Fri. roundup: Kane lifts Bears to comeback win

Friday’s AHL Boxscores

HERSHEY 4, SYRACUSE 3 (OT)
Boyd Kane notched a pair of goals – including the game-winner 1:43 into overtime – as Hershey rallied for a 4-3 road win over Syracuse on Friday at the Onondaga County War Memorial.

The Bears increased their winning streak to a season-high three games heading into Saturday’s home-ice showdown with 7-0-0-0 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Kane, whose overtime winner was assisted by Keith Aucoin, picked up his first multiple-goal performance since scoring twice vs. Adirondack on Mar. 7, 2010.

The Crunch grabbed a 2-0 lead by the game’s midpoint on goals by Nicolas Deschamps and Luca Sbisa, but the Bears then struck for three straight to take a 3-2 advantage. Brian Willsie brought Hershey within 2-1 heading into the second intermission, and then Kane and Lawrence Nycholat scored 24 seconds apart early in the third frame.

Syracuse rookie Kyle Palmieri tied it back up on the power play with just four minutes left in regulation, with Sbisa and Nick Bonino earning assists. Sbisa (1-1-2), Bonino (0-2-2), and Trevor Smith (0-2-2) all had multiple points for the Crunch.

Aucoin finished with a pair of helpers in the winning effort, and goaltender Dany Sabourin (1-2-0) earned his first victory in a Bears uniform with 37 saves in net.

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, ADIRONDACK 1
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton continued its dominating start to the 2010-11 season on Friday with a 4-1 road win over Adirondack at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The Penguins improved to 7-0-0-0 on the campaign – two wins shy of a franchise-record winning streak – heading into Saturday’s showdown with arch-rival Hershey at the Giant Center.

Rookie defenseman Carl Sneep nabbed his first professional goal for the Penguins, and Ryan Craig and Jesse Boulerice each tallied his first marker of the season as Wilkes-Barre built a 3-0 lead by early in the third period.

After David Laliberte put Adirondack on the board with his first goal of the campaign, Nick Johnson added a power play goal for the Penguins to further pad the lead.

Defenseman Andrew Hutchinson contributed two assists for Wilkes-Barre, and goaltender Brad Thiessen (4-0-0) stopped 17 of 18 shots in net.

The Phantoms lost their fifth straight game in regulation and are winless in six straight overall (0-5-1-0) since a 3-2 triumph over Syracuse on Oct. 15.

OKLAHOMA CITY 5, GRAND RAPIDS 4
Brad Moran’s fifth-round shootout strike lifted Oklahoma City to a 5-4 road win over Grand Rapids on Friday in a back-and-forth tilt at Van Andel Arena.

Alexandre Giroux and Teemu Hartikainen also nabbed shootout goals for the Barons, and goaltender Martin Gerber stopped three of the Griffins’ five tries, allowing scores to Ilari Filppula and Brendan Smith.

Oklahoma City held leads of 2-0, 3-2, and 4-3 in regulation, but the Griffins came back to a draw on each occasion. Hartikainen and Liam Reddox each had a goal and an assist for the Barons, while Moran and Milan Kytnar also found the back of the net.

Smith and Filppula paced Grand Rapids with a goal and an assist apiece in regulation, with Smith’s goal at 18:53 of the third period tying the contest at 4-4 at sending it to overtime. Jan Mursak and Jamie Tardif also scored for the Griffins, who fell to 0-1-0-2 on home ice this season.

Oklahoma City captured its third consecutive win – all on the road – and moved to 6-4-1-0 overall. The Barons conclude a five-game road swing on Saturday in Peoria.

HAMILTON 2, TORONTO 1
Ryan Russell scored twice for Hamilton – including the game-winner early in the third period – as the Bulldogs edged visiting Toronto by a 2-1 count at Copps Coliseum.

Russell, who had been held without a goal in his first seven games this season, broke his drought and a scoreless deadlock at 17:11 of the second period, with David Desharnais and Aaron Palushaj earning assists.

Marlies forward Christian Hanson, a 2010 AHL All-Star, then made it 1-1 with a power play strike in the closing seconds of the frame.

But Russell struck for his second of the night just 1:24 into the third period, and Desharnais and Palushaj also picked up the helpers on this one.

Hamilton goaltender Peter Delmas made the slim one-goal lead stand up, finishing with 32 saves on 33 shots for his first career AHL victory.

