LOOKING BACK:
On Thursday, Chicago snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over Rochester… In Wednesday’s action, Nolan Schaefer made 32 saves and added two assists as Houston won its fifth straight, 6-1 at Hartford… Matt Lashoff tallied a goal and two assists to help Providence to a 6-5 shootout win over Lowell… Quad City scored three times in the final 6:23 of regulation to pull out a 4-2 win in San Antonio, 4-2
Wed 12/12
GRAND RAPIDS 2, Hamilton 1 (SO)
Houston 6, HARTFORD 1
Syracuse 4, LAKE ERIE 1
PROVIDENCE 6, Lowell 5 (SO)
Quad City 4, SAN ANTONIO 2
Albany 4, BRIDGEPORT 3
Thu 12/13
CHICAGO 5, Rochester 3
LOOKING AHEAD:
An inter-conference battle of first-place teams pits Toronto at Philadelphia at the Wachovia Spectrum on Friday night… The Marlies (16-5-0-3) defeated the Phantoms (17-7-1-0) by a 4-2 score when the teams locked horns in Toronto on Dec. 2… The Marlies, whose road trip will take them to Hershey on Saturday, are 7-2-0-1 away from home this season… Kris Newbury (9-11-20) had a goal and two assists in the teams’ first meeting… Rookie Jiri Tlusty has four points (2-2-4) in three games since returning from the parent Maple Leafs… The Phantoms are 4-6-0-0 since a 13-1-1-0 start to the season… Kyle Greentree (8-13-21) and Jonathan Matsumoto (9-11-20) both rank among the AHL’s rookie scoring leaders… Philadelphia has at least one power-play goal in 23 of its 25 games, and ranks second in the league overall at 23.5 percent efficiency.
Manitoba hosts Lake Erie this weekend for a two-game set at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg… The North Division rivals split two games in Cleveland last month, and will play five times over the next 19 days… The Moose lost forwards Jason Jaffray and Mason Raymond and goaltender Drew MacIntyre this week to NHL recall by Vancouver… Moose leading scorer Brad Moran (7-15-22) brings a five-game scoring streak (2-4-6) into the weekend… Lake Erie rookie Chris Stewart has a team-high nine goals, all in his last 12 games, and his 15 points are tied with Eric Healey (6-9-15) for the club lead… Stewart has a team-high three points in two games against the Moose this season, and scored the winning goal in the Monsters’ 5-4 overtime victory on Nov. 24.
On Saturday, Albany takes on East Division rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the Glens Falls Civic Center, home of the four-time Calder Cup champion Adirondack Red Wings from 1979-1999… The River Rats enter the weekend having won three straight and seven of 10 (7-2-0-1)… Albany is 2-0-0-0 against the Penguins this season, and has yet to surrender a goal; Michael Leighton and Kevin Nastiuk have each shut out the Pens, two of Albany’s league-leading seven blankings this year… Rats leading scorer Keith Aucoin (5-19-24) has a point in four straight (2-4-6) and eight of nine (4-9-13)… Jeff Taffe paces the Penguins with 12 goals and 18 points entering the weekend… Ty Conklin, second in the AHL with 11 wins, remains on recall to Pittsburgh, leaving the Pens’ goaltending chores to rookies David Brown and John Curry.
(all times Eastern)
Fri 12/14
Hamilton @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Albany @ Lowell, 7:05
Portland @ Manchester, 7:05
Bridgeport @ Providence, 7:05
W-B/Scranton @ Worcester, 7:05
Toronto @ Philadelphia, 7:05
Syracuse @ Binghamton, 7:05
Hershey @ Norfolk, 7:15
Houston @ Springfield, 7:30
Iowa @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Chicago @ Peoria, 8:00
Quad City @ San Antonio, 8:00
Lake Erie @ Manitoba, 8:30
Rochester @ Rockford, 8:30
Sat 12/15
W-B/Scranton @ Albany, 5:00*
Manchester @ Hartford, 7:00
Binghamton @ Bridgeport, 7:00
Toronto @ Hershey, 7:00
Milwaukee @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Providence @ Lowell, 7:05
Springfield @ Portland, 7:05
Houston @ Worcester, 7:05
Philadelphia @ Norfolk, 7:15
Hamilton @ Syracuse, 7:30
Rochester @ Peoria, 8:00
Quad City @ Rockford, 8:05
Chicago @ Iowa, 8:07
Lake Erie @ Manitoba, 8:30
Sun 12/16
Albany @ Bridgeport, 4:00
Worcester @ Manchester, 4:05
Springfield @ Portland, 4:05
Houston @ Providence, 4:05
Binghamton @ Hershey, 5:00
W-B/Scranton @ Philadelphia, 5:05
Rockford @ San Antonio, 6:00
Mon 12/17
No games scheduled
*at Glens Falls, N.Y.
ALUMNI WATCH:
A day after being recalled from Grand Rapids, Mark Hartigan notched a goal in Detroit’s 4-3 shootout loss to Edmonton on Thursday… Hartigan led the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins with 12 goals prior to his recall… On Wednesday, Jason Jaffray (in his NHL debut) and Mason Raymond both scored their first career NHL goals in Vancouver’s 3-2 win over Anaheim… The wingers account for two of AHL Manitoba’s top five scorers this season.
BY THE NUMBERS:
2 — Calder Cup championships as players won by Milwaukee head coach Lane Lambert (1986, Adirondack) and Grand Rapids bench boss Mike Stothers (1984, Maine)… Their teams go head-to-head on Saturday in West Michigan.
AHL ALL-STAR FAN BALLOTING:
2008 AHL All-Star Classic Fan Balloting presented by Reebok is underway now through January 8 on theahl.com. Vote today to help pick the starting lineups and for a chance to win a team-signed AHL All-Star jersey.
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.
