Milwaukee advances
May 3, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
Claude Noel's Milwaukee Admirals certainly had a scare put in them by Cincinnati, but the boys from Wisconsin were able to run away in Game 7 with a 5-1 on Saturday night to advance. The Admirals were up 4-1 after two and scored the only goal of the third period when Simon Gamache picked up his fourth marker of the postseason. Give Cincy credit, they were facing the best offense in the AHL during the regular season, and came within sixty minutes of advancing to their first ever division final.
The "Elite Eight" in the American League is now set, with a lot of terrific match-ups. Best for my money is the East Final with Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre set to do battle beginning Wednesday night at the Spectrum. The Phantoms finished off the Norfolk Admirals over the weekend to advance. In the Atlantic, the Hartford Wolfpack have already won three straight games to build a commanding 3-0 lead over the Worcester Icecats. The North Division final begins this Wednesday with the Rochester Americans taking on the Hamilton Bulldogs, while the West Final pits Milwaukee against Chicago. I like Hartford's chances of making it to the Finals, but that road will go through either Wilkes-Barre or Philly, and either team will give the Pack a good series. Now that Milwaukee has outlasted Cincinnati, don't count out that offense against Chicago. I'll consider the Cincy series a wake up call and pick the Admirals to win in seven.
The Hamilton Bulldogs are still in the hunt for their first Calder Cup, but they also bear the burden of shame after an ugly stick swinging incident this past weekend. Alexander Perezhogin, a first round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2001, hit Cleveland defenseman and rookie standout Garrett Stafford in the head with his stick, causing him to go into seizure on the ice in one of the ugliest scenes I've ever seen at a game. I saw the replay of the hit during the Detroit/Calgary game on ABC Saturday. If you haven't seen it, I don't recommend looking for it. Stafford suffered a grade-three concussion and a severe facial laceration when he was hit in the first period of Game 5 at Copps Coliseum on Friday night. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported on Sunday that Hamilton police are investigating the incident, and a charge of assault causing bodily harm is possible. Perezhogin has been suspended indefinitely by the AHL, and Dave Andrews said Sunday at Gund Arena in Cleveland that a ruling on Perezhogin's suspension should be made by the end of this week. Here are my questions: How does this keep happening? How can there be so little respect for opposing players in our game? What is it going to take for guys to wake up and realize that what they're doing is going to kill somebody some day? The Plain Dealer said Sunday what Hamilton teammates have said about Perezhogin in the past; he's one of the nicest players on the team. The Bulldogs say he's "distraught". Well, I would hope so. Barry Melrose wondered on ABC Saturday whether or not he should ever play hockey in North America again (Perezhogin is from Kazakhstan, incidentally). I'm amazed after the Todd Bertuzzi/Steve Moore incident that this has happened again so quickly. Obviously the message sent to players after the Bertuzzi suspension wasn't much of a deterrent. I would be in favor of this kid sitting out at least all next season. Let's hope that a stiffer sentence prevents something else from happening down the road.
Reading is still in the hunt for an ECHL Kelly Cup championship after an impressive 6-0 victory at the Sovereign Center Sunday. They trail the Florida Everblades two games to one in a best of five Eastern Conference Final series. Game 4 is Wednesday night in Reading, while Game 5 would be in Florida if needed. Former BEARS forward Kent Davyduke had a goal and an assist in the 6-0 win Sunday.
One other AHL tidbit this week. The Utah Grizzlies teamed up with the Phoenix Coyotes this week to put the NHL club's affiliation in Salt Lake City. The âYotes were shown the door in Springfield when Tampa Bay signed up for 2004-05. Phoenix is the primary NHL team in Utah now after Dallas left to share the Houston Aeros with Minnesota for next season.
Lot of mail this week from fans to get to, including this letter about next season.
