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AHL Quick Hits

Published on April 14, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


On Thursday night, Stephen Gionta recorded three goals and an assist in his professional debut, as Albany snapped a 13-game winless streak with a 5-3 win over Springfield... Manitoba's 3-1 loss to Cleveland clinched second place in the North Division for Syracuse... On Wednesday, Bridgeport secured the final playoff spot in the East Division when Binghamton dropped a 2-0 decision to Norfolk.

Wed 4/12 Hartford 3, ALBANY 2... HAMILTON 7, Cleveland 1... Portland 5, LOWELL 4 (SO)... Providence 4, MANCHESTER 2... NORFOLK 2, Binghamton 0... SYRACUSE 2, Wilkes-Barre 1 (SO)

Thu 4/13 Albany 5, SPRINGFIELD 3... Cleveland 3, MANITOBA 1

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LOOKING AHEAD: Some unsettled business remains heading into the final weekend of the AHL's 70th regular season... The final playoff berth to be claimed will go to either Iowa or Omaha, and the Stars need just one point over its final three games to earn the spot... Iowa kicks off its weekend with a home-and-home against Peoria, which still has a chance to finish second in the West... The Stars are 14-3-0-2 in their last 19 games, with Loui Eriksson (10g, 14a), Toby Petersen (8g, 15a) and Junior Lessard (7g, 14a) leading the way during that time... Peoria is on a 13-3-2-0 run since Mar. 5... Gavin Morgan has scored 13 goals, including five game-winners, in his last 19 games for the Rivermen.

The West Division title is still undecided also, with Milwaukee bringing a two-point lead over Houston into the weekend... The Aeros, who host Omaha on Friday before visiting Chicago and Iowa, have three players among the top six AHL scorers, including Kirby Law (107 points), who is poised to wrap up his first scoring title... Houston goalie Seamus Kotyk has won three of his last four decisions after going 0-7-0 in March... Milwaukee closes out the regular season by hosting Chicago on Friday and going to Grand Rapids on Saturday... The Admirals' Darren Haydar is seventh in the league in scoring with 86 points, a career high for the fourth-year pro... The Aeros went on to capture the Calder Cup after winning the West Division in 2003; Milwaukee did the same in 2004.

Also to be determined this weekend is the seeding in the Atlantic Division, where Providence brings a one-point lead over fourth-place Manchester in Friday's action... Donald MacLean has 56 goals on the year for Grand Rapids, three more than Binghamton's Denis Hamel in the race for the Willie Marshall Award... The Griffins need a single point to claim the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy and first place overall; Portland still has an outside shot at taking that honor... Unless it allows more than 30 goals in its last two games, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will claim the Harry "Hap" Holmes Award for team goaltending... For updated news and schedules for the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs, visit caldercup.com.

(all times Eastern)

Fri 4/14 San Antonio at Grand Rapids, 7:00... Hershey at Philadelphia, 7:05... Springfield at Portland, 7:05... Hartford at Providence, 7:05... Bridgeport at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05... Binghamton at Norfolk, 7:15... Hamilton at Toronto, 7:30... Lowell at Manchester, 7:35... Syracuse at Rochester, 7:35... Chicago at Milwaukee, 8:00... Iowa at Peoria, 8:30... Omaha at Houston, 8:35

Sat 4/15 Providence at Albany, 5:00... Milwaukee at Grand Rapids, 7:00... Toronto at Hamilton, 7:00... Bridgeport at Hartford, 7:00... Binghamton at Hershey, 7:00... Portland at Springfield, 7:05... Philadelphia at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05... Rochester at Syracuse, 7:30... Manchester at Lowell, 7:35... Houston at Chicago, 8:00... Omaha at San Antonio, 8:00... Peoria at Iowa, 8:05... Cleveland at Manitoba, 8:30

Sun 4/16 Providence at Lowell, 4:05... Omaha at San Antonio, 5:00... Syracuse at Toronto, 5:00... Albany at Binghamton, 5:05... Houston at Iowa, 6:05

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ALUMNI WATCH: On Thursday, Matt Stajan scored twice, including the overtime winner, and J.S. Aubin made 23 saves to improve his NHL record to 7-0-2 this season as Toronto beat the N.Y. Islanders, 4-3... Chris Mason made 28 saves for his fourth straight win since replacing Tomas Vokoun, a 4-2 Nashville victory over Minnesota.

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ON THIS DATE (April 14): 1953 - Danny Lewicki's goal in the fourth overtime period gives the Pittsburgh Hornets a 3-2 win over Cleveland and forces a Game 7 in their Calder Cup Final series (the Barons would win Game 7 in OT, 1-0)... 1946 - The Buffalo Bisons win the Calder Cup championship with a 5-2 win over Cleveland in Game 7 of the league final.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 14, 2006


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