AHL News

AHL News and Third Round Playoff Preview
By Tricia McMillan, AHL Correspondent

Round to round to round we go, who wins the conference, nobody knows - but of course I'll take a guess at it. I'm still sticking with Hershey and Captain Bodgit. The big change this time around is the switch from a 2-2-1-1-1 system to the much simpler 2-3-2.

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE FINAL

Game 1: Sunday, May 18, 6:00 pm in Hersheypark Arena
Game 2: Monday, May 19, 7:30 pm in Hershey
Game 3: Wednesday, May 21, 7:00 pm in Springfield
Game 4: Friday, May 23, 7:30 pm in Springfield
Game 5: Saturday, May 24, 7:30 pm in Springfield (if nec)
Game 6: Thursday, May 29, 7:30 pm in Hershey (if nec)
Game 7: Saturday, May 31, 7:30 pm in Hershey (if nec)
I've gone with Hershey all along and don't plan to change now. Of course, Springfield has numerous advantages over the Bears, such as, they've had the past week off while the Bears played three games including a triple OT marathon. Plus Springfield doesn't have to worry about players being called up, while the Bears have already been damaged by callups to Colorado and with the Detroit series looming don't be surprised if the Avalanche have more injuries. Springfield has also made several acquisitions from juniors, most notably Jason Doig and Brad Isbister, while Hershey has made do with ECHL additions.
But Hershey could pick up Marc Denis any day now, further solidifying their goaltending, and they did just fine thanks against Philadelphia missing a top forward and two top defensemen for most of the series. Springfield has a fine defense and good goaltending themselves, finishing behind only Hershey and Philadelphia in goals-against, but Hershey has a much more potent offense, and they have truly pulled together in the last series while the Falcons were unchallenged. Hershey also has home ice to its benefit. Face it, it's a Bears' market.
Hershey in six.

NORTHERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Game 1: Saturday, May 17, 7:30 pm in Albany
Game 2: Tuesday, May 20, 7:00 pm in Albany
Game 3: Friday, May 23, 7:30 pm in Hamilton
Game 4: Sunday, May 25, 2:00 pm in Hamilton
Game 5: Tuesday, May 27, 7:30 pm in Hamilton (if nec)
Game 6: Friday, May 30, 7:30 pm in Albany (if nec)
Game 7: Saturday, May 31, 7:30 pm in Albany (if nec)
I haven't stopped picking Hershey and I won't stop NOT picking the overachieving Bulldogs. Love ya guys, but what are you doing here? The Bulldogs has demonstrated the tenacity of their namesakes so far and have produced more offense than expected, plus they've gotten all their players back and Steve Passmore has been a brick wall. This series Hamilton no longer has a travel problem either, as they can now hop the bus like everybody else.
But the Rats have also gotten the team back together and held it together, albeit barely, against the defending champions Rochester. Albany's goaltending has been less than stellar, with Peter Sidorkiewicz getting yanked a few times against Rochester and Richard Shulmistra developing a hamhock personality, but their defense and offense are both better than what the Bulldogs have to offer. Both teams have sucked it up and gritted it out against their rivals, but talent favors the River Rats.
Albany in six.

