AHL American Hockey League

Top to bottom, playoff races keep heating up

Published on March 15, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... Less than a month remains in the American Hockey League's 2003-04 regular season, and the margin for error keeps shrinking as every game carries postseason implications.

Milwaukee became the second team to clinch a berth in the Calder Cup 2004 Playoffs with a 2-1 victory in Grand Rapids on Friday night. The win also allowed the Admirals to tie the Griffins for first place not only in the West Division, but also in the AHL's overall standings. Milwaukee is on a 19-3-1-1 run since Jan. 30, erasing what was once a 14-point deficit to Grand Rapids. Now even at 88 points apiece, the Griffins have one more victory (the first tiebreaking method at season's end), but the Admirals have one game in hand.

The bottom of the West Division is also a battle, with San Antonio and Cincinnati tied for the fifth and final playoff spot and Utah just four points behind. The Rampage's addition of Paul Healey at the trade deadline paid immediate dividends, with the former Calder Cup champion scoring the overtime goal in a 2-1 win over Houston on Saturday.

Syracuse has a point in six straight (4-0-1-1) and has closed to within five points of Hamilton atop the North Division. Mike Pandolfo, whose brother Jay owns two Stanley Cup rings with New Jersey, has recorded 10 points in the Crunch's last five games as Syracuse makes a push for its second division title in three seasons. The rest of the North sees a three-way tie between Toronto, Cleveland and Rochester for third place at 71 points apiece (the third-place finisher avoids the best-of-three qualifying round), while time is running out on Manitoba (62 pts.) and St. John's (60).

With neither team playing much better than .500 hockey since the All-Star break, Philadelphia still owns a two-point lead over Bridgeport for the lead in the East Division, but the real race appears to be among Norfolk (71 pts.), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (71), Hershey (70) and Binghamton (69), with only three chairs at the playoff table for the four teams. The Penguins took five of six points last weekend after rallying from three goals down to tie the Senators and from two down to beat the Bears.

In the Atlantic, Manchester has won six in a row and has earned a point in 13 straight (9-0-2-2), narrowing the gap to six points with first-place Hartford. The Monarchs' Pavel Rosa, on an eight-game scoring streak himself, now ranks second in the league in both points (70) and plus/minus rating (+27). Worcester sits a point ahead of Providence for third place, and Lowell, 6-2-2-1 in its last 11 games, leads sixth-place Portland by one. And Springfield, in danger of missing the postseason for the third time in four years, can still make up ground with 13 of its final 14 games coming against division foes, including five versus the Pirates and Lock Monsters.

For the most up-to-date AHL standings, visit www.theahl.com/AHLStatistics0304/standings.html.

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HAVE EXPERIENCE, WILL TRAVEL ... The Clear Day lists submitted last week feature 64 players who have won a Calder Cup championship in their careers. Houston's list includes 11 players returning from last year's title team, including playoff MVP Johan Holmqvist and team postseason scoring leader Stephane Veilleux.

