2002–03 AHL season
The 2002–03 AHL season was the 67th season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-eight teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Hamilton Bulldogs finished first overall in the regular season. The Houston Aeros won their first Calder Cup championship.
Team changes
- The Quebec Citadelles move to Hamilton, Ontario, merging with the Hamilton Bulldogs, operating with as a joint affiliate for the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens.
- The dormant Prince Edward Island Senators resume operations as the Binghamton Senators, based in Binghamton, New York, playing in the east division.
- The Providence Bruins switch divisions from East to North.
- The Grand Rapids Griffins switch divisions from West to Central.
- The San Antonio Rampage join the AHL as an expansion team, based in San Antonio, Texas, playing in the west 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Bulldogs (EDM/MTL) | 80 | 49 | 19 | 8 | 4 | 110 | 279 | 191 |
| Manitoba Moose (VAN) | 80 | 37 | 33 | 8 | 2 | 84 | 229 | 228 |
| St. John's Maple Leafs (TOR) | 80 | 32 | 40 | 6 | 2 | 72 | 236 | 285 |
| Saint John Flames (CGY) | 80 | 32 | 41 | 6 | 1 | 71 | 203 | 223 |
| North | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence Bruins (BOS) | 80 | 44 | 20 | 11 | 5 | 104 | 268 | 227 |
| Manchester Monarchs (LA) | 80 | 40 | 23 | 11 | 6 | 97 | 254 | 209 |
| Worcester IceCats (STL) | 80 | 35 | 27 | 15 | 3 | 88 | 235 | 220 |
| Portland Pirates (WSH) | 80 | 33 | 28 | 13 | 6 | 85 | 221 | 195 |
| Lowell Lock Monsters (CAR) | 80 | 19 | 51 | 7 | 3 | 48 | 175 | 275 |
| East | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binghamton Senators (OTT) | 80 | 43 | 26 | 9 | 2 | 97 | 239 | 207 |
| Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI) | 80 | 40 | 26 | 11 | 3 | 94 | 219 | 198 |
| Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR) | 80 | 33 | 27 | 12 | 8 | 86 | 255 | 236 |
| Springfield Falcons (PHX/TB) | 80 | 34 | 38 | 7 | 1 | 76 | 202 | 243 |
| Albany River Rats (NJ) | 80 | 25 | 37 | 11 | 7 | 68 | 197 | 235 |
Western Conference
| Central | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) | 80 | 48 | 22 | 8 | 2 | 106 | 240 | 177 |
| Rochester Americans (BUF) | 80 | 31 | 30 | 14 | 5 | 81 | 219 | 221 |
| Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (ANA) | 80 | 26 | 35 | 13 | 6 | 71 | 202 | 242 |
| Syracuse Crunch (CBJ) | 80 | 27 | 41 | 8 | 4 | 66 | 201 | 256 |
| Cleveland Barons (SJ) | 80 | 22 | 48 | 5 | 5 | 54 | 203 | 286 |
| West | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Aeros (MIN) | 80 | 47 | 23 | 7 | 3 | 104 | 266 | 222 |
| Chicago Wolves (ATL) | 80 | 43 | 25 | 8 | 4 | 98 | 276 | 237 |
| San Antonio Rampage (FLA) | 80 | 36 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 87 | 235 | 226 |
| Milwaukee Admirals (NSH) | 80 | 32 | 27 | 14 | 7 | 85 | 247 | 251 |
| Utah Grizzlies (DAL) | 80 | 37 | 34 | 4 | 5 | 83 | 227 | 243 |
| South | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk Admirals (CHI) | 80 | 37 | 26 | 12 | 5 | 91 | 201 | 187 |
| Hershey Bears (COL) | 80 | 36 | 27 | 14 | 3 | 89 | 217 | 209 |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (PIT) | 80 | 36 | 32 | 7 | 5 | 84 | 245 | 248 |
| Philadelphia Phantoms (PHI) | 80 | 33 | 33 | 6 | 8 | 80 | 198 | 212 |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Maltais | Chicago Wolves | 79 | 30 | 56 | 86 | 86 |
| Jean-Guy Trudel | Houston Aeros | 79 | 31 | 54 | 85 | 85 |
| Michel Picard | Grand Rapids Griffins | 61 | 41 | 44 | 85 | 99 |
| Mark Mowers | Grand Rapids Griffins | 78 | 34 | 47 | 81 | 47 |
| Simon Gamache | Chicago Wolves | 76 | 35 | 42 | 77 | 37 |
| Darren Haydar | Milwaukee Admirals | 75 | 29 | 46 | 75 | 36 |
| Cory Larose | Houston Aeros / Hartford Wolf Pack | 82 | 27 | 48 | 75 | 77 |
| Craig Darby | Albany River Rats | 76 | 23 | 51 | 74 | 42 |
| Mark Greig | Philadelphia Phantoms | 73 | 30 | 44 | 74 | 127 |
| Keith Aucoin | Providence Bruins | 78 | 25 | 49 | 74 | 71 |
Calder Cup playoffs
Main article: 2003 Calder Cup playoffs
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| Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Calder Cup Final | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Hamilton | 3 | 1 | Hamilton | 4 | |||||||||||||
