American Hockey League Wiki

The 2000–01 AHL season was the 65th season of the American Hockey League. The league realigns its divisions again. The Atlantic division is renamed the Canadian division. The Empire State division is replaced by the South division, with many teams shifting from the Mid-Atlantic division.

Twenty teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Worcester IceCats finished first overall in the regular season. The Saint John Flames won their first Calder Cup championship.

Team Changes[]

Final Standings[]

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points;

Eastern Conference[]

Canadian GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA
Saint John Flames 80 44 24 7 5 100 269 210
Quebec Citadelles 80 41 32 3 4 89 264 252
St. John's Maple Leafs 80 35 35 8 2 80 247 244
Hamilton Bulldogs 80 28 41 6 5 67 227 281
New England GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA
Worcester IceCats 80 48 20 9 3 108 264 205
Hartford Wolf Pack 80 40 26 8 6 94 263 247
Providence Bruins 80 35 31 10 4 84 245 242
Lowell Lock Monsters 80 35 35 5 5 80 225 244
Portland Pirates 80 34 40 4 2 74 250 280
Springfield Falcons 80 29 37 8 6 72 253 280

Western Conference[]

Mid-Atlantic GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA
Rochester Americans 80 46 22 9 3 104 224 192
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 80 36 33 9 2 83 252 248
Syracuse Crunch 80 33 30 12 5 83 235 254
Philadelphia Phantoms 80 36 34 5 5 82 246 244
Hershey Bears 80 34 39 4 3 75 216 234
Albany River Rats 80 30 40 6 4 70 216 262
South GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA
Kentucky Thoroughblades 80 42 25 12 1 97 273 212
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks 80 41 26 9 4 95 254 240
Norfolk Admirals 80 36 26 13 5 90 241 208
Louisville Panthers 80 21 51 5 3 50 200 285

Scoring Leaders[]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Derek Armstrong Hartford Wolf Pack 75 32 69 101 73
Jean-Guy Trudel Springfield Falcons 80 34 65 99 89
Ryan Kraft Kentucky Thoroughblades 77 38 50 88 36
Mark Greig Philadelphia Phantoms 74 31 57 88 98
Brad Smyth Hartford Wolf Pack 77 50 29 79 110
Bill Bowler Syracuse Crunch 72 21 58 79 50
Mikael Samuelsson Kentucky Thoroughblades 66 32 46 78 58
Marty Murray Saint John Flames 56 24 52 76 36
Jim Montgomery Kentucky Thoroughblades 55 22 52 74 44
Steve Bancroft Kentucky Thoroughblades 80 23 50 73 162

Calder Cup Playoffs[]

Main article: 2001 Calder Cup Playoffs
  Division Semifinals Division Finals Conference Finals Calder Cup Final
                                     
C1  Saint John 3  
N5  Portland 0  
  C1  Saint John 4  
Canadian Division
  C2  Quebec 1  
C2  Quebec 3
C3  St. John's 1  
  C1  Saint John 4  
Eastern Conference
  N3  Providence 1  
N1  Worcester 3  
N4  Lowell 1  
  N1  Worcester 3
New England Division
  N3  Providence 4  
N2  Hartford 2
N3  Providence 3  
  C1  Saint John 4
  M2  Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2
M1  Rochester 1  
M4  Philadelphia 3  
  M2  Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4
Mid-Atlantic Division
  M4  Philadelphia 2  
M2  Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3
M3  Syracuse 2  
  M2  Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4
Western Conference
  M5  Hershey 0  
S1  Kentucky 0  
M5  Hershey 3  
  S3  Norfolk 1
Southern Division
  M5  Hershey 4  
S2  Cincinnati 1
S3  Norfolk 3  

All Star Classic[]

The 14th AHL All-Star Game was played on January 15, 2001 at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Team Canada defeated Team PlanetUSA 11-10. In the skills competition held the day before the All-Star Game, Team PlanetUSA won 16-8 over Team Canada.

Trophy and Award Winners[]

Team Awards[]

Calder Cup
Playoff champions:
Saint John Flames
Richard F. Canning Trophy
Eastern Conference playoff champions:
Saint John Flames
Robert W. Clarke Trophy
Western Conference playoff champions:
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy
Regular season champions, League:
Worcester IceCats
Frank Mathers Trophy
Regular Season champions, Mid-Atlantic Division:
Rochester Americans
F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy
Regular Season champions, New England Division:
Worcester IceCats
Sam Pollock Trophy
Regular Season champions, Canadian Division:
Saint John Flames
John D. Chick Trophy
Regular Season champions, South Division:
Kentucky Thoroughblades

Individual Awards[]

Les Cunningham Award
Most valuable player:
Derek Armstrong - Hartford Wolf Pack
John B. Sollenberger Trophy
Top point scorer:
Derek Armstrong - Hartford Wolf Pack
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award
Rookie of the year:
Ryan Kraft - Kentucky Thoroughblades
Eddie Shore Award
Defenceman of the year:
John Slaney - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton / Philadelphia
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award
Best goaltender:
Dwayne Roloson - Worcester IceCats
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award
Lowest goals against average:
Mika Noronen & Tom Askey - Rochester Americans
Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award
Coach of the year:
Don Granato - Worcester IceCats
Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award
Sportsmanship / Perseverance:
Kent Hulst - Portland / Providence
Yanick Dupre Memorial Award
Community Service Award:
Mike Minard - St. John's Maple Leafs
Jack A. Butterfield Trophy
MVP of the playoffs:
Steve Begin - Saint John Flames

Other Awards[]

James C. Hendy Memorial Award
Most outstanding executive:
Stew MacDonald, Saint John Flames
Thomas Ebright Memorial Award
Career contributions:
Bill Torrey
James H. Ellery Memorial Awards
Outstanding media coverage:
Tris Wykes, Norfolk, (newspaper)
Bob Crawford, Hartford, (radio)
Fox Sports Net, Pittsburgh, (television)
Ken McKenzie Award
Outstanding marketing executive:
Dave Cieslinski, Rochester Americans

See Also[]