The 2006–07 AHL season was the 71st season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-seven teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Hamilton Bulldogs won their first Calder Cup, defeating the defending champions, the Hershey Bears in the finals.
| 2006–07 AHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | American Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 4, 2006 - April 15, 2007 |
| Regular season | |
| Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy | Hershey Bears |
| Season MVP | Darren Haydar |
| Top scorer | Darren Haydar |
| Playoffs | |
| Playoffs MVP | Carey Price |
| Calder Cup | |
| Champions | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| Runners-up | Hershey Bears |
Team changes
edit- The Lowell Lock Monsters are purchased by the New Jersey Devils, and renamed the Lowell Devils.
- The Cleveland Barons are relocated to Worcester, Massachusetts and renamed the Worcester Sharks, playing in the Atlantic Division.
- The Albany River Rats shift from the Atlantic Division to the East Division.
Rules changes
editThe league mandated that players wear a hockey helmet with a visor, following research on eye injuries by Mayo Clinic physician Michael Stuart.[1]
Final standings
edit- y– indicates team clinched division and a playoff spot
- x– indicates team clinched a playoff spot
- e– indicates team was eliminated from playoff contention
Eastern Conference
edit| Atlantic Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y–Manchester Monarchs (LAK) | 80 | 51 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 110 | 242 | 182 |
| x–Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR) | 80 | 47 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 98 | 231 | 201 |
| x–Providence Bruins (BOS) | 80 | 44 | 30 | 2 | 4 | 94 | 251 | 218 |
| x–Worcester Sharks (SJS) | 80 | 41 | 28 | 3 | 8 | 93 | 247 | 244 |
| e–Lowell Devils (NJD) | 80 | 38 | 30 | 6 | 6 | 88 | 212 | 220 |
| e–Portland Pirates (ANA) | 80 | 37 | 31 | 3 | 9 | 86 | 225 | 232 |
| e–Springfield Falcons (TBL) | 80 | 28 | 49 | 1 | 2 | 59 | 181 | 268 |
| East Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y–Hershey Bears (WSH) | 80 | 51 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 114 | 305 | 219 |
| x–Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (EDM/PIT) | 80 | 51 | 23 | 2 | 4 | 108 | 276 | 221 |
| x–Norfolk Admirals (CHI) | 80 | 50 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 108 | 301 | 257 |
| x–Albany River Rats (CAR/COL) | 80 | 37 | 36 | 4 | 3 | 81 | 246 | 258 |
| e–Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI) | 80 | 36 | 37 | 1 | 6 | 79 | 229 | 267 |
| e–Philadelphia Phantoms (PHI) | 80 | 31 | 41 | 2 | 6 | 70 | 222 | 271 |
| e–Binghamton Senators (OTT) | 80 | 23 | 48 | 4 | 5 | 55 | 225 | 323 |
Western Conference
edit| North Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y–Manitoba Moose (VAN) | 80 | 45 | 23 | 7 | 5 | 102 | 232 | 201 |
| x–Rochester Americans (BUF/FLA) | 80 | 48 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 98 | 269 | 250 |
| x–Hamilton Bulldogs (EDM/MTL) | 80 | 43 | 28 | 3 | 6 | 95 | 243 | 208 |
| x–Grand Rapids Griffins (DET/EDM) | 80 | 37 | 32 | 6 | 5 | 85 | 226 | 244 |
| e–Syracuse Crunch (CBJ) | 80 | 34 | 34 | 4 | 8 | 80 | 250 | 248 |
| e–Toronto Marlies (TOR) | 80 | 34 | 39 | 2 | 5 | 75 | 220 | 270 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y–Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (CGY) | 80 | 49 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 104 | 214 | 189 |
| x–Chicago Wolves (ATL) | 80 | 46 | 25 | 3 | 6 | 101 | 331 | 252 |
| x–Milwaukee Admirals (EDM/NSH) | 80 | 41 | 25 | 4 | 10 | 96 | 227 | 230 |
| x–Iowa Stars (DAL/EDM) | 80 | 42 | 34 | 3 | 1 | 88 | 221 | 231 |
| e–Peoria Rivermen (STL) | 80 | 37 | 33 | 2 | 8 | 84 | 221 | 242 |
| e–San Antonio Rampage (PHX) | 80 | 32 | 42 | 2 | 4 | 70 | 219 | 256 |
| e–Houston Aeros (MIN) | 80 | 27 | 43 | 4 | 6 | 64 | 205 | 269 |
Scoring leaders
editNote: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darren Haydar | Chicago Wolves | 73 | 41 | 81 | 122 | 55 |
| Keith Aucoin | Albany River Rats | 65 | 27 | 72 | 99 | 108 |
| Martin St. Pierre | Norfolk Admirals | 65 | 27 | 72 | 99 | 100 |
| Brett Sterling | Chicago Wolves | 77 | 55 | 42 | 97 | 96 |
| Cory Larose | Chicago Wolves | 63 | 22 | 61 | 83 | 75 |
| Jason Jaffray | Manitoba Moose | 77 | 35 | 46 | 81 | 75 |
| Mathieu Darche | Worcester Sharks | 76 | 35 | 45 | 80 | 72 |
| Jason Krog | Chicago Wolves | 44 | 26 | 54 | 80 | 20 |
| Troy Brouwer | Norfolk Admirals | 66 | 41 | 38 | 79 | 70 |
| P. A. Parenteau | Portland Pirates / Norfolk Admirals | 68 | 30 | 49 | 79 | 47 |
Leading goaltenders
editNote: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | SL | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew MacIntyre | Manitoba Moose | 28 | 1618 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 54 | 6 | .932 | 2.00 |
| Curtis McElhinney | Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights | 57 | 3181 | 35 | 17 | 1 | 113 | 7 | .917 | 2.13 |
| Jaroslav Halak | Hamilton Bulldogs | 41 | 2290 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 83 | 3 | .922 | 2.17 |
| Jason LaBarbera | Manchester Monarchs | 62 | 3619 | 39 | 20 | 1 | 133 | 7 | .933 | 2.21 |
| Al Montoya | Hartford Wolf Pack | 48 | 2556 | 27 | 17 | 0 | 98 | 6 | .914 | 2.30 |
