Berkhoel stymies Devils again as Penguins cruise to win


Friday’s Boxscores

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, LOWELL 0
Back on home ice for the first time in three weeks, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton erupted for four goals in the first 9:46 of action and went on to a 4-0 blanking of Lowell on Friday before 6,511 fans at the Wachovia Arena.

Penguins goaltender Adam Berkhoel made 26 saves for his second shutout in as many games against the Devils. He turned in a 46-save performance in a 5-0 win in Lowell on Oct. 22.

Chris Minard tallied his league-leading 12th and 13th goals of the season at 2:57 and 5:54, respectively, both coming on the power play. Bill Thomas assisted on both markers.

Ryan Stone made it 3-0 at 9:02, and Tim Wallace extended the advantage to 4-0 at the 9:46 mark.

Neither side scored the rest of the way, as Lowell went 0-for-8 on the power play and could not cash in despite a 22-16 shots on goal advantage over the final two periods.

Lowell, which has now dropped four straight contests, concludes its brief two-game road swing in Bridgeport on Saturday night.


HERSHEY 3, ALBANY 0
Francois Bouchard posted a goal and an assist, and goaltender Simeon Varlamov registered a 19-save shutout as Hershey took a 3-0 road win over Albany at the Times Union Center.

Andrew Gordon and Oskar Osala also scored for the Bears, who snapped a brief two-game winless skid.

The River Rats were blanked for the second time this season and fell to 1-5-1-1 in their last eight games.


GRAND RAPIDS 5, LAKE ERIE 1
Grand Rapids scored five unanswered goals from the second period on en route to a 5-1 win over visiting Lake Erie before 6,794 fans at Van Andel Arena.

Darren Haydar, Darren Helm, and Landon Wilson all posted a goal and a helper for the Griffins, who also received goals from Jamie Tardif and Francis Pare.

Evan McGrath chipped in two assists in the win, and goaltender Jimmy Howard stopped 28 of 29 shots in net.

Defenseman Aaron MacKenzie scored for the Monsters, who wrapped up a six-game road swing at 1-5-0-0.


WORCESTER 4, HARTFORD 3
A four-goal second period propelled Worcester to a 4-3 road win over Hartford at the XL Center. The Sharks are now 3-0-0-0 against the Wolf Pack this season after they lost all eight games of last year’s season series.

Red-hot Tom Cavanagh netted a pair of goals for the Sharks, his second straight two-goal performance against Hartford. Cavanagh now has a four-game goal-scoring run overall (6-2-8).

Defenseman Derek Joslin had three points (1-2-3), and Andrew Desjardins also scored for Worcester. Ryan Vesce added two assists, and goaltender Kyle Jones picked up his first career AHL win with 17 saves.

Artem Anisimov led the Wolf Pack with three points (1-2-3), while Justin Soryal and Lauri Korpikoski also netted goals.


PORTLAND 2, SPRINGFIELD 1 (SO)
Tim Kennedy scored twice in the shootout, including the decisive tally in the eighth round, to give Portland a 2-1 win over Springfield at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Mathieu Darche and Nathan Gerbe also netted shootout markers for the Pirates, who captured their fourth straight victory.

Portland’s Mark Mancari gave his team a 1-0 lead with a power play goal in the second period, but Springfield’s Colin McDonald tied it at 4:35 into the final stanza.

Pirates goaltender Adam Dennis earned the win, making 26 saves through the first 65 minutes before stopping the Falcons’ final four shootout tries.


BINGHAMTON 4, SYRACUSE 1
Binghamton snapped a four-game winless skid with a 4-1 home-ice victory over in-state rival Syracuse at the Broome County Arena.

Drew Fata scored in his first game for the Senators after being acquired by parent-club Ottawa earlier in the week. The B-Sens also received goals from Zack Smith, Ilya Zubov, and Brendan Bell in the winning effort.

Ryan Shannon extended his scoring streak to seven with a pair of helpers, and goaltender Brian Elliott earned the win with 30 saves.

Defenseman Clay Wilson lit the lamp for the Crunch, who have now lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time since Jan. 24-25, 2008.


CHICAGO 4, PROVIDENCE 1
Chicago jumped out to a 4-0 lead and cruised to a 4-1 win over Providence at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in the opener of a six-game road swing.

