Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins - American Hockey League (AHL) - 2004 Calder Cup Finals on MLN Sports Zone

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Success In Sudden-Death
Another game seven OT game-winner sends the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to the 2004 Calder Cup Finals.

05.29.04 Hartford, CT – It was over in a matter of seconds.

Baby Pens forward Matt Murley tipped in a Colby Armstrong shot past goalie Jason LaBarbera, sinking the hearts of the 5,818 Hartford fans and ending thrilling game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals with a 2-1 victory over the Wolf Pack.

With the victory, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the top affiliate of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins will advance to the to the 2004 Calder Cup Finals.

Murley scored the game-winning goal 13:21 into overtime to pull down the Penguins' second game 7 victory on the road this year. They are the second team in AHL history to win two Game Sevens on the road in the same postseason and the first to win both in OT.

The audience got to see quite a defensive show, with the teams remaining scoreless for the first two periods, and both tenders shutting down anything in their path.

The Penguins drew first blood early in the third period. With 23 seconds left on a Fedor Tyutin holding penalty, Eric Meloche knocked home a shot past goaltender Jason LaBarbera for his eighth goal of the playoffs at 8:06.

Within minutes however, the Wolf Pack bit back. Cory Larose lifted a back-hander over Andy Chiodo off an assist from Chad Wiseman at 9:55 to tie the game at 1-1.

This marks the second time in the last four seasons that the Penguins will play for the Calder Cup. They will face the Milwaukee Admirals, who topped the Rochester Americans 4-1 to claim the AHL's Western Division Crown.

The Penguins, headed by Michel Therrien, completed the regular season in third place in the East Division with a record of 34-28-10-8, before beginning a historical post-season run.

After a nail-biting game 7 victory on the road at Bridgeport in the division semifinals, the penguins advanced past Philadelphia (4-2) in the division final. With this road victory against Hartford, the Penguins will head to Milwaukee on Tuesday with high hopes.

Once again the Penguins are away in the series, but if the team continues this year's trends, that is far from a problem. The Penguins have won their last three games on the road and have a winning road record in the playoffs.

Although the Penguins and Admirals did not meet during the 2004 regular season, they've met on two previous occasions and have a 1-1 record against each other.