Thursday, February 17, 2000
Mighty Ducks 5, Hamilton 1
Cincinnati suddenly back in contention
BY JOHN P. WISE
Enquirer contributor
It wasn't so long ago that the Mighty Ducks were falling behind in the Mid-Atlantic Division, watching the rest of the pack muscle over the top seeds for April's postseason.
Winners only once in their first 12 games of last month, the Ducks went from a team contending for second place to being rudely relegated to the division's basement.
But after Wednesday's 5-1 win over Hamilton before 2,632 at Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati improved to 6-1-1 since Jan.29. The team is now within nine points of fourth-place Hershey. Only six days ago, the Ducks' deficit was at 15.
Catching Hershey won't only mean a spot in fourth place in the AHL's toughest division. The Bears are last of the top four teams in the Mid-Atlantic, but the four are separated by just six points. That means if the Ducks catch Hershey, the entire division could be scrambling just to get into the playoffs.
First things first, though, Ducks coach Moe Mantha warned.
“Our goal was to get back to .500 and then take it from there,” said Mantha, whose team improves to 22-21-7-3. “All we ask is for our guys to play their hardest and to control the way we play the game. We don't want to worry about what the other teams do.”
Having missed 237 man-games to injuries and NHL call-ups, the Ducks have been forced to rely on unusual suspects. Take Jay Legault, whose 10th goal of the year Wednesday marked his first career four-game goal-scoring streak. Legault is one of several Ducks sporting a new tattoo around the locker room.
“I've scored a goal every game I've had it, so I guess it's bringing me good luck,” he said.
Jesse Wallin, in his second game back from injured status, scored his second goal of the year. It was his first goal in 95 days, while teammate Lloyd Shaw — yes, Lloyd Shaw — scored his first goal since April; it was short-handed to boot. Shaw finished with a plus-4 for the night, as well as first star of the game honors.
“They know I won't get a plus-4 every night, and I won't get first star every night,” Shaw said. “But I'll take it when it comes.”
Hamilton ....... 0 1 0-1
Cincinnati ....... 1 3 1-5
First period: Cin, DiRoberto 13 (Legault, Jacques) 9:09.
Second period: Ham, Kilger 3 (Sarno, Swanson) 6:22 (ppg); Cin, Wallin 2 (Stevenson, Young) 6:45; Cin, Legault 10 (Ferguson, Wren) 10:34; Cin, Shaw 1 (Davidsson, Stevenson) 11:55 (shg).
Third period: Cin, Audet 16 (Chouinard, Pavlikovsky) 17:52.
Shots on Goal: Ham, 10-15-7—32; Cin, 6-11-8—25. Goalies: Ham, Heffler (20 saves); Cin, Naumenko (31). Power plays: Ham 1-for-6; Cin 0-for-4.
Attendance: 2,632.
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