Craig Darby, ALB (1998)
Steve Bancroft, BNG (1999)
Brad Tapper, BNG (2002)
Dieter Kochan, BRI (2003)
Brandon Smith, BRI (2003)
Zdenek Blatny, CHI (2002)
Frederic Cassivi, CHI (2002)
Joe DiPenta, CHI (2002)
Kurtis Foster, CHI (2002)
Derek MacKenzie, CHI (2002)
Steve Maltais, CHI (2002)
Libor Ustrnul, CHI (2002)
Mike Weaver, CHI (2002)
Jeff Nelson, GR (1994)
Michel Picard, GR (91, 94)
Ben Carpentier, HAM (2000)
Ken Gernander, HFD (2000)
Steve Brule, HER (1995)
Pascal Trepanier, HER (1997)
Dan Cavanaugh, HOU (2003)
Marc Cavosie, HOU (2003)
Mark Cullen, HOU (2003)
Jeff Hoggan, HOU (2003)
Johan Holmqvist, HOU (2003)
Zbynek Michalek, HOU (2003)
Erik Reitz, HOU (2003)
Travis Roche, HOU (2003)
Stephane Veilleux, HOU (2003)
Rickard Wallin, HOU (2003)
Kyle Wanvig, HOU (2003)
Milan Hnilicka, MCH (2000)
Dallas Eakins, MTB (2002)
Chris St. Croix, MTB (2001)
Sergei Varlamov, MTB (2001)
Jay Henderson, MIL (99, 03)
Curtis Murphy, MIL (2003)
Kirill Safronov, MIL (2002)
Johnathan Aitken, NOR (1999)
Burke Henry, NOR (2000)
Jason Morgan, NOR (2001)
Neil Little, PHI (1998)
P.J. Stock, PHI (2000)
Peter White, PHI (93, 98)
Rich Brennan, PRO (1997)
Andre Savage, PRO (1999)
Jason Botterill, ROC (2001)
Brian Chapman, ROC (1991)
David Cullen, ROC (2003)
Jason Dawe, ROC (2000)
Steve Lingren, ROC (1997)
Rick Mrozik, ROC (2001)
Paul Healey, SA (1998)
Kamil Piros, SA (2002)
Chris Dyment, SPR (2003)
Peter Ferraro, SPR (1999)
Gary Shuchuk, SPR (1992)
Darrel Scoville, SYR (2001)
Derrick Walser, SYR (2001)
Dave Roche, TOR (2001)
Dan Smith, TOR (1997)
Marquis Mathieu, WIL (1999)
Reid Simpson, WIL (1995)
Scott Pellerin, WOR (1995)
Terry Virtue, WOR (99, 00)

Additionally, nine AHL head coaches – Robbie Ftorek, John Paddock, John Anderson, Roy Sommer, Todd McLellan, Bruce Boudreau, Claude Noel, John Stevens and Randy Cunneyworth – have won Calder Cups as players and/or coaches.

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OFF THE ICE ... Friday night will be Philadelphia's annual Kids Run the Show Night, as selected children 14 and under will have the chance to join the Phantoms' front office department staffs during the game against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton... The Penguins were recently recognized by the United Way of Pennsylvania for their achievements in aiding local charities... Former Calder Cup-winning head coach Peter Laviolette, now of the Carolina Hurricanes, will headline this year's inductees into the Binghamton Hockey Hall of Fame on Friday night.

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ETC. ... Sunday's crowds in eight AHL arenas pushed the league over the 100-million mark in regular-season attendance (100,039,656) since official counts began in 1962... For the second time in three weeks, the Chicago Wolves (13,308) outdrew the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (13,252) on a Sunday afternoon in the Windy City... Toronto's nine-game home winning streak ended with an overtime loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday, but the Roadrunners have still earned a point in 12 straight at Ricoh Coliseum (11-0-0-1)... Philippe Sauve made his first AHL appearance of the season on Saturday and posted a 37-save shutout for Hershey against Norfolk... After missing 17 games due to injury, Lowell's Martin Sonnenberg returned to the lineup last week and tallied four goals and three assists in four contests... Jason LaBarbera is unbeaten in his last 13 decisions for Hartford (10-0-3)... Binghamton's Greg Watson, who went 34 games without a point earlier this year, has a four-game scoring streak intact (2g, 2a)... Philadelphia is 10-2-0-1 this season when playing its third game in as many days... Portland has given up a total of 16 goals in its 24 wins this season, including 13 shutouts... Albany's Ahren Nittel registered a league season-high 13 shots on goal in the River Rats' 4-3 overtime loss to Syracuse on Wednesday night... Grand Rapids has shut out Cincinnati in each of the Mighty Ducks' last three visits to Van Andel Arena... Bridgeport had shut out Hartford in three straight meetings at Harbor Yard before Saturday's 4-3 Sound Tigers win... Phil Hergesheimer, a 1939 Calder Cup champion and a five-time AHL All-Star, died on Mar. 6 at the age of 89... Milwaukee forward Darren Haydar will chat live on theahl.com this Thursday at 1:30 p.m. ET.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 15, 2004


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