AHL American Hockey League

Sweet Start in Chocolatetown

Published on November 10, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, MA ... It's a place where the smell of cocoa fills the air and the streetlights look like chocolate kisses. But this morning, hockey fans in Hershey, Pa., boast something even sweeter: a first-place team.

For the first time since Oct. 26, 2000, the Hershey Bears (7-3-2-2) woke up this morning in sole possession of first place, leading the AHL's East Division by one point over Binghamton. The Bears have kept up the pace despite a rash of call-ups by the injury-depleted Colorado Avalanche, who have already summoned D.J. Smith, Brad Larsen, Steve Moore, Travis Brigley, Charlie Stephens and Brett Clark to Denver this season, while John-Michael Liles, Cody McCormick and Marek Svatos made the big club right out of training camp.

The Bears have been helped by a secondary affiliation with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have provided Hershey with the team's top three scorers: 1999 Dudley "Red" Garrett Award winner Shane Willis, former All-American at the University of Vermont Eric Perrin and Pascal Trepanier, a member of the Bears' last Calder Cup championship team in 1997.

Jordan Krestanovich, Sheldon Keefe, Gavin Morgan and 1995 Calder Cup champion Steve Brule have provided support offensively, as the Bears have scored 41 goals on the year, one shy of the AHL lead. On defense, Clark and Trepanier lead a group that includes young prospects Tomas Slovak (20), Agris Saviels (21) and Mikko Viitanen (21).

While Bears alumni David Aebischer and Philippe Sauve take over for the retired Patrick Roy in Colorado, Peter Budaj and Tom Lawson have been minding the cage in Hershey. Budaj, the Avs' second-round draft pick in 2001, is 4-4-2 while assuming the starter's role, and Lawson, off a UHL championship last year, has won three of his first four AHL decisions, including a 43-save shutout of Norfolk on Oct. 26.

Running things behind the Bears bench is Paul Fixter, the 20th head coach in franchise history. Fixter served as the Avalanche video coach for six seasons, and was on staff for Colorado's Stanley Cup championships in 1996 and 2001. He was an assistant in Hershey from 2001-03.

The Bears are back in action on Thursday night when they visit East Division rival Norfolk for the first of two straight games against the Admirals at Scope.

LUDZIK PROMOTED ... For the second time in eight months, the San Antonio Rampage have seen their head coach promoted by the parent Florida Panthers.

Steve Ludzik, who led the Rampage to a record of 8-3-1-0 to start the 2003-04 season, has joined the Panthers as an assistant under new head coach Rick Dudley. Ludzik will be teamed with Florida assistant John Torchetti, who was promoted from San Antonio himself in March.

AHL GRADS HELP U.S. ... The United States won the 2003 Deutschland Cup tournament in Hannover, Germany, with the help of several AHL players, past and present. The U.S. won the opener of the four-team tournament on Friday, edging Germany in a shootout, 2-1. On Saturday, the U.S. downed defending champion Canada, 4-1, and then finished off a perfect weekend with a 1-0 shutout of Sweden on Sunday.

Worcester's Jeff Panzer, Springfield's Erik Westrum and Cincinnati's Brian Gornick were all loaned to the U.S. national team by their NHL parent clubs to participate in the tournament. Utah's David Oliver skated for the Canadian squad.

OFF THE ICE ... Manitoba's Light the Lamp for Kids program will allow 21 companies to select Moose players in a mock draft on the floor of the Winnipeg Arena, raising funds for different community groups and children's charities in Manitoba... Colin Ray, an 11th-grader at the Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio, has won the Cleveland Barons' high school journalist contest for November, and will have a full-access media credential to cover the Barons for local Sun Newspapers... Philadelphia's Peter and Jim Vandermeer recently visited with Flyers season-ticket holders Chuck and Alissa McGrory and their two-month-old quadruplets – Sean, Brendan, Colin and Ella – at their Ridley Park, Pa., home, bringing a variety of gifts on behalf of the Phantoms organization... Worcester and Portland have both announced Kettle Kickoffs to start the Salvation Army's annual holiday collection drive.

ETC. ... Hamilton blew a third-period lead in all three of their games over the weekend, but still managed five of a possible six standings points... Brian Swanson, the Bulldogs' all-time leading scorer, had a hat trick in Chicago's 5-4 overtime loss at Copps Coliseum on Sunday... Milwaukee is 5-1-3-1 through 10 games this season; the Admirals were 8-1-4-1 out of the gate in 2002-03... Manitoba defenseman Tomas Mojzis has four points in five games since missing 10 contests with a broken finger suffered on opening night... Philadelphia's Kirby Law has seven points in three games against Hershey and six points in 10 matches against the rest of the AHL this year... Bridgeport's Jeff Hamilton was credited with 18 shots on goal in two games over the weekend, and is tied for the AHL lead with 59 shots on the season... Hartford's Phil Osaer, who earned a job out of training camp after an injury to Dan Blackburn, has made the most of his time with the Wolf Pack, making two starts and recording two shutouts... Providence's Tim Thomas also has two shutouts this season – both on the road, and both by 1-0 scores... In Manchester, 2002 NCAA champion Adam Hauser has made four starts and allowed a grand total of two goals, stopping 98 of 100 shots in posting a 3-0-1 record... Benoit Gratton and Pierre Dagenais of Hamilton and Eric Beaudoin and Juraj Kolnik of San Antonio each recorded seven points in three games last week.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 10, 2003


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