AHL Quick Hits

LOOKING BACK:
In Wednesday’s AHL action, Eric Tangradi notched a hat trick and added an assist to help Wilkes-Barre/Scranton get past Toronto, 5-1… Kyle Hagel tallied his first two career AHL goals as Rockford upended Texas, 8-5… Tomas Marcinko recorded a pair of goals as Bridgeport took a 5-3 win over Springfield… David Laliberte scored twice and Josh Green nabbed the overtime winner as Syracuse held off Norfolk, 4-3… Matt Pelech potted the game’s only goal and Leland Irving made 23 saves for his second shutout of the year as Abbotsford edged Lake Erie, 1-0.

Wed 12/8
Hershey 3, ALBANY 2
BRIDGEPORT 5, Springfield 3
GRAND RAPIDS 3, Milwaukee 2
ROCHESTER 4, Hamilton 3
W-B/SCRANTON 5, Toronto 1
Syracuse 4, NORFOLK 3 (OT)
ROCKFORD 8, Texas 5
San Antonio 5, CHICAGO 2
ABBOTSFORD 1, Lake Erie 0

Thu 12/9
No games scheduled


LOOKING AHEAD:
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (21-4-0-0) visits Norfolk (15-6-4-1) on Friday to begin a home-and-home set between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference… Winners of six straight, the Penguins sit seven points up on the Admirals in the East Division… Dustin Jeffrey’s five-game goal-scoring streak ended Wednesday vs. Toronto, but the Penguins forward is still tied for the AHL lead with 30 points overall (13-17-30)… Wilkes-Barre’s Robert Bortuzzo is on a four-game scoring run (1-4-5), and Brett Sterling is coming off a season-best three-point effort (1-2-3) on Wednesday… Behind goaltenders Brad Thiessen (11-2-0, 2.07, .922) and John Curry (10-2-0, 2.16, .915), the Pens rank second in the AHL in defense (2.16 goals allowed per game), but the Admirals feature the league’s most potent offense (3.92 per game)… Norfolk is 8-2-1-0 in its last 11 games, a stretch begun by the Admirals’ 4-1 win at Wilkes-Barre on Nov. 19 in these teams’ first meeting of the year… Blair Jones had three points (1-2-3) in that victory and shows 2-4-6 in four games since returning from NHL recall… Matt Fornataro (3-2-5) and Marc-Antoine Pouliot (4-1-5) each have points in three of four for Norfolk.

Manchester looks to solidify its spot atop the Atlantic with three divisional games this weekend… The Monarchs host second-place Worcester on Friday, visit on Saturday a Connecticut team which is 4-0-0-2 in its last six, and host third-place Portland on Sunday… Manchester lost two of three last weekend but is still 9-3-0-0 in its last 12 outings… Andrei Loktionov paces the Monarchs with 20 points (4-16-20) in just 17 games and shows 1-4-5 in four meetings with Worcester on the year… Bud Holloway is on a six-game scoring streak (2-4-6) for Manchester, which is 11-0-0-1 when it scores the game’s first goal… Jonathan Cheechoo has multiple points in four of his last five games (3-5-8) for the Sharks, who are 6-2-0-1 in their last nine contests… Worcester’s Steven Zalewski has a point in his last three outings (1-5-6) after recording just one assist in his previous 11 games… Sharks goaltender Alex Stalock (12-8-2, 2.72, .909) has appeared in 22 of his club’s 25 games, including nine in a row entering the weekend… Worcester has outscored opponents 25-17 in the first period.

Texas wraps up a four-game road trip this weekend by visiting Grand Rapids on both Friday and Sunday, with a Saturday trip to Milwaukee in between… The Stars are coming off an 8-5 loss in Rockford on Wednesday, which ended a five-game points streak (3-0-1-1)… Raymond Sawada (3-2-5) and rookie Sean Backman (2-4-6) each have a point in five of their last six games for the Stars, and rookie Cody Chupp is on a three-game scoring run (2-2-4)… Texas defenseman Dan Spang scored twice on Wednesday after totaling one goal in his first 23 games of the year… Grand Rapids has just three wins in 14 home games this season (3-6-1-4)… Ilari Filppula is on a four-game scoring streak (3-2-5) for the Griffins, and his 20 points (9-11-20) are in a three-way tie for the team lead with Jan Mursak (10-10-20) and Tomas Tatar (6-14-20)… The Griffins have scored six shorthanded goals, third-most in the AHL… Grand Rapids took four of six meetings from Texas last year (4-1-0-1) and went 2-0-0-1 at home.

(all times Eastern)

Fri 12/10
Hershey @ Charlotte, 7:00
Texas @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Worcester @ Manchester, 7:00
Albany @ Binghamton, 7:05
Portland @ Providence, 7:05
Adirondack @ Syracuse, 7:30
W-B/Scranton @ Norfolk, 7:30
Hamilton @ Rochester, 7:35
Manitoba @ Oklahoma City, 8:05
Milwaukee @ Rockford, 8:05
San Antonio @ Houston, 8:35
Chicago @ Abbotsford, 10:00

Sat 12/11
Portland @ Adirondack, 7:00
Worcester @ Albany, 7:00
Manchester @ Connecticut, 7:00
Norfolk @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Rochester @ Binghamton, 7:05
Bridgeport @ Syracuse, 7:30
Toronto @ Lake Erie, 7:30
Providence @ Springfield, 7:30
Manitoba @ San Antonio, 8:00
Grand Rapids @ Peoria, 8:05
Oklahoma City @ Rockford, 8:05
Texas @ Milwaukee, 8:30
Chicago @ Abbotsford, 10:00

Sun 12/12
Toronto @ Hamilton, 1:00
Hershey @ Charlotte, 3:00
Adirondack @ Connecticut, 3:00
Houston @ Lake Erie, 3:00
Portland @ Manchester, 3:00
Bridgeport @ Worcester, 3:00
W-B/Scranton vs. Albany, 4:00*
Texas @ Grand Rapids, 4:00
Springfield @ Providence, 4:05
Binghamton @ Rochester, 5:05
Oklahoma City @ Milwaukee, 6:00

Mon, 12/13
No games scheduled

Tue, 12/14
Houston @ Hamilton, 7:00
Abbotsford @ Rochester, 7:05
Manitoba @ Texas, 8:30

*at Atlantic City, N.J.


ALUMNI WATCH:
On Thursday, defenseman Mike Sauer’s first career NHL goal turned out to be the game-winner as the N.Y. Rangers took a 5-3 victory in Ottawa… On Wednesday, rookie Jeremy Morin, who has 6-3-9 in 17 games for AHL Rockford this season, scored his first career NHL marker in Chicago’s 5-3 win over Dallas… Two-time AHL All-Star Jeff Tambellini scored in both regulation and the shootout as Vancouver edged Anaheim by a 5-4 count.


BY THE NUMBERS:
19 — Games in which Houston has scored the first goal, out of 27 total games this season… The Aeros, who are 14-3-0-2 when scoring first but 0-7-1-0 when allowing the first tally, host in-state San Antonio on Friday.


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