Eastern Conference notebook

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Albany tries to snap a four-game losing streak with visits to Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this weekend. Former first-round draft pick Ari Ahonen, sidelined for more than three months with a groin injury, returned to the River Rats lineup on Mar. 18 and made 36 saves in a 2-1 loss to Hershey. David Clarkson enters the weekend on a five-game scoring streak (3g, 3a).

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Bobby Robins, who completed his senior season at UMass-Lowell last week, scored his first two professional goals in Binghamton’s 5-3 win over Albany on Wednesday. Captain Denis Hamel netted his 200th career AHL goal on Saturday night vs. Philadelphia. The Senators, 8-2-1-1 in their last 12 games and currently six points out of a playoff spot in the East Division, still play fourth-place Bridgeport twice and third-place Norfolk three times.

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Bridgeport wraps up a seven-game road swing with games this weekend in Manchester, Hartford and Springfield. Jeff Hamilton has scored a goal in five straight contests, and has recorded a point in 15 of his last 16 games (12g, 11a). Bruno Gervais, who leads all AHL defensemen with 17 goals this season, netted his first NHL marker – assisted by Jeff Tambellini and Wyatt Smith – for the N.Y. Islanders on Sunday.

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Al Montoya made 33 saves in Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Manchester, extending his unbeaten streak to eight decisions (7-0-1). Wednesday’s win was the Wolf Pack’s 40th of the season, the seventh time in nine years they have reached that mark. Marvin Degon, a former defense partner of Thomas Pock’s at the University of Massachusetts, made his pro debut with Hartford on Mar. 18.

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Stephen Werner, a third-round draft pick by Washington in 2003, signed an ATO with Hershey last week following his senior season at the University of Massachusetts. Saturday’s 2-1 win over Albany was the Bears’ 13th straight victory over the River Rats since their last loss on Mar. 28, 2004. Hershey faces Wilkes-Barre/Scranton twice this weekend with a chance to overtake the Penguins atop the East Division.

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Mark Pandolfo signed an ATO out of UMass-Lowell on Sunday morning and recorded a goal and an assist that afternoon in the Lock Monsters’ 4-2 win over Manchester. After missing the previous eight games, David Gove returned to the Lowell lineup on Sunday and recorded a goal and an assist. The Lock Monsters have used a league-high 54 players this season.

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Manchester has just one regulation win in its last 16 games, but has also claimed three shootout victories and two overtime wins in that span. Alexandre Daigle made his Monarchs debut on Mar. 15 and scored both of the team’s goals in a 5-2 loss to Iowa. Manchester continues to lead the AHL in attendance, averaging 8,604 fans per home game.

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Norfolk heads into this weekend’s two-game series with Portland in search of its first back-to-back wins since Feb. 24-25. Martin St. Pierre has points in six straight games (1g, 7a) for the Admirals. Nineteen of Nathan Barrett’s 26 goals this season have come on the power play.

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Marc Cavosie, who scored three goals in his first 47 games this season, netted five in a three-game span last week, including a hat trick in Philadelphia’s 3-2 overtime win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Mar. 17. The Phantoms have lost six of their last eight games following a five-game winning streak. Rookie defenseman Charlie Cook leads Philadelphia with a plus-8 rating on the season.

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Portland improved to 14-3-0-0 in its last 17 games with Wednesday’s 2-1 shootout win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Pirates’ eighth straight road victory. The Pirates are 23-0-0-0 when allowing two goals or fewer this season. Ryan Shannon remains second in the AHL in rookie scoring with 73 points on the year, five back of Houston’s Patrick O’Sullivan.

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Providence has won five of its last seven games, and owns a 10-point lead in the race for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. Eight of the Bruins’ final 14 games will be against the bottom three teams in the Atlantic: Lowell (two), Springfield (three) and Albany (three) Tim Thomas, who was 15-11-0 in 26 appearances for Providence earlier this season, signed a three-year contract extension with Boston last week.

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Jonathan Boutin earned his first career AHL shutout on Friday night, allowed three goals on five shots to Providence on Saturday, then rebounded with a 41-save effort at Albany on Sunday. Zdenek Blatny has recorded 21 points in 18 games in a Falcons uniform. Springfield scored a season-high seven goals in Sunday’s win over the River Rats.

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Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is winless in its last three games, but has earned points in six straight (3-0-1-2). Krys Kolanos has recorded five points in six games since joining the Penguins. Jonathan Filewich had a five-game scoring streak snapped in Wednesday’s shootout loss to Portland.