Devils surge past Monarchs, sweep home-and-home set

Saturday’s Boxscores

LOWELL 5, MANCHESTER 1
Lowell netted four unanswered goals on its way to a 5-1 victory over visiting Manchester on Saturday afternoon at the Tsongas Arena. Nicklas Bergfors scored twice for the Devils, and Ivan Khomutov posted a game-high three points (1-2-3).

Lowell defeated Manchester for the second time in as many days and moved to 6-1-0-0 against the Monarchs this season.

Bergfors tallied goals in the first and third periods, the latter coming on the power play. The two-goal effort came after he went eight straight games without collecting a point.

Lowell’s Barry Tallackson contributed a goal and an assist, and Patrick Davis converted a breakaway attempt to round out the Devils’ scoring.

Petr Vrana added a pair of helpers for Lowell, and goaltender Dave Caruso made 31 saves to pick up his first AHL victory of the season.

Gabe Gauthier netted a power play goal for the Monarchs, who are winless in five straight games (0-4-0-1).


HARTFORD 6, PORTLAND 3
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau tallied two goals and an assist as Hartford rolled on with a 6-3 victory over visiting Portland at the XL Center.

The Wolf Pack have now won five straight games, totaling 26 goals over that span (26-13). The Pack moved to 9-0-0-1 in their last 10 games and 13-1-2-1 in their last 17.

Hugh Jessiman and Andrew Hutchinson tallied a goal and a helper apiece for the Wolf Pack, while Marcel Hossa scored in the first game of a conditioning assignment from the parent N.Y. Rangers.

Hartford goaltender Al Montoya picked up the victory with 20 saves, helping the Wolf Pack move within four points of Providence for the Atlantic Division lead.

Bobby Ryan, Andrew Ebbett, and Andy Schneider netted goals for the Pirates.


SPRINGFIELD 2, PROVIDENCE 1
Springfield netted a pair of first-period goals and goaltender Devan Dubnyk made it stand up for a 2-1 victory over visiting Providence at the MassMutual Center.

All of the game’s scoring occurred in the opening stanza. Stephen Werner and Marc Pouliot lit the lamp for the Falcons, with a Providence goal by Nate Thompson wedged in between.

Dubnyk made 28 saves in the win, including 14 in the third period alone. The victory snapped Springfield’s brief two-game skid.

The league-leading Bruins fell to 1-4-0-0 over their past five games.


ALBANY 3, PHILADELPHIA 2 (OT)
Jerome Samson converted a two-on-one at 2:13 of overtime to lift Albany over Philadelphia by a 3-2 final at the Times Union Center.

Samson also scored in the second period for the River Rats, and Jamie Johnson netted a third-period marker.

Philadelphia was down 2-1 in the closing minute, but Stefan Ruzicka notched a power play goal with just 20.3 seconds left, forcing overtime.

Triston Grant also scored for the Phantoms, who saw their four-game winning streak come to an end.

Albany goaltender Michael Leighton earned the victory with 35 saves on 37 shots.


HERSHEY 6, BINGHAMTON 5 (OT)
Kyle Wilson’s second goal and fourth point of the game at 3:48 of overtime lifted Hershey to a 6-5 road win over Binghamton in a back-and-forth game at the Broome County Arena.

The Bears controlled most of the game, taking a 5-1 lead by the 1:55 mark of the third period. Grant Potulny totaled three points (2-1-3), while Scott Barney and Ben Clymer also scored.

But the Senators staged a fierce third-period rally, highlighted by a pair of goals from Greg Mauldin, the latter of which tied the game with just 28 seconds left in regulation.

Denis Hamel and Matt Carkner netted the B-Sens’ other third-period goals, and Hamel also scored in the first period.

Hershey defenseman Josef Boumedienne posted an assist, extending his scoring streak to 13 games.


BRIDGEPORT 4, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 0
Mike Morrison made 40 saves for his second straight shutout as Bridgeport blanked visiting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by a 4-0 count at the Arena at Harbor Yard.

Morrison, who made 41 saves in a 3-0 win over Worcester on Wednesday, improved to 3-0-0 since suffering a 5-3 loss in Wilkes-Barre on Feb. 1

Ben Walter, Sean Bentivoglio, and Jamie Fraser all posted a goal and an assist for the Sound Tigers, and Jeremy Colliton also scored.

Bridgeport extended its winning streak to three games and moved within two points of Albany and Binghamton, who are tied for the East Division’s fourth and final playoff spot.

The Penguins suffered their second shutout in as many nights, having been blanked by Philadelphia on Saturday.


NORFOLK 4, WORCESTER 2
Norm Milley tallied a goal and two assists, and Norfolk survived a 50-shot attack by Worcester on its way to a 4-2 victory over the Sharks at the Scope Arena.

