LOOKING AHEAD:
Abbotsford, the only idle team on the AHL’s opening weekend, kicks off its inaugural season as San Antonio visits the Entertainment & Sports Centre on Friday and Saturday… The Heat’s offense includes Carsen Germyn, who matched a career high with 60 points (13-47-60) last season for Quad City; Riley Armstrong, who paced Worcester with 25 goals (25-17-42) in 71 contests a season ago; and Kris Chucko, a former first-round draft pick coming off a career-best 28-goal and 51-point season in Quad City… Abbotsford is coached by Jim Playfair, who guided Saint John to the 2001 Calder Cup title… San Antonio is off to a 1-0-1-0 start after each side won at home in a two-game set with Texas last weekend… Joel Perrault (1-1-2), defenseman Sean Sullivan (0-2-2), and 2008 first-round draft choice Viktor Tikhonov (0-2-2) all have two points on the young season for the Rampage… Last season’s Rampage did not win a game away from home until Dec. 26 (0-10-0-1), then finished 16-9-2-2 away from the AT&T Center.
A battle of the AHL’s most recent two Western Conference champions pits Chicago at Manitoba in a two-game set this weekend… Jason Krog has rejoined the Wolves after leading the Moose last season with 86 points (30-56-86) in 74 games en route to a Calder Cup Finals appearance… Chicago dropped a 3-2 decision to Milwaukee in its season opener, getting goals from Rylan Kaip and Tim Stapleton, who paced the Toronto Marlies with 28 goals and 79 points last season… Ex-Manitoba goaltender Drew MacIntyre made 37 saves in that loss for Chicago… Manitoba split a two-game set vs. Houston on opening weekend… Captain Mike Keane scored in both contests and leads the Moose with three points (2-1-3), while Marco Rosa also sports two goals thus far… Manitoba and Chicago are two of five AHL teams with a shorthanded goal on the young season.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton hosts Hershey this weekend as the intra-state rivals kick off their 12-game season series… The Penguins posted a 7-2-0-1 mark against Hershey during the 2008-09 regular season, but the Bears prevailed in a seven-game division final series on their way to the Calder Cup title… Andrew Gordon notched a hat trick for Hershey in last Saturday’s season-opening 3-1 win over Norfolk, striking on the power play each time… Reigning AHL MVP and scoring champion Alexandre Giroux assisted on all three goals, while Keith Aucoin garnered a pair of helpers… Wilkes-Barre/Scranton kicked off its campaign with a 4-2 win over Syracuse last Saturday… Newcomers Wyatt Smith (2-1-3) and Chris Conner (1-2-3) keyed the offense, and rookie Keven Veilleux tallied his first pro goal… Third-year goaltender John Curry, who made 26 saves in the opener, shows a record of 58-27-4 in 91 career appearances for the Penguins.
(all times Eastern)
Fri 10/9
Portland @ Albany, 7:00
Worcester at Bridgeport, 7:00
Syracuse @ Binghamton, 7:05
Hartford @ Providence, 7:05
Lake Erie @ Rochester, 7:05
Hershey @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Manchester @ Norfolk, 7:15
Springfield @ Adirondack, 7:30
Rockford @ Hamilton, 7:30
Milwaukee @ Peoria, 8:00
Chicago @ Manitoba, 8:30
Texas @ Houston, 8:35
San Antonio @ Abbotsford, 10:30
Sat 10/10
Grand Rapids @ Toronto, 3:00
Rochester @ Albany, 7:00
Springfield @ Hartford, 7:00
Worcester @ Lowell, 7:00
Providence @ Portland, 7:00
Hershey @ Binghamton, 7:05
Bridgeport @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Manchester @ Norfolk, 7:15
Rockford @ Lake Erie, 7:30
Adirondack @ Syracuse, 7:30
Chicago @ Manitoba, 8:30
Texas @ Houston, 8:35
San Antonio @ Abbotsford, 9:00
Sun 10/11
Portland @ Lowell, 4:00
Rockford @ Toronto, 4:00
Hartford @ Providence, 4:05
Manchester @ Hershey, 7:00
Mon 10/12
Binghamton @ Bridgeport, 1:00
Syracuse @ Rochester, 7:05
Tue 10/13
San Antonio @ Lake Erie, 7:00
Abbotsford @ Manitoba, 8:30
ALUMNI WATCH:
In Thursday’s NHL action, 2007-08 AHL All-Rookie defenseman Alex Goligoski posted a goal and an assist as Pittsburgh edged Philadelphia, 5-4… Ninth-year pro Matt Carkner notched his first career NHL goal in Ottawa’s 3-2 overtime victory over the N.Y. Islanders… 2008 Calder Cup champion Ondrej Pavelec stopped 29 of 31 shots to improve to 2-0-0 on the season as Atlanta doubled up St. Louis, 4-2.
BY THE NUMBERS:
17 — Points registered for Houston in the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs by Mathieu Beaudoin, who signed with the Texas Stars in the offseason… Beaudoin returns to Houston this weekend as the Stars and Aeros clash in a two-game set.
AHL LIVE:
Watch live games, highlights and features, get video on demand and more all season long with AHL Live. Save $50 on an 80-game team season subscription if purchased before Oct. 19. Visit ahllive.com for more information.