| 8 | Springfield | 1 | 9 | Manitoba | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Providence | 1 | Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | Manitoba | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Hamilton | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Binghamton | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Binghamton | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Worcester | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Manchester | 0 | 3 | Binghamton | 4 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Bridgeport | 3 | 5 | Bridgeport | 2 | |||||||||||||
| E1 | Hamilton | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| (Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Houston | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Grand Rapids | 3 | 1 | Grand Rapids | 4 | |||||||||||||
| 8 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 1 | 4 | Chicago | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Houston | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Milwaukee | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Grand Rapids | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Houston | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Norfolk | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | San Antonio | 0 | Western Conference | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | Chicago | 3 | 2 | Houston | 4 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Hershey | 2 | 3 | Norfolk | 2 | |||||||||||||
- During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice.
All Star Classic
The 16th AHL All-Star Game was played on February 3, 2003 at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine. Team Canada defeated Team PlanetUSA 10-7. In the skills competition held the day before the All-Star Game, Team Canada won 15-13 over Team PlanetUSA.
Trophy and award winners
Team awards
| Calder Cup Playoff champions: | Houston Aeros |
| Richard F. Canning Trophy Eastern Conference playoff champions: | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| Robert W. Clarke Trophy Western Conference playoff champions: | Houston Aeros |
| Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy Regular season champions, league: | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| Frank Mathers Trophy Regular season champions, South Division: | Norfolk Admirals |
| Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy Regular season champions, West Division: | Houston Aeros |
| Emile Francis Trophy Regular season champions, North Division: | Providence Bruins |
| F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy Regular season champions, East Division: | Binghamton Senators |
| Sam Pollock Trophy Regular season champions, Canadian Division: | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| John D. Chick Trophy Regular season champions, Central Division: | Grand Rapids Griffins |
Individual awards
| Les Cunningham Award Most valuable player: | Jason Ward - Hamilton Bulldogs |
| John B. Sollenberger Trophy Top point scorer: | Steve Maltais - Chicago Wolves |
| Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award Rookie of the year: | Darren Haydar - Milwaukee Admirals |
| Eddie Shore Award Defenceman of the year: | Curtis Murphy - Houston Aeros |
| Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award Best goaltender: | Marc Lamothe - Grand Rapids Griffins |
| Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award Lowest goals against average: | Marc Lamothe, Joey MacDonald - Grand Rapids Griffins |
| Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award Coach of the year: | Claude Julien & Geoff Ward - Hamilton Bulldogs |
| Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award Sportsmanship / Perseverance: | Chris Ferraro - Portland Pirates & Eric Healey - Manchester Monarchs |
| Yanick Dupre Memorial Award Community Service Award: | Jimmy Roy - Manitoba Moose |
| Jack A. Butterfield Trophy MVP of the playoffs: | Johan Holmqvist - Houston Aeros |
Other awards
| James C. Hendy Memorial Award Most outstanding executive: | Jeff Barrett, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins |
| Thomas Ebright Memorial Award Career contributions: | Bill Watters |
| James H. Ellery Memorial Awards Outstanding media coverage: | Joe Conklin, Grand Rapids, (newspaper) Dave Ahlers, Portland, (radio) Rogers Sportsnet, (television) |
| Ken McKenzie Award Outstanding marketing executive: | Don Helbig, Cincinnati Mighty Ducks |
| Michael Condon Memorial Award Outstanding service, on-ice official: | Marty Demers |
See also
References
| Preceded by 2001–02 AHL season |
AHL seasons | Succeeded by 2003–04 AHL season |
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