SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has named Rochester Americans goaltender Ryan Miller the recipient of the CCM AHL Milestone of the Month award for April.
On Apr. 11, Miller made 27 saves to backstop Rochester to a 4-3 shootout win over the St. John’s Maple Leafs at Mile One Stadium. In addition to being the Americans’ 50th win of the season, it was Miller’s 40th win in net, a plateau reached only 10 times previously in the AHL’s 69-year history, and not once in the previous four decades, since Gerry Cheevers won 48 games in 1964-65.
Miller, a 24-year-old native of East Lansing, Mich., finished the 2004-05 regular season with a record of 41-17-4; only Cheevers, Marcel Paille, Gil Mayer, Johnny Bower (three times) and Harvey Bennett have ever won more games in a single AHL season. Miller was named a First Team AHL All-Star and won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Award as the AHL’s outstanding goaltender this year.
In recognition of the CCM AHL Milestone of the Month, Miller will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Americans home game.