Thursday, April 2, 1998 | 6:44 a.m.
From Sports Report Service.
Cleveland Lumberjacks 3, Cincinnati Cyclones 1
CLEVELAND--Brett Harkins scored twice to lead the Cleveland Lumberjacks (32-35-9) past the Cincinnati Cyclones 3-1 Wednesday night. The Jacks clinched the final IHL playoff berth in front of 9,160 at Gund Arena. Harkins' first goal, 17:16 into the second period, was the game-winner. Chris Longo scored the first Cleveland goal. Brent Fedyk saved Cincinnati (37-28-12) from the shutout with his 34th goal of the season. Tom Draper faced 34 shots and made 33 saves in goal for the Jacks. Parris Duffus stopped 32 of 35 for Cincinnati.
Grand Rapids Griffins 3, Indianapolis Ice 2 (SO)
INDIANAPOLIS--The Grand Rapids Griffins (36-29-12) scored on four straight shootout attempts to defeat the Indianapolis Ice 3-2 Wednesday night. The teams met in front of 4,264 at Market Square Arena. Greg Bullock scored in regulation, then netted the deciding goal in the Griffins' 4-1 tiebreaker win. Matt Ruchty also scored, at 4:07 of the second period. The Ice (38-34-5) came from behind twice in regulation. David Hymovitz scored in the final minute of the opening period to make the score 1-1, and Todd White forced the tiebreaker with his IHL-leading 44th goal of the season, at 5:16 of the second. Winning goalie Ian Gordon stopped 23 of 25 Indianapolis shots in regulation, and two of three in the tiebreaker. Marc Lamothe faced 35 for Indianapolis, and finished with 33 saves.
Milwaukee Admirals 7, Quebec Rafales 1
QUEBEC CITY--Christian Proulx scored once in the first period and once in the second as the Milwaukee Admirals (41-30-4) beat the Quebec Rafales 7-1 Wednesday before 4,838 at Le Colisee. Proulx has three goals in his last two games, all against the Rafales. Goals by Mike McNeill and Brent Peterson helped the Admirals to a 3-1 first-period lead, while second-period goals by Kelly Fairchild and Jarrett Deuling boosted the margin to 6-1. Kerry Clark capped the win with a power play goal 14:13 into the third. Defenseman Ryan Mougenel scored the lone Quebec goal, with seconds remaining in the first period. Mike Minard posted the win in goal, with 24 saves on 25 Quebec shots. Frederick Deschesne stopped 31 of 38 for the Rafales (24-45-7), who are now out of IHL playoff contention.
Houston Aeros 3, Orlando Solar Bears 2
HOUSTON--Cam Stewart scored at 14:02 of the third period to give the Houston Aeros (48-21-8) a 3-2 win over the Orlando Solar Bears (37-29-10) Wednesday in front of 6,888 at the Compaq Center. Brian Wiseman, the IHL's third-leading scorer, netted his 25th and 26th goals, both in the second period. Scott Hollis led the way for Orlando with a power play goal in the final minute of the second period and an earlier assist to Grigori Panteleyev. The Solar Bears, who are tied with Grand Rapids for second in the Northeast Division, took 22 shots at Houston netminder Ryan Bach, who made 20 saves. Allan Bester turned away 31 of 34 in the losing effort.
Manioba Moose 6, Michigan K-Wings 1
WINNIPEG--Six different players scored to help the Manitoba Moose (36-35-7) defeat the Michigan K-Wings 6-1 Wednesday night before 6,375 at Winnipeg Arena. Jason Christie put the Moose on the board with a shorthanded tally 9:23 into the game. Kent Fearns and Scott Thomas added goals within a 22-second span to make the score 3-0 at the intermission. Jimmy Roy added the only goal of the second stanza, and Brad Purdie and Greg Pankewicz added third-period tallies. Pankewicz is now tied with Chicago's Steve Maltais for second in IHL goal-scoring, with 40. Winning goalie Fred Brathwaite, who finished with 34 saves, kept a shutout going until 4:58 of the third period, when he was beaten by Michigan's Jed Fiebelkorn. Larry Dyck faced 28 shots and made 22 saves as the K-Wings dropped to 34-36-7.
Kansas City Blades 4, Utah Grizzlies 3
KANSAS CITY--The Kansas City Blades extended the IHL's longest active winning streak to five games with Wednesday night's 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Utah Grizzlies. A crowd of 3,172 was on hand at Kemper Arena. Pat Ferschweiler won the game at 12:29 of the third period, capping a three-goal comeback. Dale Craigwell sparked the Blades rally, setting up a goal by J.F. Quintin to make the score 3-2 at the second intermission, and tying the game 3-3 on a power play 7:08 into the third period. Kip Miller led the way for Utah (46-23-8) with the first goal of the game and assists on later power play tallies by Chris Taylor and Mark Lawrence. Peter Skudra weathered a 38-shot attack in goal for the Blades, finishing with 35 saves. Utah's Jamie Ram stopped 27 of 31.
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