ROCHESTER 4, BINGHAMTON 2
Jamie Johnson notched a pair of goals as Rochester rolled on with a 4-2 road victory over Binghamton on Friday at the Broome County Arena. David Brine and Jason Garrison also scored for the AHL-leading Americans, who extended their winning streak to eight games.
Brine opened the game’s scoring at 11:04 of the opening period, with Victor Oreskovich picking up the first of his two assists on the night.
Binghamton’s Jesse Winchester, playing the first game of a conditioning stint from parent-club Ottawa, tied it at 9:42 of the second period. But Johnson regained the Amerks’ lead less than five minutes later off a feed from Oreskovich.
Zack Smith tied it once more for the Senators with a power play goal at 5:14 of the third frame, but the defenseman Garrison answered on the power play for Rochester just 2:08 later.
Johnson added an empty-net tally in the closing minute for Rochester, and Chris Taylor also chipped in two assists in the victory.
Americans rookie goaltender Alexander Salak earned the win with 38 saves, helping Rochester (9-1-1-0) to its longest winning streak since an eight-game run from Jan. 25 to Feb. 8, 2005.
SPRINGFIELD 4, ALBANY 3 (SO)
Chris Minard scored twice in regulation and added the winning shootout goal as Springfield took a 4-3 decision from host Albany at the Times Union Center.
Minard began the game’s scoring at 4:07 of the second period and added a power play goal for the Falcons midway through the third frame. His two goals gave him a league-leading nine for the campaign.
Minard’s goal in the opening shootout round proved to be decisive when goaltender Devan Dubnyk stopped all four of Albany’s attempts. Dubnyk made 33 saves through regulation and overtime.
Viacheslav Trukhno converted a second-period penalty shot attempt for the Falcons, and Ryan Potulny also scored in the shootout.
Rookie Matthew Pistilli notched his first two professional goals for the River Rats, and Zach Boychuk also scored in the losing effort.
TORONTO 3, ADIRONDACK 0
Just reassigned by the parent Maple Leafs, goaltender Joey MacDonald posted a 19-save shutout to lead the Toronto Marlies to a 3-0 win over visiting Adirondack at Ricoh Coliseum.
The Marlies’ victory spoiled the return of Adirondack head coach Greg Gilbert, who served as Toronto’s bench boss for the last three seasons and guided the club to the 2008 Western Conference Finals.
Ryan Hamilton netted a pair of goals for the Marlies, and Juraj Mikus also lit the lamp. Mike Zigomanis picked up two assists, giving him seven helpers in just four games since joining the team.
Toronto moved over .500 on the season at 4-3-1-1 and will host Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday.
GRAND RAPIDS 3, HOUSTON 1
Surging Grand Rapids scored three times in the third period to rally past visiting Houston by a 3-1 final at Van Andel Arena.
Trailing 1-0 entering the final 20 minutes, the Griffins received goals from Michael Nylander – his first in the AHL since the 1993 Calder Cup Playoffs – Evan McGrath, and Patrick Rissmiller, who scored into an empty net.
Goaltender Thomas McCollum picked up the win with 32 saves for the Griffins, who extended their winning streak to five games since opening the home portion of their schedule.
After a scoreless first period, Robbie Earl gave the Aeros a 1-0 lead just 1:58 into the middle frame.
PORTLAND 3, LOWELL 2 (OT)
Mark Mancari’s power play goal at 4:36 of overtime allowed Portland to escape with a 3-2 win over visiting Lowell at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Friday.
Mancari’s goal was assisted by Tyler Ennis and Nathan Gerbe, who both finished with two helpers on the night.
The Pirates initially grabbed a 2-0 first-period advantage on goals by Derek Whitmore and Kyle Wanvig.
But the Devils’ Louis Robitaille cut the deficit in half with an unassisted marker late in the first, and Stephen Gionta netted the equalizer with just 1:05 to play in regulation time.
Portland goaltender Jhonas Enroth earned the victory with 36 saves on 38 shots in net.
HERSHEY 6, HARTFORD 0
Hershey handed host Hartford one of its most lopsided losses in franchise history on Friday, a 6-0 decision at the XL Center.
Alexandre Giroux, a member of the Wolf Pack from 2003-06, scored a pair of goals and added two assists in his first game back with Hershey after a brief NHL stint with Washington.
Francois Bouchard also posted four points (1-3-4) for the Bears, who received single goals from Andrew Joudrey, Boyd Kane, and Mathieu Perreault.
Steve Pinizzotto chipped in two assists in the victory, and goaltender Jason Bacashihua earned the shutout with 26 saves in net.
It marked Hartford’s largest margin of defeat since an 8-2 loss at Lowell on Jan. 27, 2006, and the Wolf Pack’s worst shutout loss since a 7-0 loss to Worcester on Dec. 22, 2000.
WORCESTER 2, BRIDGEPORT 1
Defenseman Dean Strong scored his first professional goal at 8:20 of the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie and sending Worcester to a 2-1 win over visiting Bridgeport at the DCU Center.
Strong’s goal was assisted by Danny Groulx and Corey Quirk, and it came just 16 seconds after Bridgeport’s Greg Moore had tied the contest at 1-1 with a power play tally.
The Sharks took a 1-0 lead when Steven Zalewski netted a power play goal of his own in the closing minute of the opening period, with Groulx and Joe Callahan picking up the helpers.
Worcester goaltender Alex Stalock earned the victory with 25 saves on 26 shots.
