AHL Quick Hits
May 25, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release
All eyes are on the Eastern Conference tonight as Hartford hosts Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton in a pivotal Game 5 (7:05 ET)Â… The Penguins pulled even with a 5-4 win in Game 4 on Sunday eveningÂ… Kris Beech scored twice and added an assist and Wilkes-Barre converted on three of six power-play opportunities on the nightÂ… Eric MelocheÂ’s goal with 8:27 remaining put the Pens ahead to stay, and Matt MurleyÂ’s empty-net score in the final half-minute held up as the differenceÂ… Tom Kostopoulos also scored for the Penguins, and Konstantin Koltsov added two assistsÂ… Sebastien Caron made his first start since Game 2 of the division finals against Philadelphia and made 19 savesÂ… Former Wilkes-Barre captain Jason MacDonald scored a pair of goals for HartfordÂ… Jozef Balej added his ninth goal of the postseason, tied for the AHL leadÂ… Layne Ulmer and Chad Wiseman recorded two assists apieceÂ… Wilkes-Barre owned a 40-23 edge in shots on goal for the contestÂ… Game 5 will be televised live on Fox Sports Net New England and Fox Sports Net New York, as well as Adelphia 63 in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Through the first four games of the series, Hartford is outscoring Wilkes-Barre 6-1 in the second period, but the Penguins have an 8-3 edge in the thirdÂ… Jeff PaulÂ’s goal with 5.7 seconds left in Game 4 was his first in 38 games, since Feb. 21 as a member of the San Antonio RampageÂ… The Wolf Pack hadnÂ’t allowed five goals in a home game since Mar. 26, 2003 (7-4 loss to St. JohnÂ’s)Â… Ten of the PenguinsÂ’ 17 games in the Calder Cup 2004 Playoffs have been decided by one goal; four more have been decided by one goal plus an empty-netterÂ… Matt Murley has capped each of Wilkes-BarreÂ’s last three victories with an empty-net tallyÂ… Penguins goaltenders own a 3.44 GAA and .871 save percentage on the road this postseason; HartfordÂ’s Jason LaBarbera has a 1.54 GAA and .942 save percentage at homeÂ… Wilkes-Barre is 5-for-14 on the power play in its two wins this series, and 0-for-11 (with two SHG against) in its two losses.
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TODAYÂ’S GAMES
Game 5 – Wilkes-Barre at Hartford, 7:05
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SERIES SCHEDULES
Eastern Conference Final
A1-Hartford vs. E3-Wilkes-Barre
Game 1 – WILKES-BARRE 3, Hartford 1
Game 2 – Hartford 3, WILKES-BARRE 2 (OT)
Game 3 – HARTFORD 3, Wilkes-Barre 2
Game 4 – Wilkes-Barre 5, HARTFORD 4
Game 5 – Tue 5/25 at Hartford, 7:05
Game 6 – Fri 5/28 at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05
*Game 7 – Sat 5/29 at Hartford, 7:05
Western Conference Final
W1-Milwaukee vs. N3-Rochester
Game 1 – MILWAUKEE 2, Rochester 1
Game 2 – Rochester 4, MILWAUKEE 1
Game 3 – Milwaukee 2, ROCHESTER 1 (OT)
Game 4 – Milwaukee 3, ROCHESTER 2
Game 5 – Wed 5/26 at Rochester, 7:05
*Game 6 – Fri 5/28 at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 7 – Sat 5/29 at Milwaukee, 8:00
*if necessaryÂ… All times Eastern
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FROM CALDER TO STANLEY:
More than 80 percent of the participants in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final are AHL graduates, including Tampa BayÂ’s Martin St. Louis, Ruslan Fedotenko and Nikolai Khabibulin, and CalgaryÂ’s Miikka Kiprusoff, Craig Conroy and Robyn Regehr.
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BY THE NUMBERS:
80.2 -- In AHL history, percentage of teams winning Game 5 of a 2-2 best-of-seven series that went on to win the series (65 of 81).
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ON THIS DATE (May 25):
2001 – Jason Botterill records two goals and an assist as Saint John takes a 3-2 series lead in the Calder Cup Final with a 4-3 victory at Wilkes-Barre… 1999 – Facing elimination and extinction (the team would move to Quebec after the season), Fredericton gets 34 saves from Jose Theodore and defeats Providence, 4-1, in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final… 1998 – Philadelphia shuts out Albany, 3-0, to win the Western Conference championship and advance to its first Calder Cup Final… 1996 – Dane Jackson’s overtime goal gives Rochester a 6-5 win over Syracuse and the Western Conference title… 1994 – Kent Hulst scores 1:41 into the second OT as Portland takes a commanding 3-1 series lead in the Calder Cup Final with a 2-1 win at Moncton.
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