WORCESTER 6, LOWELL 1
Riley Armstrong tallied a career-high three points (2-1-3) as Worcester posted a 6-1 win over Lowell on Wednesday at Tsongas Arena.
Mike Iggulden and Devin Setoguchi each had a goal and a helper for the Sharks, who set a season high with the six goals. With the win, Worcester moved within four points of the Atlantic Division’s final playoff spot.
Iggulden gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead just 2:30 into the game with his team-leading 18th goal of the season. It snapped the 2008 AHL All-Star’s season-high six-game point-scoring drought.
Lowell’s Stephen Gionta tallied the equalizer just 2:16 later, but Worcester scored five unanswered goals over the rest of the game.
T.J. Fox and Brad Staubitz added markers for the Sharks. Defensemen Patrick Traverse and Dennis Packard contributed a pair of assists apiece and were a combined plus-7 on the night.
Sharks goaltender Dimitri Patzold earned the win with 23 saves on 24 shots.
The Devils extended their winless skid to 10 games (0-7-2-1) and fell to 0-4-1-2 in their last seven home games.
HARTFORD 3, MANCHESTER 1
Jordan Owens netted the game-winner and added an assist to lead Hartford past Manchester, 3-1, at the XL Center.
Mike Ouellette and Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau also scored for Hartford, with Parenteau’s goal going into an empty net.
Wolf Pack goaltender Al Montoya secured the win with 22 saves, helping Hartford improve to 5-0-2-1 in their last eight games.
Matt Ryan scored for the Monarchs, who are 0-3-1-0 against Hartford since winning the teams’ first two meetings this season.
PORTLAND 4, HERSHEY 3
Portland scored three goals in an 11:04 span in the third period, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 road win over Hershey before a stunned sellout crowd of 10,778 at Giant Center.
The comeback spoiled the second hat trick in the past month by Bears rookie Andrew Gordon, whose third goal gave him 10 for the season.
With their club down 3-1, Brett Festerling and Tyler Bouck scored third-period goals to tie the contest, and Petteri Wirtanen tallied the game-winner with 4:02 to play.
The turnaround made a winner of Portland goaltender J.P. Levasseur, who stopped 24 of 27 shots.
The Pirates remained two points behind Hartford for second place in the Atlantic Division.
BINGHAMTON 4, PHILADELPHIA 2
Four different skaters netted goals as Binghamton doubled up visiting Philadelphia, 4-2, at the Broome County Arena.
Niko Dimitrakos posted a goal and an assist for the Senators, and Josh Hennessy tallied the game-winning goal three minutes into the second period.
Matt Carkner and Alexander Nikulin also lit the lamp, and goaltender Jeff Glass matched a personal season high with 41 saves in net.
The Senators moved within two points of Hershey and Albany, who are currently deadlocked for the East Division’s final two playoff spots.
2008 AHL All-Star defenseman Alexandre Picard had a goal and an assist in the losing effort for Philadelphia.
PROVIDENCE 3, MILWAUKEE 2
Jeff Hoggan posted a game-high three points (1-2-3) as Providence posted another come-from-behind victory, this time by a 3-2 final over visiting Milwaukee at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
Bruins forward T.J. Trevelyan broke a 2-2 tie with his 14th goal of the season at 9:00 of the third period.
Hoggan scored in the first period and Sean Curry posted a second-period goal. All three Providence markers came on the power play, as they finished 3-for-4 in the game.
The Admirals held 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the first period on goals by defenseman Bryan Schmidt and forward Andreas Thuresson.
SYRACUSE 3, ROCHESTER 1
A pair of second period goals were enough as Syracuse went on to a 3-1 road win over Rochester at the Blue Cross Arena.
Crunch center Derek MacKenzie scored just 27 seconds into the middle stanza, and defenseman David Cullen, who played for Rochester from 2003-06, followed with his first goal in a Syracuse uniform at 11:09.
Rochester’s Drew Larman pulled his club within a goal at 12:39 of the third period, but Steven Goertzen potted an empty netter for the Crunch at 18:22.
Syracuse goaltender Dan LaCosta picked up the win with 23 saves on 24 shots.
The Americans failed in their attempt to win consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 23-30.
NORFOLK 3, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 2 (SO)
Junior Lessard and Kyle Wanvig tallied shootout goals to give surging Norfolk a 3-2 win over visiting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the Scope.
Goaltender Marc Denis denied all four shootout attempts and made 26 saves in regulation and overtime for the Admirals, who have won three straight and are 5-0-1-1 in their last seven games.
Norfolk overcame a 2-0 deficit to force overtime. Karl Stewart scored in the second period, and Lessard tallied the equalizer 2:21 into the third.
Paul Szczechura picked up the lone assist on Lessard’s goal, extending the rookie’s scoring streak to nine games (6-7-13) since joining the Admirals.
Penguins leading scorer Tim Brent netted a goal in regulation along with Tim Wallace.
HAMILTON 2, LAKE ERIE 1 (OT)
2008 AHL All-Star Corey Locke broke a 1-1 deadlock at 4:27 of overtime to propel Hamilton past visiting Lake Erie by a 2-1 final at Copps Coliseum.
Locke’s first overtime goal of the season was assisted by Marvin Degon and Daniel Corso.
Both regulation goals were scored in the first period. Lake Erie’s Philippe Dupuis lit the lamp just 54 seconds after the opening faceoff, but Eric Manlow responded for the Bulldogs at 11:08.
Hamilton goaltender Jaroslav Halak earned the win with 31 saves in his first appearance for the Bulldogs since Jan. 5.
SAN ANTONIO 4, TORONTO 2
Nate DiCasmirro’s goal at 6:25 of the third period snapped a 2-2 tie and sent San Antonio on its way to a 4-2 victory over host Toronto at Ricoh Coliseum.
David Spina, Cam Paddock, and Chris Durno also scored for the Rampage, with Durno’s going into an empty net with eight seconds to play.
San Antonio goaltender David LeNeveu picked up the win with 28 saves, helping the Rampage improve to 6-1-1-0 on a season-high 14-game road swing.
Chris Harrington and David Ling notched goals for the Marlies, who have lost two straight games.
HOUSTON 3, QUAD CITY 2 (SO)
Houston went 3-for-4 in the shootout to post a 3-2 road victory over Quad City at the I Wireless Center.
Morten Madsen scored in both regulation and the shootout for the Aeros, and defenseman John Scott tallied his first goal of the season and the second of his two-year AHL career.
Benoit Pouliot and Marco Rosa also lit the lamp in the shootout for Houston.
Aeros goaltender Nolan Schaefer made 28 saves through regulation and overtime, and he stopped three of five in the shootout.
Houston moved into sole possession of fifth place in the West Division, a potential playoff position as a crossover to the North Division.
2008 AHL All-Star defenseman Adam Pardy scored in regulation for the Flames, along with Carsen Germyn. Both markers came on the power play.
