AHL 2002/03

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Master:	Houston Eros
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The 2002–03 season was the 67th regular season of the American Hockey League (AHL). The 28 teams played 80 games each in the regular season.

The AHL last played in the 2002/03 season with the system of six divisions in two conferences . The Eastern Conference consisted of the Canadian Division, North Division, and East Division, while the Western Conference consisted of the Central Division, West Division, and South Division. The Houston Eros won their first Calder Cup in the playoffs against the Hamilton Bulldogs , who finished first in the regular season.

Team changes

The following changes were made before the start of the season:

• The Québec Citadelles merged with the Hamilton Bulldogs and formed the farm teams of the Edmonton Oilers and the Montréal Canadiens .
• The Prince Edward Island Senators were relocated to Binghamton in the US state of New York and from then on played under the name Binghamton Senators in the East Division.
• In the course of a league expansion, the San Antonio Rampage were re-established. The Texans were assigned to the West Division.

Regular season

Closing tables

Abbreviations: GP = games, W = wins, L = defeats, OTL = defeat after overtime , SOL = defeat after shootout , GF = goals scored, GA = goals conceded, Pts = points

Eastern Conference

Canadian Division	GP	W.	L.	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
Hamilton Bulldogs	80	49	19th	8th	4th	279	191	110
Manitoba mosses	80	37	33	8th	2	229	228	84
St. John's Maple Leafs	80	32	40	6th	2	236	285	72
Saint John Flames	80	32	41	6th	1	203	223	71

North Division	GP	W.	L.	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
Providence Bruins	80	44	20th	11	5	268	227	104
Manchester monarchs	80	40	23	11	6th	254	209	97
Worcester IceCats	80	35	27	15th	3	235	220	88
Portland Pirates	80	33	28	13	6th	221	195	85
Lowell Lock Monsters	80	19th	51	7th	3	175	275	48

East Division	GP	W.	L.	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
Binghamton Senators	80	43	26th	9	2	239	207	97
Bridgeport Sound Tigers	80	40	26th	11	3	219	198	94
Hartford Wolf Pack	80	33	27	12	8th	255	236	86
Springfield Falcons	80	34	38	7th	1	202	243	76
Albany River Rats	80	25th	37	11	7th	197	235	68

Western Conference

Central Division	GP	W.	L.	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
Grand Rapids Griffins	80	48	22nd	8th	2	240	177	106
Rochester Americans	80	31	30th	14th	5	219	221	81
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks	80	26th	35	13	6th	202	242	71
Syracuse crunch	80	27	41	8th	4th	201	256	66
Cleveland Barons	80	22nd	48	5	5	203	286	54

West Division	GP	W.	L.	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
Houston Eros	80	47	23	7th	3	266	222	104
Chicago Wolves	80	43	25th	8th	4th	276	237	98
San Antonio Rampage	80	36	29	11	4th	235	226	87
Milwaukee Admirals	80	32	27	14th	7th	247	251	85
Utah grizzlies	80	37	34	4th	5	227	243	83

South Division	GP	W.	L.	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
Norfolk Admirals	80	37	26th	12	5	201	187	91
Hershey Bears	80	36	27	14th	3	217	209	89
Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins	80	36	32	7th	5	245	248	84
Philadelphia Phantoms	80	33	33	6th	8th	198	212	80

Best scorer

Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, PIM = penalty minutes;

player	team	GP	G	A.	Pts	PIM
Steve Maltais	Chicago	79	30th	56	86	86
Jean-Guy Trudel	Houston	79	31	54	85	85
Michel Picard	Grand Rapids	61	41	44	85	99
Mark Mowers	Grand Rapids	78	34	47	81	47
Simon Gamache	Chicago	76	35	42	77	37
Darren Haydar	Milwaukee	75	29	46	75	36
Cory Larose	Houston / Hartford	82	27	48	75	77
Craig Darby	Albany	76	23	51	74	42
Mark Greig	Philadelphia	73	30th	44	74	127
Keith Aucoin	Providence	78	25th	49	74	71

Calder Cup playoffs

Playoff tree

Eastern Conference qualification 1  Hartford Wolf Pack 0  Springfield Falcons 2   Eastern Conference qualification 1  Portland Pirates 1  Manitoba mosses 2

