AHL Quick Hits: Penguins invade Bears’ den

LOOKING BACK:
In Wednesday’s action, Manitoba’s Drew MacIntyre became the second AHL goaltender ever to be credited with scoring an overtime goal as the Moose downed Chicago, 2-1… Former Admiral Matt Keith recorded three points for Bridgeport in a 4-3 win over Norfolk… On Thursday, Alexander Sulzer’s overtime goal capped Milwaukee’s late rally for a 5-4 win at Iowa.

Wed 2/20
Manitoba 2, CHICAGO 1 (OT)
Toronto 4, BINGHAMTON 2
Hartford 2, LOWELL 1
Hamilton 5, QUAD CITY 1
ROCHESTER 2, Albany 1 (OT)
W-B/SCRANTON 3, Hershey 2 (OT)
BRIDGEPORT 4, Norfolk 3

Thu 2/21
Providence 6, HARTFORD 1
Milwaukee 5, IOWA 4 (OT)


LOOKING AHEAD:
East Division foes Bridgeport and Albany square off in a home-and-home this weekend beginning Friday in New York’s capital… The Sound Tigers, winners of five straight and 12 of their last 15 games (12-3-0-0), are one point up on the River Rats for fourth place in the East… Two-time AHL All-Star Jeff Tambellini, tied for the league lead with 28 goals, was returned to Bridgeport by the parent N.Y. Islanders on Thursday… Rookie Kyle Okposo, the seventh overall draft pick in 2006, has 20 points in 18 games since joining Bridgeport last month… The Sound Tigers have allowed 38.8 shots per game over their last five outings, but Joey MacDonald and Mike Morrison have combined for a .964 save percentage in that span… Former Sound Tiger Brandon Nolan has posted career highs in goals (23) and points (48) through 47 games for Albany this year… Rookie Jerome Samson has a team-high five goals in five games against Bridgeport.

Also Friday, Binghamton visits Rochester for the teams’ fifth meeting this season and first since Dec. 22… The Senators are 4-0-0-0 against the Americans on the year and sit just two points behind Bridgeport for the East Division’s final playoff spot… B-Sens captain and ex-Amerk Denis Hamel has a point in three straight games (3-2-5) and leads the club with 25 goals and 41 points for the season… Binghamton rookie Alexander Nikulin boasts a four-game scoring streak (2-2-4)… The Sens have scored a league-high 16 shorthanded goals this season… Rochester is 5-2-2-0 in its last nine games… Rookie defenseman-turned-forward Marc-Andre Gragnani has an eight-game scoring streak (3-6-9) for the Amerks… Adam Dennis made 39 saves and Anthony Stewart potted the winning goal in Rochester’s 2-1 overtime win over Albany on Wednesday.

San Antonio returns home for the first time since Jan. 20 and hosts Lake Erie for a pair of games this weekend… The Rampage picked up a point in 11 of the 14 games (7-3-1-3) on their annual marathon road trip… Matt Murley leads the Rampage with 43 points (13-30-43) on the season… Defenseman Brendan Bell has a four-game scoring streak (1-5-6), while Bill Thomas has four goals and eight points over his last six games… San Antonio has scored a league-high 69 goals in the third period, and has six wins when trailing after 40 minutes (6-11-1-3)… Lake Erie is 6-2-3-2 in its last 13 contests… Monsters leading scorer Eric Healey has a goal in three straight games and points in five straight (4-2-6)… Rookie Chris Stewart, Colorado’s first-round draft pick in 2006, has a team-high 16 goals on the season.

(all times Eastern)
Fri 2/22
Bridgeport @ Albany, 7:00
Manitoba @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Norfolk @ Manchester, 7:05
Lowell @ Worcester, 7:05
Hershey @ Philadelphia, 7:05
Portland @ Springfield, 7:30
Houston @ Syracuse, 7:30
Binghamton @ Rochester, 7:35
Rockford @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Lake Erie @ San Antonio, 8:00
Peoria @ Quad City, 8:05
Chicago @ Iowa, 8:07

Sat 2/23
Binghamton @ Toronto, 4:00
Lowell @ Albany, 7:00
Bridgeport @ Hartford, 7:00
Providence @ Springfield, 7:00
Philadelphia @ Hershey, 7:00
Manitoba @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Houston @ Hamilton, 7:00
Portland @ Worcester, 7:05
Norfolk @ Manchester, 7:05
W-B/Scranton @ Syracuse, 7:30

Sun 2/24
Albany @ Bridgeport, 4:00
Hamilton @ Toronto, 4:00
Hartford @ Lowell, 4:05
Norfolk @ Portland, 4:05
W-B/Scranton @ Hershey, 5:00
Iowa @ Chicago, 5:00
Manitoba @ Peoria, 5:00
Milwaukee @ Rockford, 5:05
Lake Erie @ San Antonio, 6:00
Houston @ Rochester, 6:05
Grand Rapids @ Quad City, 6:05
Springfield @ Worcester, 8:05

Mon 2/25
No games scheduled

Tue 2/26
Lowell @ Manchester, 7:05
Norfolk @ Portland, 7:05


ALUMNI WATCH:
On Thursday, 2004-05 AHL All-Rookie forward Thomas Vanek notched three points (1-2-3) and 2005 AHL outstanding goaltender Ryan Miller made 34 saves in Buffalo’s 5-1 win at Toronto… Mason Raymond, who has 17 points (7-10-17) in 20 AHL games for Manitoba this season, notched a goal in regulation and the decisive shootout goal as Vancouver edged Nashville, 3-2… Three-time AHL All-Star Keith Aucoin netted a goal in Carolina’s 5-3 win over Atlanta.


AHL CHAT ROOM:
Chicago Wolves rookie center Bryan Little will enter the AHL Chat Room on Monday, Feb. 25, to answer fans’ questions… Visit theahl.com for more details.


AHL ON B2 NETWORKS:
B2 Networks brings AHL action to your computer all season long with live video webcasts of every AHL game… Visit theahl.com for details.