RALEIGH, N.C. -- The attorney general for North Carolina filed a lawsuit Wednesday against companies he said were trying to sell tickets for the Stanley Cup finals at illegal prices.

"These corporate scalpers systematically bought hundreds of tickets to resell for big profits. That deprives fans of a chance to buy tickets at face value,'' attorney general Roy Cooper said.

"State law is clear, and it doesn't change just because we're in the Stanley Cup finals.''

The Carolina Hurricanes lead the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 in the best-of-seven finals. At least Games 3 and 4 will be played at Raleigh's Entertainment and Sports Arena; the first is Saturday.

Tickets for games at the ESA sold out in less than an hour. Many were bought by ticket companies, who in turn resold the tickets to fans for as much as $1,000 per ticket or more, Cooper said.

Selling tickets for more than $3 above the original price is against North Carolina law.

In the Wake County Superior Court complaint, Cooper alleged that Encore Tickets and Tours Inc. of Dallas, Texas; Premiere Tickets and Tours Inc. of Cary; Ticket Solutions Inc. of Overland Park, Kan.; Empire Entertainment and Travel Inc. of Atlanta, Ga.; Ideal Ticket Agency Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio, and Padgett Business Services of Johnson County in Prairie Village, Kan., broke the law.

Premiere Tickets' Internet site didn't list ticket prices, but said packages included a bus ride to the arena from a Raleigh bar and a party.

Premiere attorney Kevin Bunn said the agency is eager to work within the law, but it isn't clear what the law allows.

"There's not much guidance in the law concerning what's scalping and what's not,'' he said, noting that numerous ticket packages for a variety of sporting events are advertised regularly without complaint.

John Bason, a spokesman for Cooper, said a Wake Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday barring the brokers, except Premier, from advertising or selling Stanley Cup tickets for more than $3 above face value.

Premier was allowed to charge $150 more than face value because its price includes the bus ride and party, Bason said.

The companies named in the complaint offered Stanley Cup finals tickets for sale via advertisements in local media. Ads directed consumers to a toll-free telephone number or an Internet Web site, where they learned tickets were more than $3 above face value, Cooper said.

The suit asks that the companies return any illegal earnings and pay civil penalties.