PHILADELPHIA, Pa – The AHL season is in full swing with the Chicago Wolves, Syracuse Crunch, and Manitoba Moose all with 20 points atop the AHL’s Western Conference. The Iowa Chops are right behind the Wolves in second place, while the Hamilton Bulldogs are hanging in with Syracuse and Manitoba by leading the conference in scoring with 49.
Here is a look at the Western Conference. All stats are as of November 13, 2008.
Chicago Wolves
The Wolves are currently on a four game winning streak and sit atop the West Division with 20 points (9-2-1-1). Former AHL rookie of the year Brett Sterling registered his first goal of the season in a Wolves uniform on Sunday after being reassigned from the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday. Joe Motzko leads the Wolves in points with six goals and 10 points through 13 games. Chicago has allowed the fewest goals per game on average (1.54).
Grand Rapids Griffins
Ryan Oulahen ’s penalty shot goal last Saturday in Peoria was just the fifth successful penalty shot attempt in Griffins history. Grand Rapids is now 5 of 15 all-time in penalty shots. The Griffins 5-3 loss to the Rivermen was the team’s first defeat by more than one goal this year. Rookie Francis Pare has six points (3 goals 3 assists) in just six games played.
Hamilton Bulldogs
Rookie Ben Maxwell is currently riding a three game point streak, all assists, and has 12 points (5 goals 7 assists) in 14 games for the season. Matt D’Agostini leads the Bulldogs in both goals (9) and points (16), and has recorded three goals in the team’s last two games, all on the power play. Hamilton is averaging 3.50 goals per game.
Houston Aeros
Houston has lost three straight games in regulation since capturing the opener of its five game road trip on Friday at Hamilton. Houston has scored progressively fewer goals in its last four games, scoring three against Hamilton, two on Saturday at Rochester, one on Sunday at Syracuse, and getting blanked on Tuesday at Grand Rapids. John Lammers ’ three-game goal scoring streak was snapped in the shutout loss to the Griffins. Goaltender Nolan Schaefer is on a personal three-game losing skid. The Aeros are 5-1-0-0 at home and 2-5-0-0 on the road so far this season.
Iowa Chops
Iowa has won five of its first seven home games this season (5-2-0-0) and still has five contests remaining on a six-game homestand. Andrew Ebbett has scored a goal in three consecutive games, and Drew Miller has one in two straight. Joakim Lindstrom ’s five-game scoring streak came to an end in Tuesday’s victory over San Antonio.
Lake Erie Monsters
Lake Erie rallied for a 6-4 win over Hamilton on Sunday in the opener of a five-game homestand. Chris Stewart netted a hat trick in that game, and the Monsters scored four times in the third period to take the victory. The six goals scored on Hamilton was a season high for Lake Erie, and their highest total since scoring seven times in a 7-5 victory over Chicago on Mar. 18, 2008. Stewart snapped a seven-game goal-scoring drought. T.J. Galiardi has three points over his last three games.
Manitoba Moose
Manitoba wrapped up a seven game road trip and almost went undefeated (6-1-0-0) and has won 10 of their last 11 games after getting off to a 0-2-0-0 start. Jason Jaffray has a point in nine straight games (6 goals 5 assists) since going scoreless in his first two games for Manitoba this year. Jason Krog has scored at least one point in all seven games he’s played for the Moose this season. Manitoba is 5-0-0-0 when leading after the first period and 8-0-0-0 when holding a lead after the second.
Milwaukee Admirals
Milwaukee has won four straight games since a 2-4-0-1 start to the campaign with all four victories coming by one goal. Three of the four games have gone into overtime. Cal O’Reilly ’s recently ended an eight game scoring streak (4 goals 8 assists). Cody Franson has last least one point in three of his last four games (1-2-3). Goaltender Drew MacIntyre has been between the pipes for all four games during Milwaukee’s current winning streak.
Peoria Rivermen
Wednesday’s 4-1 victory at Quad City extended the Rivermen’s winning streak to three games (6-1-0-0 in their last seven games) moving Peoria into sole possession of second place in the West Division with 17 points (8-4-1-0). Steve Regier , who leads Peoria in scoring with nine goals and 15 points in 13 games, has points in three straight games and 10 of his last 11. Ben Bishop made 24 saves in Wednesday’s victory, his first appearance for the Rivermen since Oct. 18 at Chicago.
Quad City Flames
Quad City is just 1-5-1-0 on home ice this season after Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to Peoria. The Flames have lost six in a row at the I Wireless Center since posting a 3-1 win over Rockford in their home opener on Oct. 11. Jamie Lundmark leads Quad City with 13 points (2-11-13) but saw his three-game scoring run come to an end in Wednesday’s defeat. Adam Cracknell has assists in three of his last four outings. Last weekend’s two-game sweep of the Rampage improved the Flames’ all-time record at the AT&T Center to 5-0-0-1.
Rochester Americans
Rochester snapped a five-game losing skid with a 3-2 win over Houston last Saturday, but dropped a 5-1 decision to Manitoba on Monday. The Americans have allowed at least five goals in each of their last six losses, and have been outscored 34-11 during that span. Rookie Michael Duco and Karl Stewart are tied for the team lead with four goals apiece. Duco has a point in three of his last four outings. Kenndal McArdle , who leads the team with eight points (3 goals 5 assists), saw his five game scoring run come to an end in Monday’s loss to the Moose.
Rockford IceHogs
Rockford is now winless in six straight games (0-5-0-1) and has scored just eight goals during that span. The IceHogs have lost two games in regulation when leading after two periods (4-2-0-0), matching their total from all of last season. Rockford is outscoring opponents 11-4 in the first period but has been outscored 16-8 in the third. Despite the losing skid, the IceHogs’ goaltending tandem of Antti Niemi and Corey Crawford has combined for a 2.25 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. Petri Kontiola tallied five goals in the season’s first seven games but has not found the back of the net in seven games since.
San Antonio Rampage
San Antonio has scored one goal in six of its last seven games, all ended in defeat (0-6-0-1). Overall, the Rampage are averaging just 2.00 goals per game, and rookie Brett MacLean leads the active roster with four goals and eight points in 13 games. Rookie Chad Kolarik has registered a goal in his last two games (2-0-2) and has a point in three of his last four games. Goaltender Josh Tordjman is 0-4-1 since winning his first game of the season, a 2-1 victory over Chicago on Oct. 15 in which he made 25 saves. San Antonio was 0-for-36 on the power play during its seven-game losing streak.
Syracuse Crunch
Syracuse has won three straight games and outscored the opposition 13-7 since a two-game losing skid in which it was outscored 6-2. Rookie forward Nikita Filatov has a four game scoring streak (2-6-8), while Craig MacDonald (2-2-4), Mike York (1-3-4), and Jonathan Sigalet (2-1-3) all have three-game scoring runs. Goaltender Sebastian Dahm stopped all 27 shots he faced in relief to pick up the victory in Wednesday’s 5-3 win at Albany. Syracuse is outscoring opponents 15-7 in the third period.
Toronto Marlies
The Marlies are winless in three straight games (0-2-0-1), and are 1-2-0-0 on the road. Toronto is tied with Hartford for the fewest road games played in the AHL so far this season. Kris Newbury has 12 points (4 goals 8 assists) over the last nine games since going scoreless in his first two games. Newbury’s 12 points lead the Marlies, while Andre Deveaux has a team-high six goals. Tim Stapleton has registered an assist in four of his last five games. Toronto has scored the game’s first goal just three times in 11 games, but won all three of those games.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
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