at the start of the 1940–41 season, the international-american hockey league (iahl) became the american hockey league (ahl). during the early 1940s, the hornets has mediocre finishes. however, during this time frame, the team still continued to set league records. in 1942, red heron set an ahl record by scoring six goals in one game, which is a double hat trick. also in 1944, bob gracie and bob walton were the ahl's top scorers with each recording 95 points in the season. two ahl records were set on march 17, 1945: pittsburgh the cleveland barons set the mark for most goals scored in one period by netting a combined 12 goals in the third period (pittsburgh 7, cleveland 5). the total goals scored in the game – 22 – is also a one-game record. however, not all records set by the hornets were positive. during the 1943–44 season the hornets did not win one game away from the duquesne gardens. the winless record on the road was the first occurrence of such a feat in the history of the ahl. following the season larry aurie ended his stint as coach to finish with a record of 129–162–39 in 330 games, a .450 winning percentage.