Calder Cup Notebook: Postscript

The American Hockey League’s 68th season, which began in Wilkes-Barre with the Penguins hosting the Norfolk Admirals on Oct. 8, ended 242 days later in the same arena, this time with the Milwaukee Admirals capturing the Calder Cup.

  • Milwaukee’s high-octane offense erupted for seven goals in the first 25:52 of Sunday’s Game 4, then put it on cruise control and coasted to a 7-2 victory, completing the first four-game sweep in a Calder Cup Final since 1995.

  • Darren Haydar scored twice and added an assist to finish as the AHL’s postseason scoring leader with 26 points… Simon Gamache added a goal and three assists, as the duo combined for 17 points in the four games against Wilkes-Barre.

  • Milwaukee was an amazing 10-for-20 on the power play in the series after the Penguins had allowed just nine power-play goals in 20 games against Bridgeport, Philadelphia and Hartford.

  • The Admirals outscored the Penguins 10-0 in the second period of the four games in the series.

  • Wade Flaherty finished with 16 wins – an AHL record for a single postseason – thanks to a 14-2 mark after the Admirals faced elimination in the division semifinals against Cincinnati, where they trailed three games to two.

  • Wilkes-Barre’s Marc-Andre Fleury saw 31 minutes of action in Game 4, joining Rick DiPietro, Greg Joly and Michel Plasse as the only number-one overall draft picks ever to appear in a Calder Cup Finals game.

  • Jay Henderson became just the fourth player ever to win a Calder Cup with three different teams, while he and Curtis Murphy became the 16th and 17th players to win back-to-back AHL titles with two different clubs.

  • Road teams were an amazing 54-39 (.581) during the Calder Cup 2004 Playoffs, including 11-5 in the last two rounds… Wilkes-Barre/Scranton set a record by playing 11 overtime games, while Milwaukee tied a mark with its six OT wins… There were 17 shutouts, one more than the single-postseason record set in 2000… The Admirals finished on seven-game winning streaks both overall and on the road.

    QUOTABLE:

  • “They deserved the Cup. They played like true champions, that’s for sure.” — Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Michel Therrien, addressing the media after Game 4.

  • “Everybody chipped in. This is not a team where just one line or two lines did it; everybody feels a part of this team.” — Milwaukee forward Mathieu Darche.

    WHAT’S NEXT:

  • The AHL drops the puck on its 69th regular season on Wednesday night, Oct. 13. The complete 2004-05 schedule should be announced in late July.