Division Semifinal previews (1 vs. 4/5)

Atlantic Division Semifinal – Series “A”
A1-Hartford Wolf Pack vs. A5-Portland Pirates

Game 1 – Tue., Apr. 20 Portland at Hartford, 7:05 ET
Game 2 – Wed., Apr. 21 Portland at Hartford, 7:05 ET
Game 3 – Fri., Apr. 23 Hartford at Portland, 7:05 ET
Game 4 – Sun., Apr. 25 Hartford at Portland, 4:05 ET
Game 5 – Wed., Apr. 28 Portland at Hartford, 7:05 ET (if necessary)
Game 6 – Fri., Apr. 30 Hartford at Portland, 7:05 ET (if necessary)
Game 7 – Sun., May 2 Portland at Hartford, 4:05 ET (if necessary)


Regular Season Comparison
Hartford Portland
Record 44-22-12-2 32-27-13-8
Points 102 85
Home 24-10-6-0 19-11-7-3
Road 20-12-6-2 13-16-6-5
Goals for 198 156
Goals against 153 160
PP% (rank) 12.3 (24) 10.7 (28)
PK% (rank) 87.5 (7) 89.5 (2)


Calder Cup Playoff History
Hartford Portland
Appearances 7th 9th
Record (games) 32-30 40-35
Record (series) 8-5 8-7
OT record 3-5 4-7
Calder Cup titles 1 (2000) 1 (1994)
Losing finalist 0 1 (1996)


2003-04 Regular Season Series
Hartford Portland
Record 5-1-2-0 1-4-2-1
at HFD 2-1-1-0 1-1-1-1
at POR 3-0-1-0 0-3-1-0
Goals 18 9
Power play 3/23 (13.0%) 1/31 (3.2%)
Scoring Wiseman, 3+3=6
Andrews, 2+3=5
Larose, 1+4=5
Podkonicky, 3+1=4
Ciernik, 2+1=3
Forbes, 0+3=3
Goaltending LaBarbera, 2-0-1, 0.97
Valiquette, 0-1-0, 1.03
Ouellet, 1-2-2, 1.27
Stana, 0-3-0, 3.01

Results Oct. 11 POR 1 at HFD 3
Oct. 17 HFD 4 at POR 1
Nov. 7 HFD 2 at POR 0
Dec. 5 HFD 3 at POR 1
Dec. 14 POR 2 at HFD 3 (OT)
Jan. 14 POR 1 at HFD 1 (OT)
Jan. 23 HFD 2 at POR 2 (OT)
Mar. 20 POR 1 at HFD 0


SERIES NOTEBOOK:
Hartford had been unbeaten in 11 meetings with Portland (7-0-4-0) over three years before the Pirates’ 1-0 win on Mar. 20… Portland’s last win in a best-of-seven series came in the 1996 conference finals; Hartford’s was the 2000 Final… The Wolf Pack scored two shorthanded goals against the Pirates this season while allowing just one power play goal… Both teams posted 17 shutouts during the regular season, surpassing the previous league record of 13… Portland is 9-0-1-1 in its last 11 games overall… Hartford’s Jason LaBarbera is 17-2-4 in his last 23 decisions, and 12-1-4 in his last 17 on the road… Alexander Semin leads all AHL scorers with seven postseason points in just two games for the Pirates.

East Division Semifinal – Series “C”
E1-Philadelphia Phantoms vs. E5-Norfolk Admirals

Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 21 Norfolk at Philadelphia, 7:05 ET
at Wachovia Center
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 23 Norfolk at Philadelphia, 7:05 ET
at Wachovia Center
Game 3 – Tue., Apr. 27 Philadelphia at Norfolk, 7:15 ET
Game 4 – Wed., Apr. 28 Philadelphia at Norfolk, 7:15 ET
Game 5 – Fri., Apr. 30 Philadelphia at Norfolk, 7:30 ET (if necessary)
Game 6 – Sat., May 1 Norfolk at Philadelphia, 7:05 ET (if necessary)
at Wachovia Center
Game 7 – Mon., May 3 Norfolk at Philadelphia, 7:05 ET (if necessary)
at Wachovia Center


