Sports stats



AHL American Hockey League

Teams fighting to the finish with playoffs on the line

April 5, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... Twelve teams are still in the hunt for seven playoff spots in the American Hockey League as the AHL's 68th regular season enters its final week.

All four division titles are up for grabs as well – although Hartford can wrap up the Emile Francis Trophy as Atlantic Division champions as early as Wednesday night – and only three of 28 teams have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Forty of the 46 games left on the master schedule will pit division opponents against each other.

The closest races are in the North Division, where Hamilton and Syracuse are battling for the Sam Pollock Trophy as division champions, while Cleveland and Rochester are fighting to avoid fourth place and the best-of-three qualifying series.

The final spot in the Atlantic will be on the line when Portland and Lowell meet in a home-and-home this weekend, and fifth place in the North could be decided in a two-game weekend series between Toronto and St. John's at Mile One Stadium.

Philadelphia is in the driver's seat for the F.G. (Teddy) Oke Trophy and the East Division crown, but finish the regular season with three road games, including a visit to second-place Bridgeport on Saturday night. Binghamton, Norfolk and Hershey are still fighting it out for the East's last two playoff invites, with the Admirals visiting the Senators on Friday and the Bears on Saturday.

In the West, three of a possible four points on Tuesday and Wednesday would allow Milwaukee to clinch the John D. Chick Trophy before second-place Grand Rapids even returns to the ice. Four teams, including reigning champion Houston, are battling for the final two spots in the division.

The Calder Cup 2004 Playoffs are expected to begin next Wednesday, with 20 teams in the hunt for an American Hockey League championship.

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

OTHER RACES DOWN TO WIRE, TOO ... Manchester's Pavel Rosa has opened up a seven-point cushion in the AHL's scoring race... Bridgeport's Jeff Hamilton has scored 42 goals, seven more than any other player... Worcester's Mike Glumac has taken over the rookie scoring lead with 51 points... Bridgeport (138) and Hartford (143) are up for the Harry "Hap" Holmes Award for fewest goals against, but both will easily eclipse the previous record low for an 80-game season (176)... Milwaukee and Philadelphia are tied for first place overall at 98 points.

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

TIE AND TIE AGAIN ... Following are the tiebreaking procedures used in the event of a tie in the standings following the completion of the regular season on Sunday. When a tie among three or more teams is broken resulting in a two-team tie, the original tiebreaking method is used.

Between two teams:
a) wins
b) points in season series between teams
c) goal differential
d) goals scored in season series between teams
e) intraconference points percentage

Among three or more teams:
a) wins
b) points percentage in combined season series
c) goal differential
d) goal differential in combined season series
e) intraconference points percentage

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

RARE AIR ... Hartford's Ken Gernander and Philadelphia's Peter White, two of the most respected players in the league today, reached significant milestones last week. On Wednesday, Gernander became the 11th player in AHL history to reach 900 games played, and on Sunday, White recorded his 500th AHL assist, becoming just the eighth player ever to reach that plateau.

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

OFF THE ICE ... The Springfield Falcons donated $10,500 to the Jennifer Ferraro Foundation following their March 13 fundraising game against Portland... Leafs Fight Cancer weekend, to raise funds and provide support and information through the Newfoundland and Labrador chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society, will be Friday and Saturday as St. John's hosts Toronto.

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

ETC. ... Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis is the first AHL graduate to win the NHL's scoring title since Montreal's Dickie Moore in 1958-59... Two-time AHL All-Star Miikka Kiprusoff led the NHL in goals-against average (1.69) and save percentage (.933), and 2003 Calder Cup finalist Michael Ryder was tops in rookie scoring with 63 points... Philadelphia's Ben Stafford had played a league-high 177 consecutive games before sitting out Mar. 31 with an elbow injury... Before Sunday's 3-2 comeback win over the Phantoms, Binghamton had been 0-47-5-0 over the past two regular seasons when trailing after two periods... Hartford has reached the 40-win mark for the fifth time in seven years... Portland defenseman Jakub Cutta's first goal in 69 games was the game-winner in the Pirates' decision over Providence on Saturday... Billy Tibbetts has eight points (all assists) in six games since joining Houston... Eric Himelfarb recorded two goals, one assist and a plus-6 rating in his first four pro games for Grand Rapids last week... Harold Druken scored on a penalty shot with 12.1 seconds left in regulation to give St. John's a 5-5 tie with Manitoba on Sunday and eliminate the Moose from playoff contention... Following Wednesday's 4-0 win, Providence has earned a point in 20 straight meetings with Lowell (15-0-3-2)... With one week to go, the top six offensive teams in the league all play in the Western Conference; eight of the top nine defensive teams play in the Eastern Conference.

Check out the American Hockey League Statistics

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

American Hockey League Stories from April 5, 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