AHL PLAYOFF NOTEBOOK
BRIDGEPORT (ISLANDERS)...G RICK
DIPIETRO extended his winning streak to six games and improved to 8-1
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overall after he made 20 saves in a 3-2 victory over the Hamilton Bulldogs in
Game One of the Eastern Conference finals. After backstopping the Sound Tigers
to a 4-0 sweep of St. John's in the semi's, DiPietro, the first pick in the
2002 Entry Draft, outdueled Hamilton netminder and former Hockey East-rival
G TY
CONKLIN, who played for UNH while DiPietro starred for Boston University.
Through May 10, DiPietro was second among playoff goalies in goals-against average
(1.58) and save percentage (.935).
Fellow 2000 first-rounder LW RAFFI
TORRES scored a goal in Game 1 versus the Bulldogs, giving him five
goals and eight points in nine postseason affairs. RW JURAJ
KOLNIK, who keyed the offense in the sweep of the Baby Leafs with seven
points (4 g, 3 a), added an assist in the victory to extend his scoring streak
to five games.
HAMILTON (OILERS)...LW JANI
RITA and LW JASON
CHIMERA both scored in the Bulldogs' 3-2 loss to Bridgeport in Game
One of the Eastern Conference finals. Rita, a first-round pick of the Oilers
in 1999 (#13), is trying to bounce back from a quiet five-game performance (1-0-1,
-2) against Hartford the previous round. Through May 10, Rita had four goals
and two assists in nine playoff games.
After leading Hamilton in scoring with a career-high 77 points (26 g, 51 a)
during the regular season, Chimera is now second to C BRIAN
SWANSON in team playoff scoring with 4-5-9 totals in nine games.
1998 first-round pick RW MICHAEL
HENRICH, who rebounded from an unproductive rookie season with 14 goals
and 24 assists in 67 regular-season contests, has scored twice and assisted
on two others in eight playoff games.
CHICAGO (THRASHERS)...G PASI
NURMINEN turned aside 37 shots to lead the Wolves to a 6-2 rout over
host Syracuse in Game Seven of the Western Conference semifinals. Nurminen,
a sixth-round pick (#189) of Atlanta in 2001 and a 2002 Olympian with Finland,
was supported by five different goal scorers, as Chicago become only the 13th
team in AHL history to win a best-of-seven playoff series after losing the first
two games.
The Wolves, who went 37-31-7-5 during their inaugural season in the AHL, are
also the only team in league history to win three "winner-take-all"
games in one playoff year. En route to their series win over Syracuse, Chicago
went the distance in knocking off Cincinnati in three games and West Division-champ
Grand Rapids in five. If the Wolves defeat Houston in the conference finals,
they will become only the eighth team in the league's 66-year history to reach
the Calder Cup finals after finishing as low as fourth in the division...C
SNYDER potted three game-winning goals in the series against the Crunch.
HOUSTON (WILD)...C COREY LAROSE propelled the Aeros to 6-4 win over Chicago
in Game One of the Western Conference finals with a goal and two assists. Signed
by Minnesota in 2000 after a stellar four-year career with the University of
Maine, is leading the Aeros in scoring through May 10 with 6-7-13 totals, including
a league-high four game-winners , in 10 games.