LOOKING BACK:
Manitoba and St. John’s split a two-game set at Mile One Stadium, with Alex Auld making 25 saves in a 3-1 Moose win on Monday, and David Ling and Kyle Wellwood answering with three points each in the Leafs’ 4-2 victory on Tuesday… Grand Rapids improved to 5-0-0-0 with a 4-0 decision over winless Rochester on Tuesday.
Mon 10/25
Manitoba 3, ST. JOHN’S 1
Tue 10/26
ST. JOHN’S 4, Manitoba 2… GRAND RAPIDS 4, Rochester 0
LOOKING AHEAD:
East Division foes Bridgeport and Philadelphia lock horns on Wednesday night at the Wachovia Center in South Philly, the site of Wade Dubielewicz’s first NHL victory with the N.Y. Islanders last season… It was Dieter Kochan who got the call and made 34 saves for the Sound Tigers in the teams’ first meeting on Oct. 17, a 4-2 Bridgeport win… Patrick Sharp has a point in each of the Phantoms’ first four games of the year, and Philadelphia native Tony Voce has three goals and an assist in his last two outings… The teams finished third and fourth in the AHL’s overall standings in 2003-04, with the Phantoms edging out the Sound Tiges for the division title.
Norfolk hosts Albany in another East Division showdown on Wednesday… Admirals rookie Rene Bourque has a point in each of his first three contests as a pro, including two game-winning goals… The Admirals are 6-0-1 in their last seven meetings with the River Rats, and 10-2-2 all-time… Albany comes to Scope riding its first three-game winning streak since March 2003… Rats forward Aaron Voros is the reigning CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week after ringing up four goals and three assists in his last four games… The game will be a homecoming of sorts for Albany head coach Robbie Ftorek, who played his first two pro seasons (1972-74) in Norfolk with the AHL’s Virginia Wings; Ftorek’s first game back at Scope was a 4-1 River Rats loss on Mar. 5.
Chicago takes on San Antonio at Allstate Arena on Wednesday, with the Rampage looking to put the brakes on a four-game losing skid as they start a four-game road swing… Greg Campbell and Juraj Kolnik are San Antonio’s co-leaders with five points each on the year; Steve Maltais has picked up a point on nine of the Wolves’ 14 goals this season… Kip Brennan, who had 10 goals in his first 152 career pro games, scored twice on the power play in Chicago’s 4-3 overtime loss at Houston on Sunday… This game could feature two of the top three picks in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, in the Wolves’ Kari Lehtonen and the Rampage’s Jay Bouwmeester.
(all times Eastern)
Wed 10/27
Bridgeport at Philadelphia (Wachovia Center), 7:05… Syracuse at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05… Albany at Norfolk, 7:30… San Antonio at Chicago, 8:00
Thu 10/28
No games scheduled
Fri 10/29
Cleveland at St. John’s, 6:05… Wilkes-Barre at Albany, 7:00… Hartford at Lowell, 7:00… Norfolk at Binghamton, 7:05… Providence at Worcester, 7:05… Chicago at Grand Rapids, 7:30… Philadelphia at Hamilton, 7:30… Hershey at Syracuse, 7:30… San Antonio at Cincinnati, 7:35… Bridgeport at Manchester, 7:35… Manitoba at Rochester, 7:35… Portland at Springfield, 7:35… Houston at Edmonton, 9:00… Milwaukee at Utah, 9:05
BY THE NUMBERS:
+9 – Plus/minus rating of Manchester forward Tom Kostopoulos through four games of the 2004-05 season, the highest mark in the AHL… Kostopoulos has also recorded exactly two assists in each contest.
AHL-TV:
Wednesday, Bridgeport at Philadelphia — Comcast SportsNet (Philadelphia)* — 7:05 ET
Wednesday, San Antonio at Chicago — Comcast Cable (Chicago) — 7:00 CT
Friday, Cleveland at St. John’s — Rogers Television 9 (St. John’s) — 7:35 NT
Friday, Chicago at Grand Rapids — Comcast Cable (Chicago) — 6:30 CT
Friday, Philadelphia at Hamilton — Cable 14 (Hamilton) — 7:30 ET
Friday, Manitoba at Rochester — Time Warner 98 (Rochester) — Sat., noon ET (tape)
*also available in HD
