LOOKING BACK:
Corey Hessler’s goal with 20 seconds left in regulation gave Milwaukee a 4-3 win over Omaha on Thursday… A night earlier, Kurtis McLean tied a team record with five points (1g, 4a) in just his third career AHL game, helping Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 7-2 win over Syracuse… Derek MacKenzie had a hat trick in Chicago’s 7-3 win over Omaha.
Wed 1/18
ALBANY 4, Norfolk 3… CHICAGO 7, Omaha 3… GRAND RAPIDS 6, Iowa 3… Manchester 6, HARTFORD 3… LOWELL 5, Portland 4 (SO)… WILKES-BARRE 7, Syracuse 2
Thu 1/19
MILWAUKEE 4, Omaha 3
LOOKING AHEAD:
Portland has gone six games without a regulation loss (4-0-0-2) heading into a busy weekend with games in Albany on Friday and in Hershey on Saturday and Sunday… Dustin Penner has recorded 27 points (10g, 17a) in 15 games since returning to the Pirates from Anaheim… Fellow AHL All-Star selection Ryan Shannon is riding a six-game scoring streak (4g, 6a)… There have been 43 combined goals scored in the first five meetings this season between Portland and Albany, most recently a 7-6 overtime win by the River Rats on Dec. 27… David Clarkson has six points and 26 penalty minutes for Albany, both team highs, in the season series against the Pirates.
Grand Rapids continues its six-game homestand with a pair against Toronto this weekend, looking to extend a five-game winning streak… On Wednesday night, the Griffins’ Donald MacLean became the first AHL player in nearly three years to post hat tricks in consecutive games; he now has 15 goals in his last 13 outings and a league-leading 27 on the year… The Marlies rolled past the Griffins, 5-0 and 6-3, in a pair of meetings at Ricoh Coliseum last month, but Grand Rapids has rebounded to go 11-1-1-0 since then… Toronto is four stops into a 10-game road trip, 1-1-2-0 to date… Brad Leeb has nine points (5g, 4a) in those first four games for the Marlies.
Hamilton and Manitoba meet up for a two-game set at the MTS Centre, beginning with Friday’s nationally televised game (8:30 ET, Rogers Sportsnet)… The Moose have scored just 12 goals in their last seven home games but are 6-1-0-0 as Manitoba goalies have allowed five goals and posted four shutouts (0.71, .972) in those contests… 2005 AHL All-Star Jason King has three goals in three games for Manitoba since returning from a 10-month post-concussion absence… Defenseman Jean-Philippe Cote scored 25 seconds into Hamilton’s 3-1 win over Rochester on Sunday, ending a 45-game AHL drought… Jean-Francois Jacques has two goals and three assists in the Bulldogs’ three games against the Moose in 2005-06.
(all times Eastern)
Fri 1/20
Portland at Albany, 7:00… Toronto at Grand Rapids, 7:00… Wilkes-Barre at Binghamton, 7:05… Hershey at Philadelphia, 7:05… Hartford at Providence, 7:05… Cleveland at Syracuse, 7:30… Bridgeport at Lowell, 7:35… Norfolk at Springfield, 7:35… Manchester at Omaha, 8:00… Peoria at San Antonio, 8:00… Chicago at Iowa, 8:05… Hamilton at Manitoba, 8:30… Rochester at Houston, 8:35
Sat 1/21
Philadelphia at Albany, 7:00… Toronto at Grand Rapids, 7:00… Providence at Hartford, 7:00… Portland at Hershey, 7:00… Norfolk at Binghamton, 7:05… Lowell at Springfield, 7:05… Bridgeport at Wilkes-Barre, 7:05… Cleveland at Syracuse, 7:30… Milwaukee at Chicago, 8:00… Rochester at San Antonio, 8:00… Manchester at Iowa, 8:05… Hamilton at Manitoba, 8:30… Peoria at Houston, 8:35
Sun 1/22
Lowell at Hartford, 4:00… Springfield at Providence, 4:05… Houston at Chicago, 5:00… Toronto at Hamilton, 5:00… Portland at Hershey, 5:00… Norfolk at Philadelphia, 5:05… Manchester at Peoria, 7:00
Mon 1/23
No games scheduled
Tue 1/24
San Antonio at Milwaukee, 8:00… Houston at Peoria, 8:00
ALUMNI WATCH:
On Thursday, 2006 AHL All-Star selection Tim Thomas made 35 saves to lead Boston past Philadelphia, 5-2… 2005 AHL All-Star Eric Staal scored his 30th goal of the season in Carolina’s 4-3 win over the N.Y. Islanders… 1995 AHL All-Star Mattias Norstrom recorded a goal and four assists for Los Angeles in an 8-6 win over Atlanta.
BY THE NUMBERS:
7 — AHL record for hat tricks in one season, set by Bill Lochead of New Haven in 1979-80 and matched by Adirondack’s Mark Pederson in 1993-94… Grand Rapids’ Donald MacLean has four three-goal games already this year.
AHL ON B2 NETWORKS:
B2 Networks brings AHL action to your computer all season long with live video webcasts of nearly every AHL game… Click here for details.
