AHL American Hockey League

Competition Fierce in Wild West

Published on March 17, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, MA ... The American Hockey League's Western Conference playoff race is heading toward a wild finish, with 11 points separating eight teams and just three weeks left to play.

The defending Calder Cup champion Chicago Wolves and the first-year San Antonio Rampage are using home-ice advantage to distance themselves from the rest of the pack. The Wolves, who play eight of their final 10 games at Allstate Arena, are 8-1-1-0 on home ice since the All-Star break, playing in front of an average of 10,211 fans per contest. The Rampage are 6-2-2-1 at the SBC Center since their month-long road trip, but after closing out an eight-game homestand on Mar. 30, San Antonio will finish the season with four important road games at Houston (Apr. 2, 4) and Chicago (Apr. 5, 6).

Norfolk continues to own a slim lead over Hershey atop the South Division, where despite the Admirals' current six-game winless streak, the Bears have only managed to make up one point in the last 10 days. The rivals, who clashed in the Calder Cup Playoffs in 2001 and 2002, meet twice more this regular season: at Norfolk's Scope on Apr. 2, and in the season finale at the Giant Center in Hershey on Apr. 6.

Three points behind Hershey, Utah resides in seventh place in the conference standings. Don Hay's Grizzlies are 4-0-0-1 in their last five games, and their remaining schedule includes critical games against the Bears (3/19, 3/21), San Antonio (3/22, 3/24) and Milwaukee (4/5, 4/6).

A three-way tie for eighth place in the West includes Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Milwaukee and Rochester, all with 70 points. The Admirals (eight of 11) and Penguins (seven of 11) still have plenty of home cooking on their menus as they both try to avoid missing the postseason for the second straight year, while the Amerks have the AHL's lightest schedule down the stretch with just eight games remaining overall.

The road to the Calder Cup 2003 Playoffs continues on Monday when the Penguins play host to Philadelphia. The Phantoms enter play five points out of a playoff spot, but with a league-high 13 games remaining over the final 21 days of the regular season.

BORDER WAR, NHL-STYLE ... Separated by just 35 miles and the Massachusetts-New Hampshire state line, Lowell and Manchester have developed quite a rivalry over the past two seasons. That rivalry took the next step on Saturday night as their parent teams, Carolina and Los Angeles, met at the RBC Center in Raleigh. Thirteen players who have skated with the Lock Monsters or Monarchs this season suited up for the 0-0 tie.

Making his second NHL start, Cristobal Huet, 16-8-5 with a 2.29 goals against average in 30 games with Manchester this season, made 30 saves for his first NHL shutout. He was joined in the Kings lineup by Derek Armstrong, Ryan Flinn, Jerred Smithson and Joe Corvo. In uniform for the Hurricanes were Lowell alumni Tomas Malec, Ryan Bayda, Mike Zigomanis, Brad DeFauw, Tomas Kurka, Bruno St. Jacques, Craig MacDonald and back-up goaltender Patrick DesRochers.

OFF THE ICE ... The St. John's Maple Leafs teamed up with the Newfoundland and Labrador chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society for Leafs Fight Cancer weekend on Mar. 14-15, with Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur as a keynote speaker and featuring a variety of events to help raise funds and awareness in the fight against cancer... The Utah Grizzlies will be hosting Humane Society Night on Mar. 19, as fans will have the opportunity to adopt pets that will be showcased during the first intermission of the Grizzlies' game against Hershey... On Mar. 21, Hamilton will honor McMaster University's 1963 CIAU men's championship team and 1978 North American women's university hockey champions with an alumni skate and a banner-raising ceremony, and the Bulldogs will wear special McMaster tribute sweaters during their game against St. John's... Philadelphia will be wearing throwback Philadelphia Firebirds jerseys on Tribute to Philly Hockey Night, Mar. 23 vs. Hartford... Manchester Monarchs president Jeff Eisenberg will serve as Honorary Chair of the second annual Granite Gala on May 30; proceeds from the event, which exceeded $200,000 last year, will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

ETC. ... Playing in his 142nd career game, Utah defenseman Dan Jancevski scored his first professional goal on a shot from center ice in the Grizzlies' 3-2 overtime win at Milwaukee on Sunday... Pat Rissmiller, a graduate of Holy Cross in Worcester, recorded two assists in Cleveland's 4-3 loss to the IceCats at the Centrum Centre on Sunday... Fourth-string goaltender Jeremy Symington stopped 20 of 21 shots in relief in his AHL debut to help Binghamton tie Bridgeport, 1-1, in a key East Division matchup on Sunday; the tie still allowed the Sound Tigers to clinch a playoff berth... Justin Papineau scored twice in his Bridgeport debut on Saturday, including a goal on the first penalty shot attempt in Sound Tigers history... Grand Rapids' Michel Picard, who has 75 points this season and 575 points in his AHL career, moved closer to his first scoring title when he took over the league lead last week... Craig Darby has 19 points (4g, 15a) in his last 11 games for Albany... Norm Maracle is a perfect 7-0-0 in March for Chicago... After blanking Wilkes-Barre/Scranton twice last week, Saint John's Dany Sabourin has four shutouts in his last nine starts... Hamilton lost three games last week, marking the Bulldogs' first three-game winless streak of the season... Recalled from Cleveland on Thursday, Vesa Toskala made 32 saves, including a stop on a Jarome Iginla penalty shot, to lead San Jose to a 3-2 win over Calgary on Saturday night... Marc-Andre Bergeron made his NHL debut with Edmonton on Tuesday, and Doug Janik did the same with Buffalo on Friday... Former AHL player and official Paul Stewart became the first U.S.-born referee to officiate 1,000 career NHL games when he worked Saturday's Boston-Florida game at the FleetCenter... Springfield Falcons director of media relations Damon Markiewicz has been named the new web site editorial director for the Phoenix Coyotes.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 17, 2003


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