HOUSTON 1, LAKE ERIE 0
Houston goaltender Barry Brust made 31 saves for his second consecutive shutout and Joel Ward scored the game’s lone goal as the Aeros edged host Lake Erie by a 1-0 final on Wednesday at the Quicken Loans Arena.
Houston finished a perfect 4-0-0-0 on a four-game road trip, and Brust has stopped 82 of 83 shots (.988) over the last three contests.
The game remained scoreless until Ward netted his 13th goal of the season at 18:15 of the second period, with Adrian Foster picking up the lone assist.
Brust, who made 24 saves in a 4-0 win at Rochester on Sunday, had to stop 26 shots in the second and third periods combined on Wednesday. He improved his season record to 13-10-3.
The Aeros are now off until Mar. 4, when they host Providence to begin a nine-game homestand.
ALBANY 6, BINGHAMTON 2
Joe Jensen (2-1-3) and Jamie Johnson (1-2-3) each tallied three points as Albany posted a 6-2 win over visiting Binghamton at the Times Union Center.
Pat Dwyer scored twice for the River Rats, and Jakub Petruzalek added a goal and a helper. Albany goaltender Michael Leighton earned the victory with 33 saves on 35 shots.
The River Rats matched a season high with their fourth straight victory and have allowed only five goals in the four contests.
Greg Mauldin and Niko Dimitrakos lit the lamp for Binghamton, which is just 1-5-1-0 in its last seven outings.
WORCESTER 4, SPRINGFIELD 1
Worcester netted four specialty-team goals on its way to a 4-1 victory over visiting Springfield at the DCU Center. The triumph snapped the Sharks’ seven-game winless skid (0-6-1-0).
Devin Setoguchi opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal just 1:24 into the contest. J.D. Forrest tallied a power play marker later in the period for his first goal as a Shark, while Graham Mink and Tom Cavanagh also netted man-advantage goals.
Sharks goaltender Dimitri Patzold made 19 saves in the victory.
Liam Reddox scored for the Falcons, giving him five points (2-3-5) in his last two games, both against Worcester.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 2, SYRACUSE 1 (SO)
Kurtis McLean scored in the ninth round of a shootout to lift Wilkes-Barre/Scranton past visiting Syracuse by a 2-1 final at the Wachovia Arena.
Penguins leading scorer Tim Brent lit the lamp in both regulation and the shootout. Syracuse received its regulation marker from Alexandre Picard. Both goals came in the first period.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender John Curry, celebrating his 24th birthday, made 26 saves through regulation and overtime. After allowing a goal to Syracuse’s Joakim Lindstrom in the shootout’s first round, he denied all eight subsequent attempts.
Karl Goehring took the tough-luck loss for Syracuse, stopping 35 shots through the first 65 minutes and seven of nine in the shootout.
HAMILTON 5, GRAND RAPIDS 3
Daniel Corso netted a pair of goals and added two assists as Hamilton dropped visiting Grand Rapids, 5-3, at the Copps Coliseum.
Bulldogs leading scorer Corey Locke also posted four points (1-3-4) in the victory. Kyle Chipchura and Marvin Degon rounded out Hamilton’s scoring, and Andrew Archer chipped in a pair of assists.
Hamilton goaltender Yann Danis made 20 saves in the win, which improved the surging Bulldogs to 7-0-1-0 in their last eight contests.
Carl Corazzini, Darren McCarty, and Jamie Tardif all scored for the Griffins.
CHICAGO 5, SAN ANTONIO 1
Jason Krog and Jordan LaVallee each netted a pair of goals, and rookie goaltender Ondrej Pavelec made 43 saves as Chicago rolled on with a 5-1 win over host San Antonio at the AT&T Center.
The Wolves won their third straight game and 10th in their last 11 (10-0-1-0), moving them within one point of Providence for first place in the entire AHL.
Chicago built a 4-0 lead after 20 minutes, on the strength of two goals from LaVallee and one each from Krog and Nathan Oystrick. Krog scored again in the second stanza to make it 5-0.
The Rampage piled on the shots in a comeback attempt, taking 15 in the second period and 25 in the third. Pavelec stopped all but one of them, a power play goal by Enver Lisin with just 35 seconds left in the game.
Pavelec improved to 9-1-0 in his last 10 games, posting a 1.09 GAA and .961 save percentage over that span.
MILWAUKEE 4, ROCKFORD 3
Milwaukee built a 4-0 third-period lead and held off a late surge by host Rockford to squeak past the IceHogs, 4-3, at the MetroCentre.
Antti Pihlstrom scored twice for the Admirals, while Janne Niskala and Matt Ellison posted single goals. Pihlstrom’s second goal came at 9:26 of the third period and, at the time, gave Milwaukee a 4-0 cushion.
That goal would prove to be the game-winner, though, as the IceHogs received tallies from Evan Brophey, Michael Blunden, and Jack Skille in a 3:04 span to pull within one score.
Milwaukee goaltender Pekka Rinne held on for the win, finishing with 21 saves on 24 shots.
HERSHEY 4, MANITOBA 3
In his first game back with Hershey, Alexandre Giroux netted a goal and added an assist to pace the Bears past host Manitoba by a 4-3 count at the MTS Centre.
Giroux, reacquired by Washington from the Atlanta organization on Tuesday, led the Bears with 42 goals and 70 points last season. He netted a power play goal just 5:50 into his return stint on Thursday, giving Hershey the lead for good.
Jay Beagle, Josef Boumedienne, and Ryan Flinn also scored for the Bears, and Sami Lepisto contributed three assists. Flinn’s goal was his first of the season.
Hershey goaltender Daren Machesney picked up the win with 24 saves. He allowed goals to Manitoba’s Brad Moran, Jannik Hansen, and Mike Brown.
The teams will square off for a rematch on Thursday evening.