SYRACUSE 2, NORFOLK 0
Syracuse snapped a five-game road winless skid (0-4-0-1) to begin the season with a 2-0 triumph over Norfolk on Friday at the Scope.
Crunch goaltender Dan LaCosta stopped all 32 shots he faced to pick up his first shutout of the season and improve to 3-3-1 overall.
Alexandre Picard gave Syracuse an early 1-0 lead just 32 seconds into the contest, and the slim advantage held until Pascal Pelletier added an empty-net tally in the closing minute of regulation.
Derek MacKenzie assisted on both Crunch goals, and he now shows nine points (3-6-9) in 10 games this season.
MANCHESTER 2, PROVIDENCE 1
Manchester continued its stingy defensive play with a 2-1 win over visiting Providence at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier made 28 saves in the winning effort, and the former first-round draft pick has now denied 97 of 98 opponent shots (98.9 percent) during a personal three-game winning streak.
As a team, Manchester has surrendered just two goals during its current five-game winning streak, all on home ice. The Monarchs sit atop the Atlantic Division at 8-2-0-0 overall (16 points).
Manchester’s John Zeiler and Providence’s Guillaume Lefebvre traded first-period goals on Friday. After a scoreless second period, Oscar Moller converted a penalty shot attempt at 18:09 of the third period for the game-winner.
The Bruins are now winless in three straight games (0-2-1-0), including two straight losses in Manchester.
LAKE ERIE 5, PEORIA 4 (SO)
Lake Erie scored on its first three shootout tries to take a 5-4 win over visiting Peoria in a back-and-forth game at Quicken Loans Arena on Friday.
Darren Haydar, Brock Bradford, and Cedric McNicoll each scored in the shootout for the Monsters, while rookie goaltender Trevor Cann stuffed three of Peoria’s four tries after making 38 saves through the first 65 minutes.
The Rivermen took a 2-0 lead on first-period goals from Nicholas Drazenovic and rookie Lars Eller. But Lake Erie racked up four straight to move ahead 4-2, receiving markers from Matthew Ford, Haydar, McNicoll, and Bradford.
Jonas Junland brought the Rivermen within 4-3 with a power play goal late in the second period, and Derek Armstrong tied it at 17:43 of the final frame. Drazenovic had a hand in all four goals for Peoria (1-3-4), and Julian Talbot notched the Rivermen’s lone shootout marker.
Lake Erie improved to 4-1-0-0 in its last five contests and will host Peoria for a rematch on Saturday afternoon.
ABBOTSFORD 2, HAMILTON 1 (SO)
Kris Chucko and Jason Jaffray bagged shootout goals as Abbotsford edged Hamilton by a 2-1 count at Copps Coliseum on Friday.
Heat goaltender Leland Irving stopped 30 of 31 shots through regulation and overtime before denying shootout tries by Hamilton’s Tom Pyatt, Brock Trotter, Sergei Kostitsyn, and Mathieu Darche.
Pyatt gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead in the closing seconds of the first period, but Abbotsford’s Mikael Backlund tallied the equalizer at 19:15 of the second frame.
Despite the shootout loss, Hamilton still has not suffered a regulation defeat through 10 games this season (6-0-1-3).
MILWAUKEE 2, ROCKFORD 1
Milwaukee rallied for a pair of second-period goals and took a 2-1 win over visiting Rockford on Friday at the Bradley Center.
Admirals forward Mike Santorelli notched a power play goal at 6:19, and Andreas Thuresson followed with the eventual game-winning tally at 15:01 mark.
Robert Dietrich picked up an assist on both markers, and second-year goaltender Mark Dekanich earned the win with 29 saves on 30 shots in net.
Rob Klinkhammer initially gave the IceHogs a 1-0 advantage at 13:36 of the first period, with goaltender Corey Crawford picking up an assist on the play. Crawford finished with 33 saves in the losing effort.
TEXAS 3, SAN ANTONIO 0
Texas grabbed a share of first place in the West Division with a 3-0 road win over struggling San Antonio on Friday at the AT&T Center.
Francis Wathier, Greg Rallo, and rookie Sergei Korostin netted goals for the Stars, and defensemen Ivan Vishnevskiy and Brad Lukowich each contributed a pair of assists in the victory.
Texas goaltender Brent Krahn (4-1-0) picked up his first shutout of the season with 34 saves in net.
The Stars (6-2-0-2) now show a division-leading 14 points along with the Rampage, who are winless in four straight contests (0-3-1-0) and have been shut out in their last two outings.
MANITOBA 2, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 1 (SO)
Reassigned to Manitoba earlier in the day, rookie Sergei Shirokov scored in regulation and notched the lone shootout goal for either side as the Moose pulled out a 2-1 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before 7,925 fans at the MTS Centre.
Shirokov beat Penguins goaltender John Curry in the opening round of the shootout. Moose netminder Daren Machesney denied all five Penguins attempts after making 26 saves through regulation and overtime.
Shirokov tallied a power play goal to give the Moose a 1-0 lead at 5:58 of the opening period, with assists going to Matt Pettinger and Nolan Baumgartner.
But Dustin Jeffrey tied it for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at 13:30 of the second frame, converting a penalty shot against Machesney. It marked just the second penalty-shot goal in the 11-year history of Penguins (2-for-21).
Despite the shootout loss, the Penguins extended their points streak to six games (4-0-1-1) since a 2-1 loss to Bridgeport on Oct. 10.