SPRINGFIELD 2, HARTFORD 1 (OT)
Michael Blunden scored at 3:24 of overtime to lift Springfield to a 2-1 road win over struggling Hartford on Friday at the XL Center.

Blunden’s team-leading sixth goal of the season – but first game-winner – was assisted by Chad Kolarik and defenseman John Moore. Ex-Wolf Pack goaltender David LeNeveu turned aside 41 of 42 shots in the winning effort.

Kolarik began the night’s scoring late in the first period with his fourth goal of the season. Blunden and Grant Clitsome earned helpers on the play.

Kris Newbury, who had racked up a team-high eight points – all assists – for the Wolf Pack, finally scored his first goal of the season at 6:50 of the second period to make it a 1-1 game.

But that marked Hartford’s only offense of the night. The Wolf Pack finished 0-3-2-0 on a season-high five-game homestand and totaled only four goals in the five games, never scoring more than once in any single contest.

The Falcons, who will host Hartford in a rematch on Saturday, won for the third time in their last four outings (3-1-0-0).

BRIDGEPORT 3, MANCHESTER 2 (OT)
Rookie defenseman Travis Hamonic capped off a multiple-point night (1-1-2) with the game-winning goal 1:06 into overtime as Bridgeport eked out a 3-2 road win over Manchester on Friday at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

The Sound Tigers brought a 2-0 lead into the third period on goals by David Ullstrom and Rob Hisey, but David Meckler and defenseman Alec Martinez scored for Manchester to force the extra session.

Dustin Kohn (0-2-2) and Hisey assisted on Hamonic’s overtime winner, which gave Bridgeport its first win in three tries against Manchester on the young season (1-2-0-0).

Sound Tigers rookie goaltender Kevin Poulin (2-1-0) turned aside 25 of 27 shots sent his way to pick up the win.

BINGHAMTON 4, CHARLOTTE 3
Binghamton rookie Bobby Butler scored at 3:53 of overtime, lifting Binghamton to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over visiting Charlotte on Friday at the Broome County Arena.

The Senators extended their points streak to four games (3-0-0-1) since a 1-3-0-0 start to the season and will host the Checkers in a rematch on Saturday night.

Ryan Keller, Corey Locke, and Erik Condra scored in regulation for the Senators, who overcame a 2-0 first-intermission deficit to bring a 3-2 lead into the final minute of play.

But Checkers forward Nick Dodge scored at 19:44 of the third period to force the extra session. Zach Boychuk and Chris Terry had previously lit the lamp for Charlotte.

Butler’s overtime game-winner – his team-high fourth goal of the young season – was assisted by Locke and Mike Hoffman.

Binghamton goaltender Barry Brust earned the win with 30 saves on 33 shots, while Justin Pogge took the tough-luck loss for Charlotte despite making 45 saves on the night.

ALBANY 3, PROVIDENCE 2
Stephen Gionta broke a 2-2 deadlock with 2:23 left in regulation, and Albany continued Providence’s home-ice woes with a 3-2 win over the Bruins on Friday before 8,477 fans at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

Albany’s Brad Mills and Providence’s Jordan Knackstedt traded goals through the first two periods before Knackstedt put the B’s on top 2-1 with his second of the night 3:51 into the third period.

But forward Matt Anderson, a 2008 Calder Cup champion with Chicago, tallied his first goal in a Devils uniform at 7:59, setting the stage for Gionta’s game-winner. Mills and David McIntyre earned assists on Gionta’s second goal of the season.

Goaltender Jeff Frazee earned the victory with 30 saves in net for the Devils, who improved to 5-2-0-0 overall on the young season, including a 3-0-0-0 road mark.

The Bruins, who are 2-1-0-0 on the road thus far, fell to 0-3-0-1 on home ice this season.

ROCHESTER 4, WORCESTER 3
Rochester scored three third-period goals in a span of 5:41 to overcome a 3-1 deficit and escape with a 4-3 road win over Worcester on Friday at the DCU Center.

It marked the first-ever meeting between the Sharks and Americans, and Rochester’s first visit to the DCU Center since taking on the Worcester IceCats on Jan. 2, 2002.

Chris Taylor put Rochester on top 1-0 with a late first-period goal, but the Sharks took control into the third period on strikes by Jonathan Cheechoo, Andrew Desjardins, and defenseman Nick Petrecki, who scored unassisted for his first goal of the season.