Calder Cup Playoffs
edit| Division Semi-finals | Division Finals | Conference Finals | Calder Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Manchester | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Worcester | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Manchester | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| A3 | Providence | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Hartford | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| A3 | Providence | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Manchester | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern | |||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Hershey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Hershey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Albany | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Hershey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | WBS | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | WBS | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Norfolk | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Hershey | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Hamilton | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Manitoba | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Grand Rapids | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Manitoba | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Hamilton | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Rochester | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Hamilton | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Hamilton | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western | |||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Chicago | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Omaha | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Iowa | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Iowa | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Milwaukee | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
All Star Classic
editThe 20th AHL All-Star Classic was played on January 29, 2007 at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario. Team PlanetUSA defeated Team Canada 7-6. In the skills competition held the night before, Team PlanetUSA defeated Team Canada 19-14. [1] [2] Archived 2007-01-29 at the Wayback Machine
Trophy and award winners
editTeam awards
edit| Calder Cup Playoff champions: |
Hamilton Bulldogs |
| Richard F. Canning Trophy Eastern Conference playoff champions: |
Hershey Bears |
| Robert W. Clarke Trophy Western Conference playoff champions: |
Hamilton Bulldogs |
| Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy Regular season champions, League: |
Hershey Bears |
| Frank Mathers Trophy Regular season champions, Eastern Conference: |
Hershey Bears |
| Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy Regular season champions, Western Conference: |
Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights |
| Emile Francis Trophy Regular season champions, Atlantic Division: |
Manchester Monarchs |
| F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy Regular season champions, East Division: |
Hershey Bears |
| Sam Pollock Trophy Regular season champions, North Division: |
Manitoba Moose |
| John D. Chick Trophy Regular season champions, West Division: |
Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights |
Individual awards
edit| Les Cunningham Award Most valuable player: |
Darren Haydar – Chicago Wolves |
| John B. Sollenberger Trophy Top point scorer: |
Darren Haydar – Chicago Wolves |
| Willie Marshall Award Top goal scorer: |
Brett Sterling – Chicago Wolves |
| Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award Rookie of the year: |
Brett Sterling – Chicago Wolves |
| Eddie Shore Award Defenceman of the year: |
Sheldon Brookbank – Milwaukee Admirals |
| Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award Best goaltender: |
Jason LaBarbera – Manchester Monarchs |
| Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award Lowest goals against average: |
Jason LaBarbera – Manchester Monarchs |
| Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award Coach of the year: |
Mike Haviland – Norfolk Admirals |
| Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award Sportsmanship / Perseverance: |
Mike Keane – Manitoba Moose |
| Yanick Dupre Memorial Award Community Service Award: |
Matt Carkner – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins |
| Jack A. Butterfield Trophy MVP of the playoffs: |
Carey Price – Hamilton Bulldogs |
Other awards
edit| James C. Hendy Memorial Award Most outstanding executive: |
Jon Greenberg, Milwaukee Admirals |
| Thomas Ebright Memorial Award Career contributions: |
Frank Miceli |
| James H. Ellery Memorial Awards Outstanding media coverage: |
Bill Ballou, Worcester, (newspaper) John Bartlett, Toronto, (radio) Mark Giangreco, Chicago, (television) |
| Ken McKenzie Award Outstanding marketing executive: |
Randy Cleves, Grand Rapids Griffins |
| Michael Condon Memorial Award Outstanding service, on-ice official: |
Leo Boylan |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Cristodero, Damian (October 22, 2007). "Risking Their Eyesight". Tampa Bay Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. Retrieved March 2, 2023.