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2001–02 AHL season
League American Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Regular season
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Season MVP Eric Boguniecki
Top scorer Donald MacLean
Calder Cup playoffs
Calder Cup playoffs MVP Pasi Nurminen
Finals champions Chicago Wolves
  Runners-up Bridgeport Sound Tigers
AHL seasons
←  2000-01
2002–03 →

The 2001–02 AHL season was the 66th season of the American Hockey League. It was the season of the biggest growth in the AHL's history, as it accepted eight new teams. The demise of the International Hockey League brought six teams transferring from the defunct league, in addition to two expansion teams.

The AHL realigned divisions again. The Eastern conference consisted of the East, North and Canadian divisions. The Western conference consisted of the Central, South and West divisions. The league also announced three additional trophies, two of which were awarded for the regular season champions of the new divisions. The Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy went to the West division, and the Emile Francis Trophy went to the North division. The third trophy, the Michael Condon Memorial Award was first awarded for outstanding service by an on-ice official in the AHL.

Twenty-seven teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers finished first overall in the regular season. The Chicago Wolves won their first Calder Cup championship, in their inaugural AHL season.

Team changes

Teams from the International Hockey League

Six teams transferred to the American Hockey League, when the International Hockey League ceased operations.

Final standings

  •  y–  indicates team clinched division and a playoff spot
  •  x–  indicates team clinched a playoff spot
  •  e–  indicates team was eliminated from playoff contention

Eastern Conference

Canadian Division GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA
y– Quebec Citadelles ( MTL) 80 35 27 15 3 88 257 254
x– Hamilton Bulldogs ( EDM) 80 37 30 10 3 87 247 205
x– St. John's Maple Leafs ( TOR) 80 34 27 17 2 87 256 240
x– Manitoba Moose ( VAN) 80 39 33 4 4 86 270 260
e– Saint John Flames ( CGY) 80 29 34 13 4 75 182 202
North Division GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA
y– Lowell Lock Monsters ( CAR) 80 41 25 11 3 96 229 209
x– Manchester Monarchs ( LAK) 80 38 28 11 3 90 236 225
x– Worcester IceCats ( STL) 80 39 33 7 1 86 245 218
e– Portland Pirates ( WSH) 80 30 31 15 4 79 220 225
e– Springfield Falcons ( PHX/ TBL) 80 35 41 2 2 74 213 237
East Division GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA
y– Bridgeport Sound Tigers ( NYI) 80 43 25 8 4 98 240 192
x– Hartford Wolf Pack ( NYR) 80 41 26 10 3 95 249 243
x– Providence Bruins ( BOS) 80 35 33 8 4 82 190 223
e– Albany River Rats ( NJD) 80 14 42 12 12 52 172 271

Western Conference

Central Division GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA
y– Syracuse Crunch ( CBJ) 80 39 23 13 5 96 228 193
x– Rochester Americans ( BUF) 80 32 30 15 3 82 206 211
x– Cincinnati Mighty Ducks ( ANA/ DET) 80 33 33 11 3 80 216 211
e– Cleveland Barons ( SJS) 80 29 40 7 4 69 223 268
West Division GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA
y– Grand Rapids Griffins ( OTT) 80 42 27 11 0 95 217 178
x– Houston Aeros ( MIN) 80 39 26 10 5 93 234 232
x– Utah Grizzlies ( DAL/ FLA) 80 40 29 6 5 91 240 225
x– Chicago Wolves ( ATL) 80 37 31 7 5 86 250 236
e– Milwaukee Admirals ( NSH) 80 30 35 10 5 75 198 207
South Division GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA
y– Norfolk Admirals ( CHI) 80 38 26 12 4 92 222 205
x– Hershey Bears ( COL) 80 36 27 11 6 89 200 193
x– Philadelphia Phantoms ( PHI) 80 33 27 15 5 86 206 210
e– Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins ( PIT) 80 20 44 13 3 56 201 274

