Andy Chiodo made 23 saves for his fourth career postseason shutout as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton posted a 2-0 win over Binghamton in Game 4 on Wednesday night.
The Penguins have seized the momentum in the teams’ East Division semifinal series, which is tied at two games apiece heading into Friday’s Game 5 in Binghamton.
Matt Murley scored on a power play with 4:46 to play in the first period, and Colby Armstrong, who netted the Game 3 winner in triple overtime, provided an insurance marker midway through the third.
Chiodo, who rescued the Penguins in last year’s division semifinal against Bridgeport and led them all the way to the Calder Cup Final, was on the losing end of Game 2 in this series, but stopped 65 of 67 shots faced in the two games at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza.
Attendance was 6,720.
PHILADELPHIA 4, NORFOLK 1
Jeff Carter scored two goals and assisted on another and Antero Niittymaki made 40 saves as Philadelphia defeated Norfolk, 4-1, to take a 3-1 lead in their East Division semifinal series.
Patrick Sharp added a goal and an assist for the Phantoms, who can eliminate the Admirals with a win at Scope in Game 5 on Friday.
R.J. Umberger also scored for Philadelphia. Jason Morgan had the lone goal for Norfolk.
Craig Anderson stopped 36 shots in the loss.
MANCHESTER 3, PROVIDENCE 2
Veteran defenseman Jason Holland scored with 48 seconds left in regulation to give Manchester a 3-2 win at Providence in Game 4 of their Atlantic Division semifinal series.
The series is tied, 2-2, with Game 5 scheduled for tomorrow night in Manchester.
Milan Jurcina‘s goal for the Bruins at 12:20 of the third period appeared to have the game headed for overtime before Holland scored his sixth career playoff goal.
Dustin Brown and Brad Smyth scored in the first period for the Monarchs. Mike Cammalleri and Tom Kostopoulos registered two assists each.
Mathieu Garon rebounded from a Game 3 shelling and made 24 saves on the night for Manchester.
Attendance at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center was 7,764.
CINCINNATI 3, MILWAUKEE 1
Zenon Konopka and Michael Holmqvist scored power-play goals late in the third period as Cincinnati staved off elimination with a 3-1 win over Milwaukee.
The Admirals still own a 3-2 series lead, with Game 6 scheduled for Friday at Cincinnati Gardens.
Konopka broke a 1-all tie with 4:05 left in regulation, and Holmqvist provided some breathing room with 1:26 to play.
Shane O’Brien had a goal and an assist and Joffrey Lupul and Ryan Getzlaf added two assists each. Getzlaf’s helpers were the first two points of his professional career.
Ilya Bryzgalov made his first start of the series and stopped 18 of 19 shots.
MANITOBA 3, ST. JOHN’S 2 (OT)
Lee Goren scored his fourth goal of the postseason with 2:35 gone in overtime to give Manitoba a 3-2 win and a 3-1 lead in its best-of-seven series with St. John’s.
Goren converted a pass from Peter Sarno for the winning goal during an extended Moose power play. Joel Kwiatkowski was assessed a major penalty for high-sticking with 1:45 left in the third period.
Nathan Smith and Josh Green scored in regulation for the Moose. Clarke Wilm scored both goals for the Maple Leafs.
The game was played before a capacity crowd of 8,812 at the MTS Centre, which will host Game 5 on Friday night.
