AHL Playoff Notebook
Bridgeport (Islanders) -- G Ricky
DiPietro carried his all-star play from the regular season right into
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the postseason, posting a 3-1 mark with two shutouts in the Sound Tigers
best-of-five series win over Manitoba. After blanking the Moose, 5-0, in the
opener, the former 1st overall pick (2000) turned aside 34 shots in Game 4 to
lead Bridgeport to a 2-0 victory and a date with St. Johns in the second
round. Fellow 2000 first-rounder LW Raffi Torres also played well during
his first dose of AHL playoff action, scoring a pair of goals -- one on the
power play -- and adding an assist while playing at a plus-1 in four games.
Chicago (Atlanta) -- LW Zdenek
Blatny, selected 68th overall by the Thrashers in 1999, notched a pair
of game-winning goals as the Wolves ousted Cincinnati, two games to one, in
the opening round of the playoffs. The 6-foot-2 winger extended Chicagos
life in the postseason with the overtime winner in Game 2 and advanced the Wolves
into a second-round meeting with Grand Rapids by snapping a 2-2 tie early in
the third period of the decisive Game 3. After going pointless in Game 1 against
the Griffins, Blatny headed to Sweden to represent the Czech Republic at the
2002 World Championships...C Ben
Simon scored the winning goal late in the third period in Game 5 against
Grand Rapids, who received a goal from C Jason
Spezza, his first as a pro....G Pasi
Nurminen posted a 3-1 mark and .946 save percentage in the series.
Hamilton (Oilers) -- LW Jani
Rita broke out of his end-of-season slump by leading the Bulldogs to
a surprising three-game sweep of Quebec in the conference quarterfinals. Rita,
the 13th overall pick in 99 who went scoreless and was a minus-5 over
his last 10 regular season games, posted 2-2-4 totals in three games while playing
at a plus-3 and firing a team-high 14 shots. In Game 3, Rita helped Hamilton
overcome a two-goal deficit in the third period by tying the score at 5 with
just under six minutes left in regulation before assisting on C Peter
Sarnos series winner at 13:27 of overtime...C Jason
Chimera, who led the team in scoring during the regular season (77-26-51-77,
+28), potted a pair of power-play goals in the series, including the game-winner
in the Bulldogs 3-1 triumph in Game 2 at Quebec.
Hartford (Rangers) -- After spending almost the entire season in the
ECHL, G Scotty
Meyer, a former standout at St. Cloud State, helped the Wolf Pack overcome
a 2-1 series deficit against Manchester by posting back-to-back 42-save efforts
in Games 4 and Game 5, the latter of which ended with D Marty
Wilfords series-winning goal in overtime. Signed by the Rangers
in 2001, the 26-year-old Meyer went 4-4-2 with a 2.14 GAA for Hartford during
the regular season following a 30-game stint with Charlotte. C Jamie
Lundmark (5-1-2-3, +3, series-high 25 shots), D Tomas Kloucek
(5-1-0-1, +4) and C Roman Lyashenko (4-1-1-2) all had a strong series,
supporting the notion that they will all have roster spots with the Rangers
come October...Both teams combined for a whopping 349 penalty minutes during
the series, but Hartford suffered more for its undisciplined play, as the Monarchs
went 9-for-27 (33%) on the power play.
Hershey (Avalanche) -- Rookie C Vaclav Nederost is making an
early case for a promotion if Colorado gets deep into the postseason by posting
2-3-5 totals as the Bears won their best-of-five series with Norfolk in four
games. The playmaking native of the Czech Republic finished second to C Kelly
Fairchild in shots on goal with 15...D Alex
Riazantsev and LW Mikhail
Kuleshov were both held without a point in Hersheys series victory
over the Admirals. While Riazantsev was steady at best during the regular season
(76-5-19-24, +5), Kuleshov (60-8-11-19, team-worst -11) was a disappointment,
especially after the 99 first-rounder nearly made the Avs out of
training camp in September.
Houston (Minnesota) -- RW Kyle
Wanvig was a non-factor in the two playoff games he dressed for as it
took the Aeroes five games to oust Utah. Just one year removed from a 55-goal,
101-point season with Red Deer (WHL), Wanvig struggled with injuries for most
of the season, finishing with 6-7-13 totals in just 34 regular-season games.
D Nick
Schultz, a second-round pick of the Wild in 2000, picked up three assists
but was a team-worst minus-three in the five-game series.
St. Johns (Maple Leafs) -- G Sebastien
Centomo recorded consecutive shutouts in Games 4 and 5 to boost the
upstart Baby Leafs past Lowell in five games. After losing the first two games
on the road in the best-of-five series, the undrafted rookie who starred for
Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL) a year ago helped St. Johns stave off elimination
with a 29-save effort in a 6-4 win in Game 3. Centomo then thwarted all 40 shots
-- 15 in the third period -- in a 2-0 blanking in Game 4 before sealing the
Lock Monsters fate with 32 saves in a 3-0 victory in a hostile Tsongas
Arena in Game 5...RW Bobby House (6-2-8) and C Donald
MacLean (5-4-9) lead the Leafs offense through their first two rounds
of the playoffs.
Syracuse (Blue Jackets) -- C Blake
Bellefeuille emerged as an unlikely hero during the Crunchs three-game
sweep of Philadelphia. After combining for only 16 goals in two seasons with
Syracuse following a four-year stint at Boston College where he averaged 20
goals a season, Bellefeuille opened the scoring with his first career AHL playoff
goal in the Crunchs 5-3 victory in Game 1. In Game 3, the 24-year-old
undrafted checker broke a 1-1 deadlock early in the third period on the power
play to propel Syracuse to a 3-1 win. Rookie LW Martin
Paroulek, a ninth-round pick (# 278) of Columbus in 2000, was held without
a point in two games after scoring 11 goals and 25 points in 59 regular-season
contests.