Regular Season Comparison
Philadelphia Norfolk
Record 46-25-7-2 35-36-4-5
Points 101 79
Home 24-11-3-2 22-15-1-2
Road 22-14-4-0 13-21-3-3
Goals for 216 172
Goals against 168 187
PP% (rank) 16.2 (7) 12.5 (23)
PK% (rank) 87.7 (6) 88.7 (4)


Calder Cup Playoff History
Philadelphia Norfolk
Appearances 7th 4th
Record (games) 39-27 12-12
Record (series) 9-5 3-3
OT record 7-6 3-3
Calder Cup titles 1 (1998) 0
Losing finalist 0 0


2003-04 Regular Season Series
Philadelphia Norfolk
Record 5-4-1-0 4-5-1-0
at PHI 3-1-1-0 1-3-1-0
at NOR 2-3-0-0 3-2-0-0
Goals 25 19
Power play 5/61 (8.2%) 5/47 (10.6%)
Scoring Law, 5+2=7
Sharp, 3+4=7
Jones, 3+3=6
Baines, 4+1=5
Germyn, 1+4=5
Cote, 3+1=4
Goaltending Little, 3-1-0, 1.26
Niittymaki, 2-3-1, 2.15
Anderson, 3-2-0, 2.02
Leighton, 0-1-0, 3.01

Results Oct. 12 NOR 0 at PHI 3
Oct. 25 PHI 1 at NOR 2
Nov. 26 NOR 4 at PHI 4 (OT)
Dec. 5 NOR 2 at PHI 0
Dec. 6 PHI 3 at NOR 2
Dec. 13 PHI 3 at NOR 1
Dec. 27 PHI 2 at NOR 3
Jan. 18 NOR 1 at PHI 4
Mar. 3 PHI 2 at NOR 4
Mar. 31 NOR 0 at PHI 3


SERIES NOTEBOOK:
Norfolk ousted Binghamton in the qualifying series as Michael Leighton posted back-to-back shutouts… The Admirals haven’t won a road game in a city other than Binghamton since Feb. 21 at Bridgeport, and are 0-4 all-time in playoff games in Pennsylvania (all in Hershey)… Phantoms head coach John Stevens won two Calder Cups as a player, including in 1998 with Philadelphia… Ex-Admiral Peter White, another two-time Calder Cup champion, has recorded 67 points in 80 career AHL playoff games… Norfolk defenseman Johnathan Aitken, who recorded 1+4=5 pts. and a minus-11 rating in the regular season, already has 1+2=3 pts. and a plus-5 in the playoffs.

North Division Semifinal – Series “E”
N1-Hamilton Bulldogs vs. N4-Cleveland Barons

Game 1 – Tue., Apr. 20 Cleveland at Hamilton, 7:00 ET
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 25 Cleveland at Hamilton, 4:00 ET
Game 3 – Tue., Apr. 27 Hamilton at Cleveland, 7:00 ET
Game 4 – Thu., Apr. 29 Hamilton at Cleveland, 7:00 ET
Game 5 – Fri., Apr. 30 Cleveland at Hamilton, 7:00 ET (if necessary)
Game 6 – Sun., May 2 Hamilton at Cleveland, 4:00 ET (if necessary)
Game 7 – Mon., May 3 Cleveland at Hamilton, 7:00 ET (if necessary)


Regular Season Comparison
Hamilton Cleveland
Record 41-25-10-4 37-28-8-7
Points 96 89
Home 24-8-5-3 18-16-2-4
Road 17-17-5-1 19-12-6-3
Goals for 235 235
Goals against 191 220
PP% (rank) 16.0 (8) 16.7 (4)
PK% (rank) 86.4 (10) 80.2 (28)


Calder Cup Playoff History
Hamilton Cleveland
Appearances 7th 1st
Record (games) 49-41 2-1
Record (series) 11-6 1-0
OT record 12-6 1-0
Calder Cup titles 0 0
Losing finalist 2 (1997, 2003) 0


2003-04 Regular Season Series
Hamilton Cleveland
Record 5-4-0-1 5-4-0-1
at HAM 2-2-0-1 3-1-0-1
at CLE 3-2-0-0 2-3-0-0
Goals 26 28
Power play 10/49 (20.4%) 6/43 (14.0%)
Scoring Plekanec, 3+4=7
Beauchemin, 2+5=7
Hossa, 3+3=6
Zalesak, 1+9=10
Rissmiller, 4+4=8
Stafford, 3+4=7
Goaltending Damphousse, 3-3-0, 2.64
Michaud, 0-2-0, 3.75
Schaefer, 3-1-0, 2.00
Kotyk, 0-2-0, 3.01