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Donald MacLean St. John's Maple Leafs 75 33 54 87 49
Eric Boguniecki Worcester IceCats 45 38 46 84 100
Rob Brown Chicago Wolves 80 29 54 83 103
Brad Smyth Hartford Wolf Pack 79 34 48 82 90
Jason Chimera Hamilton Bulldogs 77 26 51 77 158
Justin Papineau Worcester IceCats 75 38 38 76 86
Eric Landry Quebec Citadelles 73 26 36 62 119
Brian Swanson Hamilton Bulldogs 65 34 39 73 26
Bob Wren St. John's Maple Leafs 69 24 49 73 83

Calder Cup Playoffs

Conference QualifiersConference QuarterfinalsConference SemifinalsConference FinalsCalder Cup Final
1 Bridgeport3
9 Manitoba1
1 Bridgeport4
7 St. John's0
2 Lowell2
7 St. John's27 St. John's3
1 Bridgeport4
10 Providence0
Eastern Conference
6 Hamilton3
3 Quebec0
8 Worcester16 Hamilton3
4 Hartford1
9 Manitoba2
6 Hamilton4
4 Hartford3
5 Manchester2
E1 Bridgeport1
W7 Chicago4
1 Syracuse3
8 Philadelphia0
1 Syracuse3
7 Chicago4
2 Grand Rapids2
7 Chicago27 Chicago3
4 Houston1
10 Cincinnati1
Western Conference
7 Chicago4
3 Norfolk1
8 Philadelphia26 Hershey3
4 Houston4
9 Rochester0
6 Hershey0
4 Houston3
5 Utah2

Note: Pairings are re-seeded after each of the first two rounds.

All Star Classic

The 15th AHL All-Star Game was played on February 14, 2002 at the Mile One Stadium in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Team Canada defeated Team PlanetUSA 13-11. In the skills competition held the day before the All-Star Game, Team Canada won 21-9 over Team PlanetUSA. [1]

Trophy and award winners

Team awards

Calder Cup
Playoff champions:
Chicago Wolves
Richard F. Canning Trophy
Eastern Conference playoff champions:
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Robert W. Clarke Trophy
Western Conference playoff champions:
Chicago Wolves
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy
Regular season champions, league:
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Frank Mathers Trophy
Regular season champions, South Division:
Norfolk Admirals
Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy
Regular season champions, West Division:
Grand Rapids Griffins
Emile Francis Trophy
Regular season champions, North Division:
Lowell Lock Monsters
F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy
Regular season champions, East Division:
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Sam Pollock Trophy
Regular season champions, Canadian Division:
Quebec Citadelles
John D. Chick Trophy
Regular season champions, Central Division:
Syracuse Crunch

Individual awards

Les Cunningham Award
Most valuable player:
Eric Boguniecki - Worcester IceCats
John B. Sollenberger Trophy
Top point scorer:
Donald MacLean - St. John's Maple Leafs
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award
Rookie of the year:
Tyler Arnason - Norfolk Admirals
Eddie Shore Award
Defenceman of the year:
John Slaney - Philadelphia Phantoms
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award
Best goaltender:
Martin Prusek - Grand Rapids Griffins
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award
Lowest goals against average:
Martin Prusek, Simon Lajeunesse & Mathieu Chouinard - Grand Rapids Griffins
Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award
Coach of the year:
Bruce Cassidy - Grand Rapids Griffins
Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award
Sportsmanship / Perseverance:
Nathan Dempsey - St. John's Maple Leafs
Yanick Dupre Memorial Award
Community Service Award:
Travis Roche - Houston Aeros
Jack A. Butterfield Trophy
MVP of the playoffs:
Pasi Nurminen - Chicago Wolves

Other awards

James C. Hendy Memorial Award
Most outstanding executive:
Glenn Stanford, St. John's Maple Leafs
Thomas Ebright Memorial Award
Career contributions:
Bruce Landon
James H. Ellery Memorial Awards
Outstanding media coverage:
Garry McKay, Hamilton, (newspaper)
WOOD-TV, Grand Rapids, (radio)
Tom Grace, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, (television)
Ken McKenzie Award
Outstanding marketing executive:
Jim Sarosy, Syracuse Crunch
Michael Condon Memorial Award
Outstanding service, on-ice official:
Jim Doyle

See also

References

Preceded by AHL seasons Succeeded by