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The Envelope, Please

March 25, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, MA ... The American Hockey League begins to pass out its annual awards later this week, and the only certainties are that every vote will be close and every winner will be deserving.

The 2001-02 season has been the year of the goaltender, with a record 122 shutouts posted so far. The Aldege "Baz" Bastien Award could go to any of a number of worthy candidates, including Grand Rapids' Martin Prusek, Hershey's Philippe Sauve, Norfolk's Michael Leighton and Syracuse's Jean-Francois Labbe, who won the award in 1997.

The race for the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the AHL's leading scorer appears headed down to the wire once again. With two weeks left in the regular season, Hartford's Brad Smyth (78 points), looking for his second career AHL scoring title, owns a two-point lead over Chicago's Rob Brown and St. John's forward Donald MacLean. No matter who winds up on top, it looks like this will be the first AHL season since 1978-79 without a 100-point scorer.

There's plenty to choose from in the rookie class of '02 for the Dudley (Red) Garrett Award. Norfolk's Tyler Arnason, who has spent the last month in the NHL with Chicago, still leads all AHL rookies in scoring with 56 points, but Houston's Cory Larose and Hartford's Jamie Lundmark are closing in fast. Andy Hilbert (Providence), Jason Jaspers (Springfield) and Jeff Panzer (Worcester) are among nine 20-goal scorers in the AHL's rookie crop.

The Eddie Shore Award for outstanding defenseman will be another close call. Previous winners John Slaney of Philadelphia (2001) and Greg Hawgood of Utah (1992) are tied for the scoring lead among defensemen, and Derrick Walser has scored 21 goals from the Syracuse blue line. Grand Rapids' John Gruden (+27 rating), Hershey's Brett Clark (+25) and Nathan Dempsey of St. John's (44 assists) could all receive consideration also.

The Louis A.R. Pieri Award for the AHL's outstanding coach has gone to a first-year coach each of the last five years, and previous winners include current NHL bench bosses Marc Crawford, Barry Trotz, Robbie Ftorek, Greg Gilbert and Peter Laviolette. Among this year's long list of worthy candidates are Grand Rapids' Bruce Cassidy, Syracuse's Gary Agnew, Lowell's Ron Smith and Hartford's John Paddock, who shared the 1988 award with Mike Milbury.

The AHL begins handing out the hardware on Thursday, with the announcement of the 2001-02 AHL All-Rookie Team.

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD ... The Peters brothers waited a long time to skate as teammates. They took immediate advantage.

Geoff Peters was acquired by Rochester on Thursday, joining his younger brother Andrew on the Amerks roster. Playing as teammates for the first time since their youth hockey days in St. Catharines, Ont., the brothers recorded a goal and an assist apiece to help Rochester to a 4-2 win over Cincinnati on Friday.

Geoff, a second-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1996, scored his goal on Friday with an assist from Andrew, who was drafted by Buffalo in the second round in '98. It was the younger Peters' first helper in 69 games, dating back to Mar. 17, 2001.

Other brother combos to skate as AHL teammates this season include Peter and Jim Vandermeer in Philadelphia, Peter and Chris Ferraro in Portland and Wade and Sheldon Brookbank in Grand Rapids.

ATTENDANCE KEEPS CLIMBING ... More than a quarter of a million fans, including seven crowds of over 10,000 each, attended AHL games this past weekend, bringing the league-wide average to an all-time high of 5,829 fans per game. Thirty-three games drew a total of 252,472 fans, a weekend average of 7,651 fans per game.

A franchise-record crowd of 15,287 packed Le Colisee Pepsi in Quebec on Friday night to see the Citadelles and St. John's skate to a 3-3 tie. The Maple Leafs then headed to Hamilton, where a total of 22,873 spectators took in their two-game series with the Bulldogs at Copps Coliseum. Nearly 20,000 fans attended Manitoba's two-game set with Houston at Winnipeg Arena, including a season-high 10,084 on Sunday. And the Manchester Monarchs recorded their 11th sellout of the season on Friday when they hosted the Providence Bruins.

Top AHL crowds, March 22-24
Fri., St. John's at Quebec 15,287
Fri., Hershey at Philadelphia 12,351
Sat., St. John's at Hamilton 12,223
Sun., Norfolk at Philadelphia 10,651
Sun., St. John's at Hamilton 10,650
Sat., Cleveland at Milwaukee 10,461
Sun., Houston at Manitoba 10,084
Sat., Providence at Manchester 9,867
Sat., Wilkes-Barre at Grand Rapids 9,523
Fri., Houston at Manitoba 9,186

ETC. ... Tim Skarperud, who finished his collegiate career at the University of North Dakota two weeks ago, recorded a natural hat trick in Grand Rapids' 4-3 overtime win in Milwaukee on Friday... With a 5-0 win over Albany on Saturday, Syracuse's Jean-Francois Labbe became the first AHL goaltender in 36 years, since Pittsburgh's George Gardner in 1965-66, to record seven shutouts in one regular season... After six seasons and 127 victories in the AHL, Frederic Cassivi made his NHL debut for Atlanta on Wednesday, earned a win in his first NHL start on Friday, and recorded 50 saves in the Thrashers' overtime win over Ottawa (in Martin Prusek's NHL debut) on Saturday... Albany's 19-game winless streak (0-12-4-3) is the longest in the AHL since 1990... Hamilton (86.81%), Philadelphia (86.64%) and Milwaukee (86.14%) are all pursuing the AHL record for highest penalty killing efficiency, which is currently 87.47 percent... Linseman Mike Condon, a 22-year AHL veteran who passed away on Thursday, was remembered with moments of silence across the league over the weekend... Visit caldercup.com for the latest AHL playoff seedings.

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