2000–01 AHL season
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
- The Norfolk Admirals join the AHL as an expansion team, based in Norfolk, Virginia, playing in the South division.
- The Lowell Lock Monsters switch divisions from Atlantic to New England.
- The Hamilton Bulldogs switch divisions from Empire State to Canadian.
- The Albany River Rats, Rochester Americans, Syracuse Crunch and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins switch from the Empire State division to the Mid-Atlantic division.
- The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, Kentucky Thoroughblades and Louisville Panthers switch from the Mid-Atlantic division to the South division.
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 (CGY) | 80 | 44 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 100 | 269 | 210 |
| Quebec Citadelles (MTL) | 80 | 41 | 32 | 3 | 4 | 89 | 264 | 252 |
| St. John's Maple Leafs (TOR) | 80 | 35 | 35 | 8 | 2 | 80 | 247 | 244 |
| Hamilton Bulldogs (EDM) | 80 | 28 | 41 | 6 | 5 | 67 | 227 | 281 |
| New England | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester IceCats (STL) | 80 | 48 | 20 | 9 | 3 | 108 | 264 | 205 |
| Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR) | 80 | 40 | 26 | 8 | 6 | 94 | 263 | 247 |
| Providence Bruins (BOS) | 80 | 35 | 31 | 10 | 4 | 84 | 245 | 242 |
| Lowell Lock Monsters (LA/NYI) | 80 | 35 | 35 | 5 | 5 | 80 | 225 | 244 |
| Portland Pirates (WAS) | 80 | 34 | 40 | 4 | 2 | 74 | 250 | 280 |
| Springfield Falcons (PHX/NYI) | 80 | 29 | 37 | 8 | 6 | 72 | 253 | 280 |
Western Conference
| Mid-Atlantic | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester Americans (BUF) | 80 | 46 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 104 | 224 | 192 |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (PIT) | 80 | 36 | 33 | 9 | 2 | 83 | 252 | 248 |
| Syracuse Crunch (CBJ) | 80 | 33 | 30 | 12 | 5 | 83 | 235 | 254 |
| Philadelphia Phantoms (PHI) | 80 | 36 | 34 | 5 | 5 | 82 | 246 | 244 |
| Hershey Bears (COL) | 80 | 34 | 39 | 4 | 3 | 75 | 216 | 234 |
| Albany River Rats (NJ) | 80 | 30 | 40 | 6 | 4 | 70 | 216 | 262 |
| South | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Thoroughblades (SJ) | 80 | 42 | 25 | 12 | 1 | 97 | 273 | 212 |
| Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (ANA/DET) | 80 | 41 | 26 | 9 | 4 | 95 | 254 | 240 |
| Norfolk Admirals (CHI) | 80 | 36 | 26 | 13 | 5 | 90 | 241 | 208 |
| Louisville Panthers (FLA) | 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
| 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. [1]
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 |