AHL NEWS

Quack: Contrary to what the Cincinnati group told the Bandits, the franchise will take the name of their parent club in Cincinnati and will also be the Mighty Ducks. As if one wasn't already too many. This also begs the question of why Cincinnati bought the team's uniforms, if they won't be using them. The team did re-up their deal with the Mighty Ducks, thus guaranteeing the franchise will continue to wield a weak team short on talent. The new team will continue to compete in the Mid-Atlantic Division (huh?) as had the Bandits, giving them an automatic rivalry with Kentucky but no one else. Finally, to eliminate any confusion remaining, the Cincinnati Cyclones of the IHL do still play in Cincinnati, but have moved to a brand new facility across town while the new Ducks move into the old Cincinnati Gardens and hope somebody wants to see a marginal AHL team.
Carolina in My Mind: And a lot of other people's minds too, as the Carolina Hurricanes sprung into existence. The Hurricanes have failed to work out an agreement with the Carolina Monarchs to peaceably share a building, leaving the fate of the Monarchs still shaky. If the Monarchs remain under their current ownership, they will have to find somewhere else to play and it's entirely possible they may wind up in Raleigh itself, using the IceCaps' building for now. Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos has also inquired about buying the Monarchs outright, which would allow him to move the Monarchs wherever and also make the Monarchs the Hurricanes' AHL affiliate. The Panthers don't appear interested in the two million Karmanos is offering though, not at all surprising considering the average AHL franchise is worth more than that. Somebody needs to work out something soon though, as the AHL has already begun designing next season's schedule and knowing what they're working with always helps.
Graduate Marks: The AHL continues to develop players for the NHL, sending a total of 230 players to the top league this season for at least one game. The league has also strutted its stuff as an entertainment option, as the AHL topped the four-million point for single season attendance on May 3, the first time the league has done it. New records for regular season attendance and average game attendance were already set, with 3,802,829 total attendance averaging out to 5,282 per game. Meanwhile playoff attendance is up 36% from last season, with an average of 5,197 attendance per playoff game so far. The Phantoms (you were expecting someone else?) lead in playoff attendance with an average of 11,446.
Something Extra: Largely compliments of Hershey, there have already been 11 overtime games in the playoffs so far - the record, set last year, is 19. The home team has won seven, the visitors four, and Hershey's Blair Atcheynum leads all players still involved in the playoffs with two overtime game-winners, both of which came this year.
King Canadien: It's official, the Lowell Lock Monsters will not make their franchise debut next season as their arena would not have been operational for more than half the season. This put the Los Angeles Kings in a bind, as they had not only committed to an affiliation with Lowell but their current affiliate, the Phoenix Roadrunners, had just ceased operations. Oops. The Kings partially resolved the problem by agreeing to a partial affiliation with Montreal to place up to seven players with Fredericton next season. The two different organizations should get along well together; we know neither team gives a hoot about defense.
Rinkside: Keeps going.
The Sports Network (TSN): Fri. May 16 1:00 p.m./6:00 p.m./Sat. May 17 3:00 p.m.
Empire Sports Network (ESN): Sun. May 18 6:30 p.m.
Fox Sports Pittsburgh (FSP): Fri. May 16 5:30 p.m.
Madison Square Garden (MSG): Sat. May 17 6:00 p.m.
SportsChannel Philadelphia (SCP): Sat. May 17 11:30 a.m.
All Positives: The final AHL K&K Insurance Player award was given to the Philadelphia Phantoms' Patrik Juhlin, who had the league's highest plus rating with a +43. He also ranked 5th in AHL scoring and in assists, and tied for second on the Phantoms in game-winning goals (7) and short-handed goals (2). In fact, the Phantoms produced nine of the league's top ten plus players, with only the Bears' Steve Lingren breaking in at the seven spot. The Phantoms had the largest positive goal differential of any team in the league, which had a lot to do with their performance on this list.
  
1.  Patrik Juhlin, Philadelphia Phantoms         +43
2.  Peter White, Philadelphia  Phantoms          +40
3.  Dave MacIsaac, Philadelphia Phantoms         +36
4.  Vaclav Prospal, Philadelphia Phantoms        +32
5.  John Stevens, Philadelphia Phantoms          +31
6.  Bruce Coles, Philadelphia Phantoms           +27
7.  Steve Lingren, Hershey Bears                 +25
8.  Jeff Staples, Philadelphia Phantoms          +25
9.  Craig Darby, Philadelphia Phantoms           +25     
10. Darren Rumble, Philadelphia Phantoms         +24
One Negative: The only bad news for the Phantoms involves Yanick Dupre, who has never actually played for them. Dupre left the Flyers farm system last spring as a Hershey Bear when he was diagnosed with leukemia. The disease had gone into remission and Dupre had resumed practicing, occasionally with the Phantoms, but the disease returned in the last few weeks. Dupre will be having a bone marrow transplant shortly and may very well be finished with hockey. LCS: Guide to Hockey wishes him the best and he'll be in all our thoughts.