"Assuming no NHL work stoppage, will there be enough depth in the Avs organization to put a first-rate team back in Hershey. The thinking here is if the Bears miss the playoffs with the top prospects from two NHL teams on the rosters in 2003-4, what is happening in the Avs organization to create the depth that will trickle down to Hershey? It's a big concern that the Avs NHL payroll is so large they cannot afford the type of depth that will result in a top team in Hershey. My sons and I love coming to the Bears games and we look forward to a great season starting in the fall, so I not really thinking negatively. I'm sure there's a master plan from the Avs that Bears fans would appreciate hearing a little about in the coming months. This is something that fans in our section have been discussing the second half of the season."
Ron Gardner York, PA
Ron, you bring up some valid issues here. There is little doubt at this point that the Avs cupboard is pretty bare when it comes to organizational depth. Trades have taken an average amount of depth and largely depleted it. All is not lost, however. What needs to happen this summer is a replacement of depth players at this level so that there are more players available when Colorado goes through another injury crisis. Keep in mind that Colorado will likely have to replace Selanne, Kariya and Forsberg this summer, so it is vital not only to HERSHEY but also to Colorado that they reload this summer. If they don't upgrade the depth, they're not only hurting the BEARS, they're hurting themselves too. I would expect a lot of player movement this summer to compensate. As for the pending lockout, all teams have to operate business as usual this summer since nothing will happen with the labor situation until September 15th. I don't expect the lockout to hamper player signings.
On the subject of radio shows and affiliations....
"Will the HERSHEY organization do anything to make the players more visible to the fan next year? We attended the Monday night Face off at the Bears Den many times in the past to meet the players and for my son to get an autograph and I thought it was a great way for the kids to meet the players they watch. I really miss those opportunities and I think it is good for the fans!
Second- who, in your opinion is the next team to utilize the bears as a farm affiliate? I believe the Avs have one more year and a friend of mine keeps telling me that the Phantoms will be back. I went to a game at the Spectrum and although it was a dump, it was full and I don't see the logic in moving a sports team that brings in a near sell out crowd almost every game?"
Jeff Campbell
Jeff, first in regards to the affiliate situation: I don't think it's appropriate for me or anyone else to talk about the future when we have had a long-standing relationship with Colorado. You are correct though that there is one year remaining on the current agreement. If business dictates that either the Avalanche or the BEARS would want to go their separate ways after next season, it could happen, but in the meantime it's in the benefit of both teams to reload and be successful in 2004-05. It's funny, I've gotten a ton of e-mail about the Flyers and BEARS reuniting, but there has not been anything of substance anywhere that I have seen. I've even gotten letters from people that swear it's a done deal. It isn't. Anything I've seen is based just in rumor, nothing more. Jeff, I do have to correct you on one thing: The Phantoms are the easiest ticket in Philly to get. They don't sell out every game; in fact many nights what is announced is, well, not exactly what is in the house. I don't wish for any franchise to slip when it comes to attendance because it's not a good thing for the sport, but the days of 17,000 plus for the Phantoms are in the past.
Secondly, with the advent of a new radio deal comes the possibility of a radio show again. Our radio contract with BIG 92.7 kept us from doing an over the air radio show on Mondays, which I know was a staple in the past. (Little known fact, I used to be on Monday night Face-off from time to time as a visitor with Dave Mishkin, so I know the drill pretty well even though it was before my time here). With a new contract in the works, it's possible that a weekly radio show could return. It would depend on interest from fans, and whether or not our new station would be interested in the concept.
E-mail your thoughts and questions to jwalton@hersheypa.com and I'll see you next Monday.
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American Hockey League Stories from May 3, 2004
- Pirates lay foundation for the future - Portland Pirates
- Russian loss puts U.S. in Final Round Quarterfinals - Providence Bruins
- Wolves Weekly - Chicago Wolves
- Admirals season ends in game six at Philadelphia - Norfolk Admirals
- Phantoms Weekly - Adirondack Phantoms
- 2002-2003 Jersey Auction - Albany River Rats
- Crunch Jersey Auction to End Monday, May 10 at 3 p.m. - Syracuse Crunch
- Wolves Meet Admirals in Round Two of Playoffs - Chicago Wolves
- Milwaukee advances - Hershey Bears
- Team U.S.A. falls in tough battle with Sweden - Providence Bruins
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