Western Conference qualification 1  Houston Eros 2  Rochester Americans 1   Western Conference qualification 1  Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins 2  Utah grizzlies 0

	Conference quarterfinals					Conference semifinals					Conference finals					Calder Cup Final
	1	Hamilton Bulldogs	3
	10	Springfield Falcons	1
						1	Hamilton Bulldogs	4th
						9	Manitoba mosses	3
	2	Providence Bruins	1
	9	Manitoba mosses	3
											1	Hamilton Bulldogs	4th
	Eastern Conference
											3	Binghamton Senators	1
	3	Binghamton Senators	3
	6th	Worcester IceCats	0
						3	Binghamton Senators	4th
						5	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	2
	4th	Manchester monarchs	0
	5	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	3
																E1	Hamilton Bulldogs	3
																W2	Houston Eros	4th
	1	Grand Rapids Griffins	3
	8th	Wilkes-Barre / Scr. Penguins	1
						1	Grand Rapids Griffins	4th
						4th	Chicago Wolves	0
	2	Houston Eros	3
	7th	Milwaukee Admirals	0
											1	Grand Rapids Griffins	3
	Western Conference
											2	Houston Eros	4th
	3	Norfolk Admirals	3
	6th	San Antonio Rampage	0
						2	Houston Eros	4th
						3	Norfolk Admirals	2
	4th	Chicago Wolves	3
	5	Hershey Bears	2

Calder Cup winner

Calder Cup winner Houston Eros

Goalkeepers: Johan Holmqvist , Dieter Kochan Defenders: Ladislav Benýšek , David Cullen , Chris Dyment , Zbyněk Michálek , Curtis Murphy , Erik Reitz , Travis Roche Attackers: Dan Cavanaugh , Marc Cavosie , Sylvain Cloutier , Mark Cullen , Hnat Domenichelli , Jay Henderson , Jeff Hoggan , Rastislav Pavlikovský , Jean-Guy Trudel , Tony Tuzzolino , Stéphane Veilleux , Rickard Wallin , Kyle Wanvig Head Coach: Todd McLellan   General Manager: Dave Barr

Awarded trophies

Team trophies

Award	team
Calder Cup winners of the AHL playoffs	Houston Eros
Richard F. Canning Trophy winner of the Eastern Conference Finals	Hamilton Bulldogs
Robert W. Clarke Trophy winner of the Western Conference Finals	Houston Eros
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy Best Regular Season Team	Hamilton Bulldogs
Frank S. Mathers Trophy Best Team of the Eastern Conference	Norfolk Admirals
Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy Best Team of the Western Conference	Houston Eros
Emile Francis Trophy Best Team in the Atlantic Division	Providence Bruins
FG "Teddy" Oke Trophy Best team in the East Division	Binghamton Senators
Sam Pollock Trophy Best Team in the North Division	Hamilton Bulldogs
John D. Chick Trophy Best Team in the West Division	Grand Rapids Griffins

Player trophies

Award	player	team
Les Cunningham Award Regular Season MVP	Jason Ward	Hamilton Bulldogs
John B. Sollenberger Trophy Best Scorer	Steve Maltais	Chicago Wolves
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award Best Rookie	Darren Haydar	Milwaukee Admirals
Eddie Shore Award Best Defender	Curtis Murphy	Houston Eros
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award Best Goalkeeper	Marc Lamothe	Grand Rapids Griffins
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award Goalkeeper with the fewest goals conceded	Marc Lamothe	Grand Rapids Griffins
	Joey MacDonald
Louis AR Pieri Memorial Award Best Trainer	Claude Julien	Hamilton Bulldogs
	Geoff Ward
Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award For the player who excels through fairness, commitment and dedication	Chris Ferraro	Portland Pirates
	Eric Healey	Manchester monarchs
Yanick Dupré Memorial Award For the player who distinguishes himself through special commitment in society	Jimmy Roy	Manitoba mosses
Jack A. Butterfield Trophy MVP of the Calder Cup Playoffs	Johan Holmqvist	Houston Eros

Web links

• Official website of the AHL