The American Hockey League announced today that Providence Bruins goaltender Hannu Toivonen has been named the CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending February 6, 2005. Toivonen posted back-to-back shutouts as the Bruins closed in on the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
Toivonen ended a personal four-game losing streak on Friday night, making 24 saves to backstop Providence to a 4-0 win over Hartford at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. He returned to the crease on Sunday afternoon and posted 27 saves in a 1-0 win over another division rival, Worcester. Toivonen’s perfect week helped the Bruins close to within two points of the fourth-place IceCats in the Atlantic.
In recognition of his achievement, Toivonen will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Bruins home game.
A native of Kalvola, Finland, Toivonen is 19-14-3 in 39 appearances with Providence this season, with a 2.11 goals-against average, a .929 save percentage and six shutouts, tying him for the league lead in that category. The 20-year-old Toivonen was Boston’s first-round choice, 29th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, and now owns a record of 34-30-7 in 75 AHL games with the P-Bruins over the last two seasons.
Other nominees for CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week include Albany left wing Ahren Nittel, Binghamton forward Antoine Vermette, Bridgeport center Ryan Kraft, Chicago left wing Brad Larsen, Cincinnati goaltender Frederic Cassivi, Cleveland left wing Ryane Clowe, Edmonton goaltender Mike Morrison, Grand Rapids center Kip Miller, Hamilton forward Duncan Milroy, Hershey goaltender Peter Budaj, Houston goaltender Josh Harding, Lowell right wing Chad Larose, Manchester goaltender Mathieu Garon, Manitoba center Peter Sarno, Milwaukee left wing Simon Gamache, Norfolk goaltender Michael Leighton, Portland goaltender Kirk Daubenspeck, Rochester goaltender Ryan Miller, San Antonio defenseman Joel Kwiatkowski, Springfield right wing Shane Willis, St. John’s center Kyle Wellwood, Syracuse goaltender Karl Goehring and Utah goaltender Jean-Marc Pelletier.