Evgeny Dadonov began the Amerks’ comeback with his fourth goal of the year at 5:27 of the third, and Taylor nabbed the equalizer at 7:34. Michal Repik then buried his third goal at 11:08 to give Rochester a 4-3 lead and ultimately the victory.

Kenndal McArdle and Bill Thomas each had two assists for the Amerks, and goaltender Tyler Plante (2-0-0) turned aside 33 of 36 shots sent his way.

Rochester concludes its four-game road swing on Saturday at Adirondack.

PORTLAND 6, NORFOLK 5 (SO)
Derek Whitmore scored in the fifth shootout round to lift Portland past host Norfolk, 6-5, in a see-saw battle on Friday at the Scope.

Both teams had multiple leads during regulation, but ultimately it was the Pirates who prevailed for their first road win of the season in three tries (1-2-0-0). Portland is an Atlantic Division-best 7-2-0-0 overall.

Rookie forward Luke Adam paced the Pirates with three points (1-2-3), including the game-tying goal with 5:17 to play in regulation. Defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani scored twice, and Mark Mancari (1-1-2) and Drew Schiestel rounded out Portland’s offense.

Ex-Admiral Mark Parrish also notched a shootout goal for Portland, and goaltender David Leggio denied four of Norfolk’s five tries – Juraj Simek had the Admirals’ lone conversion – after making 36 saves through the first 65 minutes.

Simek tallied a pair of regulation goals for Norfolk, and Marc-Antoine Pouliot had a goal and an assist to give himself a team-best 14 points (3-11-14) on the season. Janes Wright and defenseman Ty Wishart also scored, while Matt Fornataro and Johan Harju each had two helpers.

The teams will collide again on Saturday in southern Virginia.

MANITOBA 6, LAKE ERIE 3
Six different Manitoba skaters found the back of the net, and the Moose scored five unanswered goals to overcome a 3-1 deficit and capture a 6-3 road win over Lake Erie on Friday at Quicken Loans Arena.

Marco Rosa, Joel Perrault (1-1-2), Cody Hodgson (1-1-2), Sergei Shirokov (1-1-2), and defenseman Stefan Schneider all scored their second goals of the season for the Moose, while Shawn Weller nabbed his first of the year.

Kevin Clark chipped in two assists on the night, and ex-Monsters goaltender Tyler Weiman earned the victory with 24 saves on 27 shots for the Moose.

Manitoba visits Grand Rapids on Saturday before returning to Cleveland on Sunday for a rematch with Lake Erie.

Rookie Zach Cohen tallied his first goal of the season for the Monsters, and Mark Olver and Greg Mauldin also scored as Lake Erie initially built a 3-1 lead early in the second period.

SAN ANTONIO 5, HOUSTON 2
San Antonio scored four unanswered goals to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 win over visiting Houston on Friday at the AT&T Center.

Alexandre Picard and Viktor Tikhonov each recorded a goal and an assist for the Rampage, while Tim Stapleton, Brett MacLean, and rookie defenseman Michael Stone also found the back of the net.

The 20-year-old Stone, a third-round draft pick by Phoenix in 2008, registered the first goal of his professional career, with Picard and Tikhonov each earning an assist on the play.

Defenseman Garrett Stafford had two assists on the night for San Antonio, and former Houston goaltender Matt Climie earned the victory by making a season-high 41 saves on 43 shots.

The Rampage (7-2-1-0, 15 points) collected their sixth consecutive win and moved one point up on idle Peoria for first place in the West Division.

Cody Almond and defenseman Maxim Noreau each scored his first goal of the season for Houston, which held an 18-9 shots advantage in the opening period. The Aeros are winless in six straight outings (0-5-1-0) since a 2-0-0-0 start to the season.

MILWAUKEE 3, ABBOTSFORD 2
Milwaukee built a 3-2 lead by early in the second period and then survived an Abbotsford rally to come away with a 3-2 road win over the Heat on Friday at the Entertainment & Sports Centre.

Matt Halischuk, Kelsey Wilson, and Chris Mueller all scored for the Admirals, and rookie Blake Geoffrion recorded a pair of assists on the night.

Matt Keith and rookie Lance Bouma potted goals to pull the Heat within 3-2 heading into the third period, but Abbotsford was unable to get the equalizer and fell to 1-3-0-1 on home ice so far this season.

Admirals goaltender Mark Dekanich improved to 4-0-0 on the season – including 3-0-0 against the Heat – after making 26 saves on 28 shots.

The teams will meet again on Saturday night, already the conclusion of their four-game season series.