The Wolves swept the two-game season set with the Bruins, having taken a 6-0 win in Rosemont, Ill., on Oct. 29.

Mike Hoffman and Scott Lehman each scored his first goal of the season for the Wolves, while Jamie Rivers and Grant Stevenson also lit the lamp.

Chicago goaltender Dan Turple stopped 35 of 36 shots in the winning effort.

Providence’s Byron Bitz broke up the shutout bid with a power play tally at 4:43 of the third period.


NORFOLK 5, ROCKFORD 2
Norfolk scored three unanswered goals to take a 5-2 win over visiting Rockford at the Scope.

Admirals defenseman Daryl Boyle’s first professional goal broke a 2-2 tie at 16:22 of the second period. Andrew Hutchinson and Zenon Konopka padded the Norfolk lead with third-period markers.

Bracken Kearns and Radek Smolenak also scored for the Admirals, and goaltender Karri Ramo stopped 32 shots in net. The victory snapped Norfolk’s seven-game winless slide (0-5-1-1).

Tim Brent and Nathan Davis netted goals for the IceHogs, who have now lost four straight contests.


HOUSTON 3, HAMILTON 1
Ryan Hamilton and John Lammers scored third-period goals to propel visiting Houston over Hamilton by a 3-1 final at Copps Coliseum.

The Bulldogs’ Yanick Lehoux and the Aeros’ Maxim Noreau traded first-period tallies, and neither side found the back of the net in the second period.

Aeros goaltender Barry Brust picked up the win with 25 saves on 26 shots.

Hamilton saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.


PHILADELPHIA 3, MANCHESTER 2 (SO)
Jared Ross and Nate Guenin tallied shootout goals to lift Philadelphia over host Manchester by a 3-2 count in front of 6,048 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

The teams alternated goals through regulation, with the Monarchs receiving tallies from Bud Holloway and captain Marty Murray, and the Phantoms from Danny Syvret and Jonathan Matsumoto. Each side scored once on the power play.

Phantoms goaltender Scott Munroe made 33 saves through regulation and overtime and stopped four of five in the shootout, only allowing a goal to Manchester’s Teddy Purcell.

Philadelphia extended its winning streak to six games and will travel north for a tilt against Portland on Saturday.


MANITOBA 5, ROCHESTER 1
The hot team remained hot and the struggling team continued to struggle as Manitoba took a 5-1 road win over Rochester at the Blue Cross Arena.

The Moose upped their winning streak to nine games since starting at 0-2-0-0, while the Americans dropped their fifth straight and fell to 1-10-0-0 overall.

Manitoba jumped to a 4-0 lead on goals by Jason Jaffray, Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Jimmy Sharrow, and James Neal. After the Amerks’ Shawn Matthias got his team on the board late in the second, the Moose’s Darryl Bootland closed the scoring midway through the third.

Goaltender Cory Schneider picked up the win with 26 saves for the Moose, who will travel to Syracuse on Saturday before a rematch with the Amerks on Monday night.


MILWAUKEE 2, SAN ANTONIO 1 (SO)
Milwaukee goaltender Drew MacIntyre stopped all four of San Antonio’s shootout tries as the Admirals emerged with a 2-1 win over the visiting Rampage at the Bradley Center.

Mike Santorelli and Andreas Thuresson netted shootout markers for the Admirals, who extended their winning streak to three games and do not play again until Wednesday.

Enver Lisin’s first goal of the campaign gave the Rampage a 1-0 lead at 3:59 of the second period, but Milwaukee tied it dramatically on defenseman Alexander Sulzer’s first of the season at 19:49 of the third.

San Antonio is now winless in four straight outings (0-3-0-1).


IOWA 6, QUAD CITY 2
Six different skaters scored as Iowa ran away with a 6-2 road win over Quad City at the I Wireless Center.

Andrew Ebbett gave the Chops a 1-0 lead in the opening period, but the Flames’ Jamie Lundmark and Carsen Germyn scored to give Quad City a 2-1 advantage by the early stages of the second.

From there, the Chops received second-period markers from Bobby Ryan and Josh Green along with third-period tallies from Joakim Lindstrom, Drew Miller, and Ajay Baines to build a 6-2 advantage.

Ebbett, Ryan, Lindstrom, and Miller each added an assist, while Troy Bodie chipped in two helpers on the night. Goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur earned the win with 25 saves.