The 187th and final day of the AHL’s 2004-05 regular season includes a slate of 11 games, with the Atlantic Division championship still to be determined.
Manchester came into the weekend needing a single point to secure first place in the Atlantic and its first division title after three second-place finishes.
But a 4-1 loss to Lowell and a 2-1 loss in Bridgeport — combined with Hartford wins over Albany and Springfield — have left the Monarchs sweating it out heading into Game #80.
This afternoon, the Monarchs are at the DCU Center for the final game in IceCats franchise history (4:05 ET). Manchester is 6-3-0-0 against Worcester this season.
For the third day in a row, the Monarchs need a single point to clinch the Emile Francis Trophy as the Atlantic Division champions, as well as the Frank Mathers Trophy as the Eastern Conference regular-season champions.
Even if Manchester falls again, a Hartford loss at home to Springfield would give the Monarchs the first-place finish. The Wolf Pack are 7-1-0-1 against the Falcons this season, allowing just 10 goals in the nine meetings.
The division champ will meet Providence in the first round of the 2005 Calder Cup Playoffs; the second-place finisher draws Lowell.
Third place is up for grabs in both the East and West Divisions on the last day of the season. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which hosts Syracuse at 5:05 ET (live on B2 Networks), comes in one point ahead of Norfolk (at Philadelphia, 5:05 ET) after shutting out the Admirals both Friday and Saturday.
In the West, Cincinnati and Houston are tied with 91 points each; the Mighty Ducks own the tiebreaker with the Aeros based on having more wins. Cincy hosts Grand Rapids today (5:05 ET), while Houston entertains Utah (6:05 ET).
All 11 of today’s regular-season finales are scheduled to be cybercast, and you catch the action by following the links on theahl.com’s Cybercast page.
