NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



American Hockey League

Flurry of NHL trades makes for wild weekend around AHL

March 8, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The sudden outbreak of activity in the National Hockey League last week, with the trade deadline looming on Tuesday, had a direct effect on the American Hockey League, where one division leader lost its top scorer and another lost the services of the league’s top goaltender.

The house cleaning by the New York Rangers began on Tuesday with the Blueshirts acquiring Jozef Balej, at the time ranked fifth in the AHL in scoring, from Montreal in a deal for Alexei Kovalev. A participant in the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic, Balej had recorded 58 points in 55 games with Hamilton this season.

The next day, the Rangers picked up goaltender Steve Valiquette from Edmonton as part of a four-player trade. That set off a series of dominoes: the Oilers assigned Tyler Moss to Toronto, where Valiquette had been the Roadrunners’ number one goaltender, while the Rangers assigned Valiquette to Hartford and recalled Jason LaBarbera, the AHL’s leader in wins (26) and shutouts (12). LaBarbera earned his first NHL win and assisted on the game-winning goal in the Rangers’ 3-2 victory over Washington on Friday.

New York also recalled Benoit Dusablon and Ken Gernander from the Wolf Pack; Dusablon made his NHL debut in Boston on Thursday, while Gernander skated in his first NHL game since the 1997 playoffs. The 34-year-old Gernander would play four games in four nights between Hartford and New York.

On Wednesday, the San Jose Sharks acquired veteran defenseman Jason Marshall from Minnesota; he was assigned to Cleveland. Thursday, St. Louis traded Worcester goaltender Brent Johnson to Phoenix for 1992 Calder Cup champion Mike Sillinger. Johnson’s addition allowed the Coyotes to return three-time AHL All-Star Jean-Marc Pelletier to Springfield.

Last Monday (Mar. 1), Quintin Laing and Adam Munro made their NHL debuts in Chicago’s 2-2 tie with Nashville. Munro made 33 saves to earn second star honors; Laing assisted on Matt Keith’s first NHL goal. Munro, who was on a tryout with Norfolk when he was signed by the Blackhawks on Feb. 18, then injured himself during Wednesday’s game with Tampa Bay. So Chicago looked to Norfolk again, signed Admirals back-up Matt Underhill and promptly recalled him. Underhill made his NHL debut on Sunday, making 29 saves in a 4-3 overtime loss to Edmonton.

Two of the top four scorers in the AHL were in San Jose’s lineup at Dallas on Sunday. Miroslav Zalesak, the league leader with 68 points in 61 games for Cleveland, was making his first NHL appearance of the season, while Brad Boyes, an AHL All-Star and All-Rookie Team selection in 2003, made his NHL debut.

Defensemen Freddy Meyer and Randy Jones made their NHL debuts with Philadelphia on Saturday night, while third-year pro Erik Westrum skated in his first NHL game for Phoenix on Sunday.

-------------------------------

ONE DOWN, 19 TO GO … The Grand Rapids Griffins became the first team to clinch a berth in the AHL’s 2004 postseason with a win over San Antonio on Saturday night. The Griffins currently lead the overall standings with 86 points, five ahead of Hartford and six up on Milwaukee in the race for the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy.

Grand Rapids is also in search of the franchise’s fifth straight division title, and its third in a row since joining the AHL in 2001.

-------------------------------

CASHIN’ IN … Jason Bacashihua solidified his reign as the AHL’s penalty shot king on Saturday night, when he stopped an attempt by Houston’s Derek Boogaard during the third period of a 5-0 loss to the Aeros. Bacashihua has stopped all six attempts he has faced in his two-year pro career, including a perfect 5-for-5 this season.

-------------------------------

FALCONS, ICECATS SET AHL RECORD … Springfield and Worcester combined for two goals in the final 2.9 seconds of Sunday’s game at the Centrum Centre, the fastest two goals ever scored in an AHL game. Peter Ferraro scored for the Falcons with 3.0 seconds on the clock (19:57), and Christian Laflamme beat the final horn with an empty-netter for the IceCats, officially at 19:59.

The previous record for fastest two goals was set, coincidentally, by the same two teams in a game at the Springfield Civic Center on Dec. 14, 1997. That day, the clubs scored eight times in a span of 3:37, capped by goals four seconds apart at 19:08 and 19:12 of the third period.

-------------------------------

OFF THE ICE … Portland has introduced a new marketing plan and ticket pricing plan, effective immediately, that includes a reduction to $6 for nearly 4,000 seats… A Grand Rapids internet auction to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation will give the highest bidder four tickets to the Griffins game on Mar. 13, a behind-the-scenes tour of Van Andel Arena, a Zamboni ride and an autographed jersey from Derek King… An anonymous donor is pledging $100 per goal and $50 per assist by Houston’s Mark Cullen for the remainder of the season, to be donated to Sunshine Kids, which provides support for children diagnosed with cancer.

-------------------------------

ETC. … Syracuse’s Pascal Leclaire made 50 saves in the Crunch’s 1-0 win at Manitoba on Saturday; the Moose owned a 50-9 edge in shots for the game… Travis Scott made 55 saves for San Antonio in a 1-0 overtime win at Cleveland on Tuesday… Hamilton left wing Marcel Hossa has scored 11 goals in his last 15 games after scoring three in his first 29… Krisjanis Redlihs’s hat trick on Wednesday was the first by an Albany defenseman since Jason Smith in 1993… John Slaney and Patrick Sharp played in both the Philadelphia-Binghamton AHL game on Dec. 28 that featured 373 minutes in penalties, and Friday’s Philadelphia-Ottawa NHL contest that included an NHL-record 419 PIM… Milwaukee defenseman Curtis Murphy has 14 points and a plus-18 rating in his last 18 games, and leads the league with a plus-29 overall… Against the Atlantic Division this season, Hershey was 5-0-3-0 in its first eight games and is 0-5-0-0 since… San Antonio’s 3-2 win over Grand Rapids on Thursday was the Griffins’ first loss this season when leading after two periods (27-1-2-0)… Hartford extended its points streak to 13 games (9-0-3-1) with a scoreless tie against Bridgeport on Saturday… Six teams are currently on pace to break the AHL record for penalty killing efficiency (87.47 percent), set by Kentucky in 1999-2000… Manchester will welcome its one millionth fan on Wednesday night; the Monarchs have drawn 995,081 fans (including playoffs) to the Verizon Wireless Arena in just under three years.

Check out the American Hockey League Statistics

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from March 8, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central