Results Oct. 11 HAM 3 at CLE 2
Nov. 1 CLE 2 at HAM 3 (OT)
Nov. 2 CLE 4 at HAM 2
Dec. 6 HAM 4 at CLE 2
Dec. 12 CLE 2 at HAM 4
Jan. 9 CLE 4 at HAM 3 (OT)
Feb. 27 HAM 2 at CLE 5
Mar. 5 HAM 3 at CLE 2
Mar. 17 HAM 2 at CLE 4
Apr. 3 CLE 1 at HAM 0


SERIES NOTEBOOK:
Cleveland rallied from a Game 1 loss to defeat Toronto in the qualifying round, the 10th time in AHL history a team has come back from a 1-0 deficit to win a best-of-three playoff series… Shawn Mather was the hero in Game 2, scoring a double-overtime goal in his third game as a Baron… The Bulldogs were 9-4 at Copps Coliseum during last year’s postseason… Miroslav Zalesak, who finished third in the league in scoring in the regular season, picked up 10 points in the season series against Hamilton… The Bulldogs have won at least one series in each of their six previous postseason appearances.

West Division Semifinal – Series “H”
W1-Milwaukee Admirals vs. W5-Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 21 Cincinnati at Milwaukee, 7:00 CT
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 23 Cincinnati at Milwaukee, 7:00 CT
Game 3 – Sat., Apr. 24 Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 7:35 ET
Game 4 – Mon., Apr. 26 Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 7:35 ET
Game 5 – Wed., Apr. 28 Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 7:35 ET (if necessary)
Game 6 – Fri., Apr. 30 Cincinnati at Milwaukee, 7:00 CT (if necessary)
Game 7 – Date TBA Cincinnati at Milwaukee, Time TBA (if necessary)


Regular Season Comparison
Milwaukee Cincinnati
Record 46-24-7-3 29-37-13-1
Points 102 72
Home 23-13-4-0 17-14-8-1
Road 23-11-3-3 12-23-5-0
Goals for 269 188
Goals against 191 211
PP% (rank) 15.6 (11) 12.1 (26)
PK% (rank) 86.3 (11) 88.6 (5)


Calder Cup Playoff History
Milwaukee Cincinnati
Appearances 2nd 4th
Record (games) 2-4 4-8
Record (series) 1-1 1-3
OT record 1-0 0-3
Calder Cup titles 0 0
Losing finalist 0 0


2003-04 Regular Season Series
Milwaukee Cincinnati
Record 4-2-2-0 2-4-2-0
at MIL 3-1-0-0 1-3-0-0
at CIN 1-1-2-0 1-1-2-0
Goals 31 23
Power play 5/40 (12.5%) 7/38 (18.4%)
Scoring *Gamache, 3+5=8
Darche, 4+3=7
Classen, 3+4=7
*includes stats w/CHI
Armstrong, 1+6=7
Kunitz, 6+0=6
Aucoin, 2+4=6
Goaltending Finley, 2-2-2, 2.77
Flaherty, 2-0-0, 2.50
Bryzgalov, 2-1-1, 3.62
Ferhi, 0-2-1, 2.62

Results Oct. 23 CIN 3 at MIL 5
Oct. 24 MIL 3 at CIN 3 (OT)
Dec. 14 MIL 4 at CIN 6
Jan. 8 CIN 3 at MIL 2
Jan. 17 MIL 3 at CIN 3 (OT)
Feb. 15 MIL 3 at CIN 1
Mar. 6 CIN 2 at MIL 7
Apr. 3 CIN 2 at MIL 4


SERIES NOTEBOOK:
Cincinnati is fresh off the franchise’s first-ever playoff series win, and has posted back-to-back road victories for the first time since Jan. 8-10… Milwaukee’s league-leading offense potted 269 goals in the regular season, including 14 players in double digits… The Admirals also boasted 15 skaters with a plus/minus rating of plus-10 or better… Mighty Ducks winger Dan Bylsma reached the Stanley Cup Final with Anaheim last season… Milwaukee defensemen Curtis Murphy (2003, 2004) and Brad Tiley (2000) and Cincinnati head coach Brad Shaw (1987) are all former Eddie Shore Award winners.