TORONTO 8, CHICAGO 3
Jiri Tlusty notched two goals and two assists, and Jay Harrison had a three-point night (1-2-3) as Toronto scored five times in the second period on its way to an 8-3 win over visiting Chicago at Ricoh Coliseum.
The North Division champion Marlies moved within two points of the West Division champion Wolves for the overall Western Conference lead.
Each team netted a pair of goals in the opening period. David Ling and Jaime Sifers scored for Toronto, and Joel Kwiatkowski and Jordan LaVallee did the honors for Chicago.
The Marlies then scored six straight goals, five of which came in the second period. Tlusty had three of his four points in the middle stanza, while Ben Ondrus, Chris Harrington, and Harrison also netted goals. Defenseman Staffan Kronwall added a third-period marker.
Wolves defenseman Nathan Oystrick netted a power play goal late in the third period to close the game’s scoring.
John Mitchell chipped in four assists for Toronto, and goaltender Scott Clemmensen (22-13-2) made 23 saves in the win.
HAMILTON 8, ROCHESTER 4
2008 AHL All-Star Corey Locke became the third player to notch six points in a game this season, scoring three times and adding three assists to lead Hamilton over Rochester by an 8-4 count in front of 6,629 fans at Copps Coliseum.
Locke posted four (2-2-4) of his six points in the third period, a stanza that saw the Bulldogs erupt for five goals in all.
Jonathan Ferland had four points (2-2-4) for Hamilton, while Brett Engelhardt, Ajay Baines, and Mathieu Biron also lit the lamp.
Syracuse’s Joakim Lindstrom and Hartford’s Nigel Dawes were the other players to record six-point efforts this season. Both accomplished the feat within an eight-day span in mid-December.
Stefan Meyer and Clarke MacArthur had a goal and an assist apiece for the Americans.
BRIDGEPORT 4, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 3 (OT)
Blake Comeau’s goal at 2:30 of overtime allowed Bridgeport to escape with a 4-3 road win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the Wachovia Arena.
Trevor Smith had a goal and two assists for the Sound Tigers, and Dustin Kohn and Matt Keith also lit the lamp to give Bridgeport a 3-0 lead by the 1:13 mark of the third period.
But the Penguins battled back to a draw. Mark Ardelan and Dave Gove scored less than three minutes apart, and Jean-Michel Daoust netted the equalizer with 2:11 to go in regulation.
Comeau’s overtime goal made a winner of Bridgeport netminder Joey MacDonald, who stopped 31 of 34 shots.
The Sound Tigers moved within four points of idle Hershey for the East Division’s final playoff spot.
PROVIDENCE 6, WORCESTER 1
Martins Karsums netted a pair of goals and added an assist to lead Providence to a 6-1 win over Worcester at the DCU Center.
The victory allowed the P-Bruins (54-16-3-4) to clinch the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the AHL’s regular season champions.
Pascal Pelletier (1-2-3) also had three points for the Bruins, and Chris Collins, Jordan Knackstedt, and Brett Skinner rounded out the offense.
Bruins goaltender Adam Courchaine earned the win with 19 saves between the pipes.
Mike Iggulden netted the Sharks’ lone goal, giving the 2008 AHL All-Star a goal in four of his last five games (4-0-4).
ALBANY 2, NORFOLK 1
Defenseman Tim Conboy, in his first game for Albany since Feb. 13 after being returned by parent-club Carolina, scored at 19:10 of the third period to give the River Rats a 2-1 win over visiting Norfolk at the Times Union Center.
Nicolas Blanchard gave Albany a 1-0 lead in the first period, but Norfolk’s Brandon Segal tied it late in the middle stanza.
River Rats goaltender Justin Peters (7-2-0) picked up the victory with 23 saves on 24 shots.
PORTLAND 3, LOWELL 0
Mike Hoffman scored a pair of goals and Mike McKenna turned in a 35-save shutout as Portland downed Lowell, 3-0, at Tsongas Arena.
Hoffman tallied goals in the first and third periods for the Pirates, and Michal Birner posted a marker in the middle stanza.
McKenna (24-12-1) secured his third whitewash of the season, two of which have come against the Devils.
QUAD CITY 1, HOUSTON 0
Carsen Germyn netted the game’s lone goal with 7:12 left in regulation to push Quad City to a 1-0 win over visiting Houston at the I Wireless Center.
Defenseman Gerry Burke and Tim Ramholt picked up assists on the goal, which was Germyn’s 18th of the campaign.
Flames rookie goaltender Matt Keetley (10-7-3) recorded his first professional shutout, stopping all 25 shots sent his way.
PEORIA 6, ROCKFORD 1
Mike Glumac posted a goal and two assists as Peoria took a 6-1 road win over Rockford at the MetroCentre.
Peoria’s Chris Porter and Rockford’s Petri Kontiola traded goals by the midway point of the first period, and the Rivermen scored five unanswered goals the rest of the way.
Charles Linglet netted a pair of markers for Peoria, while Nicholas Drazenovic and Ryan Reaves also found the back of the net. Jean-Guy Trudel chipped in three assists and Martin Kariya two.
Rivermen goaltender Hannu Toivonen stopped 30 of 31 shots in the winning effort.
