Milwaukee’s Finley honored again

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Brian Finley of the Milwaukee Admirals has been named the Koho/AHL Goaltender of the Month for November. Finley returned from injury and went 5-0-0 with a 1.16 goals-against average, a .962 save percentage and three shutouts in six games on the month.

In his first appearance since opening night, Finley made 29 saves to lead Milwaukee to a 6-0 win at Iowa on Nov. 8. After stumbling in a rematch with the Stars on Nov. 11 (and escaping with no decision), Finley bounced back spectacularly, stopping 29 shots in a 3-1 win at San Antonio, followed by consecutive shutouts against San Antonio (28 saves) and Houston (39 saves) to earn CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week honors for Nov. 21-27. Finley ended the week with a 27-save performance as Milwaukee downed Peoria, 4-2, on Nov. 30.

In recognition of his achievement, Finley will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Admirals home game.

A native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., the 24-year-old Finley is 5-0-0 on the season with a 1.62 GAA, a .946 save percentage and three shutouts (tied for the AHL lead) in seven games for Milwaukee, which won 10 of its 12 games during November. Nashville’s first-round pick (sixth overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Finley is 71-48-10 with 14 shutouts in 136 career AHL appearances, and was a member of the Admirals’ 2004 Calder Cup championship team.

Other nominees for Koho/AHL Goaltender of the Month include Kelly Guard of Binghamton, Chris Madden of Bridgeport, Tuomas Tarkki of Chicago, Jamie Holden of Cleveland, Drew MacIntyre of Grand Rapids, Robert Gherson of Hartford, Josh Harding of Houston, Mike Smith of Iowa, Vitaly Kolesnik of Lowell, Adam Munro of Norfolk, Brent Krahn of Omaha, Curtis Sanford of Peoria, Jordan Sigalet of Providence, Michael Leighton of Rochester, Scott Stirling of San Antonio, Pascal Leclaire of Syracuse and Dany Sabourin of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.