Admirals goaltender Marc Denis stopped 48 of those 50 shots, including all 26 over the final two periods.

Kyle Wanvig had a goal and an assist for Norfolk, while Jay Rosehill and Paul Szczechura also netted goals.

Rookie Devin Setoguchi tallied both of the Sharks’ markers, scoring on the power play and shorthanded just 50 seconds apart in the first period.

Norfolk swept its two-game set with Worcester, leaving the Sharks 0-4-0-0 on a four-game road swing against East Division foes.


HAMILTON 4, LAKE ERIE 3 (SO)
Hamilton rallied for a pair of third-period goals and went 4-for-4 in the shootout to take a 4-3 win over visiting Lake Erie at the Copps Coliseum.

With the Bulldogs trailing 3-1, Mathieu Biron scored shorthanded at 6:58, and Mikhail Grabovski netted his fourth goal in the last two nights at 12:41, on the power play.

Grabovski also scored in the shootout for Hamilton, as did Matt D’Agostini, Corey Locke, and Daniel Corso.

Bulldogs goaltender Jaroslav Halak stopped all 22 shots he faced after relieving Yann Danis and denied two of three shootout tries.

The Monsters received regulation goals from Chris Stewart, Eric Healey, and Kenny Roche.


TORONTO 5, MANITOBA 3
Toronto tallied five unanswered goals after allowing the game’s first three in a 5-3 victory over host Manitoba before a crowd of 15,003 fans at the MTS Centre.

The Moose jumped to a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes on a pair of goals by Jannik Hansen and one from Mike Keane.

But the Marlies’ Bates Battaglia and Alex Foster scored in the second period to make it 3-2, and Jeremy Williams, John Mitchell, and Derrick Walser all netted third-period goals.

The rally made a winner of Toronto goaltender Scott Clemmensen, who only had to stop 15 shots. The Moose were held to seven shots over the final 40 minutes, including just one in the entire second period.


MILWAUKEE 6, GRAND RAPIDS 4
Milwaukee built a 5-0 lead after 20 minutes and held on for a 6-4 victory over host Grand Rapids before a sellout crowd of 10,834 at the Van Andel Arena.

Cal O’Reilly notched a game-high five points (1-4-5) and a plus-4 rating for the Admirals, and Janne Niskala netted a pair of goals.

Milwaukee forward Kevin Ulanski potted his first career AHL goal in the closing second of the first-period onslaught.

Evan McGrath and Ryan Oulahen led the Griffins’ comeback attempt with a goal and a helper apiece, as Grand Rapids netted four goals of its own in the middle stanza.

Jason Guerriero gave the Admirals an insurance goal at 10:50 of the third period.


SYRACUSE 3, ROCHESTER 2 (OT)
Defenseman Marc Methot scored at 2:25 of overtime to lift Syracuse over visiting Rochester, 3-2, at the Onondaga County War Memorial.  The Crunch moved to 4-0-0-2 in their last six games and pulled within a point of Manitoba for second place in the North Division.

Adam Pineault and Derek MacKenzie scored in regulation for the Crunch, and Zenon Konopka assisted on all three Syracuse goals.

MacKenzie now has a goal in three straight games (4-2-6) and five of his last six (6-3-9).

Andrej Sekera and Anthony Stewart lit the lamp for Rochester, which saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.

Syracuse goaltender Dan LaCosta picked up the win with 28 saves, while counterpart Adam Dennis made 30 saves for the Americans in the losing effort.


CHICAGO 4, ROCKFORD 1
Bryan Little and Brett Sterling tallied a goal and assist apiece as Chicago won its seventh straight, 4-1 over host Rockford before 6,616 fans at the MetroCentre.

Defensemen Joel Kwiatkowski and Brian Fahey also scored for the Wolves, who matched a season high with the seven consecutive victories and moved seven points up on the IceHogs for the West Division’s top spot.

Chicago goaltender Ondrej Pavelec earned the win with 33 saves on 34 shots, marking the sixth straight start in which he allowed two goals or fewer.

Bryan Bickell netted Rockford’s lone goal on the power play in the second period. The IceHogs fell to 0-5-1-1 in their last seven games.


SAN ANTONIO 4, QUAD CITY 2
Behind three power play goals and an empty-netter, San Antonio doubled up host Quad City by a 4-2 count at the I Wireless Center.

The Rampage took a 3-0 lead by the game’s mid-point on power play markers by Ryan Caldwell, Jon DiSalvatore, and Chris Durno.

But the Flames came back with a pair of man-advantage goals of their own. Adam Pardy and Carsen Germyn did the honors, making it a one-goal game with more than 17 minutes to play.

Quad City was unable to get the equalizer, though, and San Antonio’s Bill Thomas scored into an empty net with a second left.

Rampage goaltender David LeNeveu picked up the victory with 35 saves.

The teams will square off for a rematch on Sunday.