LOOKING BACK:
Antero Niittymaki stopped 22 shots to lead Philadelphia past Bridgeport on Wednesday night, 5-0… Brad Larsen’s hat trick, his first since Dec. 30, 2000, lifted Chicago over San Antonio, 7-1… Norfolk and Syracuse earned shootout victories, with each needing seven rounds to win.
Wed 10/27
PHILADELPHIA 5, Bridgeport 0… Syracuse 4, WILKES-BARRE 3 (SO)… NORFOLK 2, Albany 1 (SO)… CHICAGO 7, San Antonio 1
Thu 10/28
No games scheduled
LOOKING AHEAD:
Edmonton hosts Houston on Friday evening looking to improve on its 5-1-1-0 record… Kyle Brodziak has a point in each of his first three pro games for the Road Runners, and Tyler Moss and rookie Jeff Deslauriers have combined to allow just 14 goals in seven contests… Matt Foy and Pierre-Marc Bouchard share the Aeros’ scoring lead with five points each on the young season… The game will mark the first head-to-head meeting between Houston’s Mark Cullen and Edmonton’s Joe Cullen; the brothers were teammates for three years at Colorado College (1999-2002)… Eight Aeros, four Road Runners and head coaches Todd McLellan and Geoff Ward last squared off against each other in the 2003 Calder Cup Final, when Houston defeated Hamilton, then the Oilers’ top affiliate, in seven games.
Grand Rapids puts its perfect 5-0-0-0 mark on the line Friday when rival Chicago visits Van Andel Arena… The Griffins have already beaten the Wolves once this year, a 5-1 win on Oct. 16, and kicked off a nine-game homestand with a 4-0 blanking of Rochester on Tuesday… Jiri Hudler has picked up five goals and five assists in five games for Grand Rapids, and has 17 points in 12 career games against Chicago, including playoffs… The Wolves, who led the AHL in power play goals scored in each of the last two seasons, has struck eight times with the man advantage in their first six games of 2004-05… The Griffins are 17-12-2 in the regular season against Chicago since the teams joined the AHL in 2001-02.
Saturday night, Rochester makes its only visit this season to Hershey for the 427th regular-season meeting between the clubs… The Bears won meeting #1 by a 4-2 count on Oct. 28, 1956, and have gone on to compile a 195-178-53 record against the Amerks… This year’s squads have struggled, entering the weekend a combined 0-6-2-1 as two of the last three winless teams in the AHL… Prior to Friday’s action, Hershey goalies Peter Budaj and Tom Lawson had each played two games, each allowing six goals and each making 68 saves… Amerks forward Jason Botterill had a point on six of Rochester’s first nine goals this year.
(all times Eastern)
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
Sat 10/30
Manchester at Springfield, 4:05… Lowell at Worcester, 4:05… Cleveland at St. John’s, 6:05… Rochester at Hershey, 7:00… Manitoba at Binghamton, 7:05… Hartford at Portland, 7:05… Bridgeport at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05… Norfolk at Albany, 7:30… San Antonio at Grand Rapids, 7:30… Hamilton at Syracuse, 7:30… Cincinnati at Chicago, 8:00… Utah at Milwaukee, 8:30… Houston at Edmonton, 9:00
Sun 10/31
Manitoba at Hamilton, 2:00… Binghamton at Wilkes-Barre, 3:05… Manchester at Portland, 4:05… Syracuse at Rochester, 4:05… Norfolk at Hershey, 5:00
Mon 11/1
Houston at Hartford, 11:05 am… San Antonio at Milwaukee, 8:00
Tue 11/2
Hamilton at Cleveland, 7:00… Syracuse at Edmonton, 9:00
BY THE NUMBERS:
498 – Career AHL victories for Binghamton co-coach John Paddock entering the weekend… Paddock, a Manitoba native and former coach and GM of the Winnipeg Jets, could be going for #500, a plateau reached only by Bun Cook (636) and Frank Mathers (610), as early as Saturday against the Moose at the Broome County Arena.
AHL-TV:
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)
Saturday, Cleveland at St. John’s — Rogers Television 9 (St. John’s) — 11:00 NT (tape)
Saturday, Cincinnati at Chicago — Comcast Cable (Chicago) — 7:00 CT
Sunday, Manitoba at Hamilton — Rogers Sportsnet — 2:00 ET
Sunday, Syracuse at Rochester — Time Warner 98 (Rochester) — Sat. 11/6, noon ET (tape)
