I thought this article was interesting, in light of the angst over the Amerks weak regular season finish. I'm not a big AHL follower, so I'd appreciate opinions on whether the first round upsets help clear the track for Rochester or set an ominous tone for what might be in store in Round 2.
http://www.theahl.com/AHL/News/2005/05/02/1022533.html
Top seeds fall as first round concludes
Division final previews
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … Eight teams finished the 2004-05 American Hockey League regular season with at least 100 points in the standings, the highest number in the AHL’s 69-year history. By the time the first round of the 2005 Calder Cup Playoffs concluded on Sunday, only four were remaining.
The Manchester Monarchs and the Hartford Wolf Pack spent much of the season battling for first place, leaving the rest of the Atlantic Division in their wake. But a combined 101 wins and 216 points meant nothing as it will be the Lowell Lock Monsters and Providence Bruins advancing to the second round of the playoffs following six-game victories.
The Binghamton Senators rang up 106 points, were the AHL’s hottest team down the stretch in the regular season and appeared in control after winning the first two games of their East Division semifinal with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. But the Penguins stunned the Senators – predicted by many to win the Eastern Conference – with four straight victories and will face the Philadelphia Phantoms in the next round.
And the Milwaukee Admirals had high hopes after registering 103 points in 2004-05, but a worthy Cincinnati Mighty Ducks team kept pace through six games, then got a goal from Mark Popovic with 12.9 seconds left in Game 7 to oust the defending Calder Cup champions. The Mighty Ducks will meet a rested Chicago Wolves in the West Division final after Chicago disposed of Houston in five games.
In the North Division, Rochester bounced back after having lost eight of its final 11 regular-season matches and swept through Hamilton in four straight, while Manitoba earned a split in St. John’s, then took three in a row in Winnipeg to eliminate the Maple Leafs in five.
DIVISION SEMIFINAL NOTES … Five of the eight first-round series were won by the lower seed (three third-place teams, two fourth-place teams)… Providence, Wilkes-Barre and Cincinnati each has a chance to join three other teams in AHL history in eliminating two 100-point teams in the same postseason…
Cincinnati’s Game 7 win in Milwaukee was the only victory by the road team in that series… The Mighty Ducks became the 13th team in AHL history to win a series after trailing 3-1… Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had lost nine straight meetings with Binghamton before sweeping the last four…
The Penguins are the 15th team in AHL history to come back from 0-2 down to win a best-of-seven series, and the second franchise (Adirondack, 1988-89) to accomplish the feat in back-to-back years…
None of the AHL’s top five scorers in the regular season – Jason Spezza, Mike Cammalleri, David Ling, Kyle Wellwood and Simon Gamache – survived to see the second round… Ditto five of the top six goaltenders ranked by GAA…
This will be the 14th consecutive season without a successful Calder Cup championship defense… Average attendance in the first round was 4,275 – up 23.1 percent from the division semifinal round in 2004, and the highest first-round average since 1998.
