AHL alumni lead Ducks to Stanley Cup

Anaheim’s AHL graduates accounted for five goals and four assists as the Ducks captured the Stanley Cup championship with a 6-2 win over Ottawa on Wednesday night.

Francois Beauchemin, a Calder Cup finalist with Hamilton in 2003, scored a big goal late in the second period to help Anaheim finish off the Senators in five games. Travis Moen scored twice, Andy McDonald and Corey Perry had a goal and an assist each, and Ryan Getzlaf and Sami Pahlsson each recorded an assist in the clinching victory.

Ducks defenseman Joe DiPenta joined an exclusive group of players who have won both a Calder Cup and a Stanley Cup in their careers, a group that includes Ace Bailey, Johnny Bower, Adam Graves, Larry Robinson, Patrick Roy and Billy Smith. DiPenta won an AHL championship with Chicago in 2002.

Of the 29 Anaheim players to see action this postseason, 24 were AHL alumni, including eight who skated for the Ducks’ affiliate, the Portland Pirates, in 2006-07: Kent Huskins, Ryan Shannon, Shawn Thornton, Joe Motzko, Aaron Rome, Mark Hartigan and rookies Ryan Carter and Drew Miller, who both made their NHL debuts during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Ducks’ big line of Dustin Penner, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf all gained playoff experience with Portland in 2006.

Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle spent the 2004-05 season in the AHL as bench boss of the Manitoba Moose, leading them to the conference finals. Assistant coach Dave Farrish won a Calder Cup as a defenseman for the New Brunswick Hawks in 1982, and general manager Brian Burke won a Cup as a player with Maine in 1978.