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AHL Quick Hits

Published on May 4, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


The Calder Cup Playoff division finals begin tonight with three games, including the opener between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Philadelphia at the Wachovia Center (7:05 ET)... It's déjà vu all over again for the Phantoms, who defeated Norfolk in six games (same as in 2004) to set up a date with the Penguins (same as in 2004)... Jeff Carter led Philadelphia with four goals in the division semis, and has now been joined by another 20-year-old first-round draft pick, Mike Richards, who is expected to make his pro debut tonight... Andy Chiodo did not face the Phantoms during the 2004-05 regular season, but shut them out twice in last year's playoff meeting... Kris Beech led the Penguins with six points in the first round... Wilkes-Barre scored just one first-period goal in its series with Binghamton; Philadelphia allowed an AHL-low 43 first-period goals in the regular season.

Game 1 of the North Division final pits Manitoba against Rochester tonight (7:05 ET)... The Moose won both regular-season visits to the Blue Cross Arena, including a 7-2 pasting on Oct. 15 that marked the Amerks' worst opening-night loss in 31 years... Manitoba's Wade Flaherty, a former Buffalo Sabres draft pick, helped Milwaukee oust Rochester in last year's Western Conference final... Lee Goren scored five goals in the Moose's first-round series, matching his output from his first 27 career playoff games as a pro... Rochester captain Chris Taylor has 24 points in 20 playoff games over the last two postseasons... Paul Gaustad recorded a point (4g, 2a) in each of the Amerks' four games against Hamilton last round.

The West Division final gets underway tonight with Chicago hosting Cincinnati at Allstate Arena (8:00 ET)... Mark Popovic, who had one goal in 75 regular-season games, was one of the Mighty Ducks' heroes against Milwaukee, getting his second goal of the series with 12.9 seconds left in Game 7... Ilya Bryzgalov took over in net during Game 4 and went 3-0 (1.47, .944) the rest of the way... The Wolves have been off since closing out Houston in Game 5 last Tuesday... Kari Lehtonen, 7-2-0 (1.88, .941) lifetime against Cincinnati, allowed seven goals against the Aeros, one shy of the AHL record for a five-game series... Chicago has won 14 of its last 18 home games since Feb. 9.

TONIGHT'S GAMES
§Game 1 – Wilkes-Barre at Philadelphia, 7:05
Game 1 – Manitoba at Rochester, 7:05
Game 1 – Cincinnati at Chicago, 8:00

SERIES SCHEDULES
A3-Lowell vs. A4-Providence
Game 1 – Fri 5/6 at Lowell, 7:00
Game 2 – Sat 5/7 at Lowell, 7:00
Game 3 – Wed 5/11 at Lowell, 7:00
Game 4 – Fri 5/13 at Providence, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sat 5/14 at Providence, 7:05
*Game 6 – Mon 5/16 at Providence, 7:05
*Game 7 – Tue 5/17 at Lowell, 7:00

E2-Philadelphia vs. E4-Wilkes-Barre
§Game 1 – Wed 5/4 at Philadelphia, 7:05
§Game 2 – Fri 5/6 at Philadelphia, 7:05
Game 3 – Sat 5/7 at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05
Game 4 – Tue 5/10 at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05
§*Game 5 – Fri 5/13 at Philadelphia, 7:05
*Game 6 – Sat 5/14 at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05
§*Game 7 – Mon 5/16 at Philadelphia, 7:05

N1-Rochester vs. N3-Manitoba
Game 1 – Wed 5/4 at Rochester, 7:05
Game 2 – Fri 5/6 at Rochester, 7:05
Game 3 – Mon 5/9 at Manitoba, 8:30
Game 4 – Wed 5/11 at Manitoba, 8:30
*Game 5 – Fri 5/13 at Manitoba, 8:30
*Game 6 – Sun 5/15 at Rochester, 6:05
*Game 7 – Tue 5/17 at Rochester, 7:05

W1-Chicago vs. W3-Cincinnati
Game 1 – Wed 5/4 at Chicago, 8:00
Game 2 – Sat 5/7 at Chicago, 8:00
Game 3 – Mon 5/9 at Cincinnati, 7:35
Game 4 – Wed 5/11 at Cincinnati, 7:35
*Game 5 – Fri 5/13 at Chicago, 8:30
*Game 6 – Sat 5/14 at Cincinnati, 7:35
*Game 7 – Mon 5/16 at Chicago, 8:00

A4-Providence def. A1-Manchester, 4-2
A3-Lowell def. A2-Hartford, 4-2
E4-Wilkes-Barre def. E1-Binghamton, 4-2
E2-Philadelphia def. E3-Norfolk, 4-2
N1-Rochester def. N4-Hamilton, 4-0
N3-Manitoba def. N2-St. John's, 4-1
W1-Chicago def. W4-Houston, 4-1
W3-Cincinnati def. W2-Milwaukee, 4-3

All times Eastern... *if necessary
§ at Wachovia Center – Philadelphia


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AHL ALUMNI WATCH:
In action at the 2005 World Championships yesterday, 1998 AHL All-Rookie forward Brendan Morrison scored twice in Canada's 8-0 win over Slovenia... 1997 AHL All-Star Tomas Vokoun made 18 saves as the Czech Republic shut out Germany, 2-0... Doug Weight had a goal and two assists for the U.S. in a 3-1 win over Latvia.


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BY THE NUMBERS:
4 – Teams remaining in the hunt for the 2005 Calder Cup championship – Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Rochester and Chicago – who also reached the division finals in 2004... The Wolves have made it to the AHL's round of eight for the fourth year in a row.


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ON THIS DATE (May 4):
1991 – Springfield advances to its second straight Calder Cup Final with a 2-1 win over Moncton in Game 5 of their division championship series... 1989 – Randy McKay scores at 3:05 of the second overtime period to give Adirondack a 7-6 win over New Haven in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Final... 1968 – Rochester wins the Calder Cup for the third time in four years, closing out Quebec with a 4-2 win in Game 6 at Le Colisée.

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American Hockey League Stories from May 4, 2005


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