John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The symbolism is inescapable.

The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, fresh off winning the first playoff series in their seven-year history, hope to keep that momentum going as they continue American Hockey League postseason play.

Cincinnati Mighty Ducks goalkeeper Ilya Bryzgalov. (Ernest Coleman photo)

The Ducks, who went to Houston last week and shocked the defending Calder Cup champions by winning the first two games of a three-game playoff series, open a best-of-seven series tonight at first-place Milwaukee.

"You want to go into the playoffs playing the best hockey of the season, and that's what we're doing," said Mighty Duck Tony Martensson, 23, who had a goal and five assists in the Houston series.

Martensson and the Ducks are hoping to catch the Milwaukee Admirals a little off their edge because of a nearly two-week layoff before tonight's series opener.

"Milwaukee's main asset is their speed," Ducks coach Brad Shaw said. "They are fast with great transition. We have to limit our turnovers, play smart and take a lot of confidence into this series from what we did in Houston."

Said Martensson: "We're going to try to jump them right away."

Ducks vs. Admirals

Season Series: The Ducks were 2-4-2-0 against the Admirals this AHL season, including 1-1-2-0 in Cincinnati and 1-3-0-0 at Milwaukee. ... LW Chris Kunitz had six goals in six games against Milwaukee this season. ... G Ilya Bryzgalov went 2-1-1 with a 3.62 GAA and .903 save percentage in five appearances against the Admirals. ... LW Simon Gamache (three goals, five assists), LW Mathieu Darche (four goals, three assists) and C Greg Classen (three goals, four assists) led Milwaukee in scoring against Cincinnati. ...G Brian Finley posted a 2-2-2 record with a 2.77 GAA and .905 save percentage in six starts against the Ducks. Scouting the Ducks: The Ducks swept Houston 2-0 in a best-of-three qualifying round series, outscoring the Aeros 9-4. ... The line of Tony Martensson (one goal, five assists), Curtis Glencross (one goal, three assists) and Chris Kuntiz (one goal, two assists) accounted for three goals and 13 points in the series against Houston. ... G Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 62 of the 66 shots he faced, going 2-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .939 save percentage. ... The Ducks own the AHL's top-ranked power play in the playoffs at 42.9 percent (3-for-7). ... Cincinnati has allowed just one power-play goal in 13 short-handed situations in the postseason (92.3 percent). Scouting the Admirals: Milwaukee posted the AHL's best record in the regular season, going 46-24-7-3 (.638) for 102 points. ... The Admirals led the AHL in goals (269) and assists (428) and finished second on shots per game (33.58). ... Fourteen players scored 10 goals or more, including five 20-goal scorers: Mathieu Darche (28), Simon Gamache (23), Timofe Shiskanov (23), Darren Haydar (22) and Tony Hrkac (20). ... Curtis Murphy ranked first among AHL defensemen in points (53) and shots (267), second in goals (17) and third in assists (36). ... Brad Tiley finished second among AHL defensemen in power play goals (10). ... G Brian Finley (23-15-4, 2.34 GAA, .918 SPCT) was a first-round pick by Nashville in 1999. Tickets for the Ducks' Calder Cup playoff games are on sale at the Cincinnati Gardens Box Office. Tickets also can be purchased by phone through Ticketmaster at 513-562-4949; toll-free at 1-800-829-5353; at all area Ticketmaster outlets; or on-line. Fans interested in tickets will have the same access to all available seats regardless of how the tickets are purchased (in person, by telephone or on-line).

If the Ducks can win a game or two in Milwaukee, they will come home to the Gardens in great shape and be in position to play in front of a rocking Gardens crowd at 7:35 p.m. Saturday.

Everybody says playoff hockey is the best, and now anybody in Cincinnati who has any curiosity in hockey at all will get the chance to find out.

"This is what you want," Martensson said. "It is so nice to come out on the ice and see the arena almost sold out."

Martensson said it took maybe the whole season for the young guys to learn this kind of hockey.

"It wasn't like we sneaked up on Houston," Martensson said. "... We beat them 4-0 right before the playoffs started. But they won it all last year, so maybe they were still a little satisfied from last year."

Martensson credited Ducks goalie Ilya Bryzgalov for playing rock-solid hockey the entire season. It provided a foundation for the rest of the young team to catch up.

"You have to have a great goalie to win, and we have a great goalie," Martensson said.

Bryzgalov, 23, has watched the Ducks come of age this season.

"I could see us coming together," Bryzgalov said. "We are such a young team, so many guys coming into this league from junior hockey. Having the veterans take a leadership role has really been key here. We have a nice blend here. Everybody wants to win. When we went into Houston, we were sure we'd beat them. Nobody doubted it. It's the same situation right now."

Shaw said the team really started to unite with 11 or 12 games left in the regular season.

"We had kind of put ourselves behind the eight-ball a little bit, gone through a 1-8-1 stretch and really had a tough time scoring goals," Shaw said. "I was messing with the lineup and trying different combinations and maybe pushing the panic button a little soon."

About that time, the brain trust and the players had a meeting.

"We said, 'Listen, we've got these games left and we want points in every game, at least a point in every game,' " Shaw said. "We didn't win very many of those games, but up to then we hadn't played very well on the road, and then we started to, consistently. As a team, we got a lot of confidence out of that stretch. It showed us how defense can win games down the stretch and into the playoffs."

The mantra going into the season was Make the Playoffs.

"We had Bryzgalov and everybody knows a goalie can take you a long way," Shaw said. The team we had October 1st is a mere shadow of what we have now as far as having the skill level and ability to play a pro game versus a college or a junior game. Guys have a much better idea of what they need to do to be successful as individuals and as a team. We had glimpses in January and February, but then we took some steps backwards."

Shaw gives a lot of credit to Dan Bylsma, 33.

"As a coach, you can say what you want, but if it's not followed up by comments in the (locker) room, then it doesn't carry a lot of weight," Shaw said. "He's a guy who went to the finals last year. He worked his way up from the minors and forged a career by working hard. He's not a fancy guy at all. He's a great example for these guys.

"There has been great veteran leadership, and Bylsma just happens to be the most vocal," Shaw said. "That's helped get the message across to the guys who aren't quite sure."

Martensson is pleased with the way his season has gone.

"I got my first NHL games and that was my goal going into the season," he said. "It's always fun to score points, and I've played with great players the whole year."

West Division Semifinals Schedule

Game 1 Wednesday, April 21 Cincinnati at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Game 2 Friday, April 23 Cincinnati at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Game 3 Saturday, April 24 Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 7:35 p.m.
Game 4 Monday, April 26 Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 7:35 p.m.
*Game 5 Wednesday, April 28 Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 7:35 p.m.
*Game 6 Friday, April 30 Cincinnati at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
*Game 7 TBD Cincinnati at Milwaukee, TBD

*If Necessary