON THIS DATE (MAY 11):

1997 – In Game 6 of their respective conference semifinal series, Georges Laraque scores 2:02 into overtime to give Hamilton a 4-3 decision over St. John's, while Blair Atcheynum scores 42 seconds into the third OT to give Hershey a 3-2 win over Philadelphia... Both the Bulldogs and Bears would go on to win their Game 7's, and eventually would meet in the Calder Cup Finals.

1993 – Paul Cyr scores 16:56 into overtime to give the Springfield Indians a 6-5 road win over defending champion Adirondack in Game 7 of the Northern Division final... Current Manitoba captain Brian Chapman patrolled the blue line for the '93 Indians.

ON THE AIR:

Sun., May 11 – Manitoba at Hamilton – Game 7 -- Rogers Sportsnet (national) -- 1:00 ET
Mon., May 12 – Houston at Grand Rapids – Game 1 -- Fox Sports Net Southwest -- 6:00 CT

American Hockey League Stories from May 10, 2003

• AHL Quick Hits - AHL

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