NORFOLK 4, PORTLAND 2
Brandon Bochenski continued his torrid start to the season with two goals and an assist as Norfolk doubled up visiting Portland by a 4-2 count on Friday at the Scope. The two teams will square off again in southeastern Virginia on Saturday night.
Bochenski began the night’s scoring with a power play goal just 2:44 after the opening face-off, converting on a hooking call against ex-Admiral Kyle Wanvig. Bochenski then extended the lead to 2-0 just 3:04 later, and he now shows a goal in five of his last six contests (6-1-7) since being held scoreless in Norfolk’s seaon opener.
Paul Szczechura (1-1-2) and Ryan Craig added second-period goals to build Norfolk’s lead to 4-0 before the Pirates attempted a comeback on goals by Paul Byron (9:02) and Tyler Ennis (11:52).
Neither team scored in the second period, as the Admirals (3-4-0-0) captured their second consecutive win for the first time this season. Norfolk goaltender Dustin Tokarski finished with 14 saves in the winning effort.
The Pirates dropped their third straight game and fell to 2-6-0-0 on the campaign.
ROCHESTER 2, ALBANY 1
Rochester continued its winning ways on Friday with a 2-1 road triumph over Albany at the Times Union Center.
Chris Taylor gave the Amerks a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 12:54 of the first period, and David Brine extended the advantage to 2-0 at even strength 14:11 into the middle stanza.
The River Rats, who entered the night with AHL’s fifth-ranked average in goals per game (3.67), finally got on the board when Zach Boychuk netted a power play marker at 15:08 of the third period.
But Albany was unable to get the equalizer and has now dropped consecutive games for the first time this season.
Rochester goaltender Alexander Salak earned the victory with 32 saves on 33 shots in net, helping the Americans capture their fifth straight win and move to 6-1-1-0 overall.
GRAND RAPIDS 5, ABBOTSFORD 3
Grand Rapids began the home portion of its schedule with a 5-3 win over Abbotsford before 10,834 fans at Van Andel Arena on Friday.
The Griffins, who opened 1-4-0-0 on a five-game road swing, had to battle back from an early 2-0 deficit. Abbotsford grabbed a first-period advantage on goals by J.D. Watt and Mikael Backlund.
But Grand Rapids came back to knot the score at 2-2 after 20 minutes, as Evan McGrath and Jeremy Williams beat Heat goaltender Leland Irving.
After Abbotsford’s Jason Jaffray and Grand Rapids’ Mattias Ritola traded goals in the third period, the Griffins got the game-winner off the stick of Kris Newbury on the power play at 18:41 of the third frame.
Jan Mursak then added an empty-netter for Grand Rapids. Michael Nylander finished with three assists in the first game of his conditioning stint, Doug Janik had two helpers, and Griffins goaltender Daniel Larsson picked up the win with 26 saves in net.
WORCESTER 3, PROVIDENCE 2 (OT)
Jamie McGinn’s third goal in as many AHL games this season came 1:58 into overtime and lifted Worcester to a 3-2 road win over Providence at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
Defenseman Danny Groulx initially gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead with his first goal of the season at 18:01 of the opening period.
But Jeff LoVecchio tallied an unassisted shorthanded marker for the Bruins 14:14 into the second frame to tie it, and then defenseman Andy Wozniewski gave Providence the lead with 28 seconds to play in the period.
The Sharks got the equalizer off the stick of ex-Bruin T.J. Trevelyan at 7:42 of the third period, setting the stage for McGinn’s game-winner in overtime, which was assisted by Groulx and Joe Callahan.
Worcester goaltender Alex Stalock earned the victory with 27 saves on 29 shots in net.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 6, HERSHEY 4
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton put a six-spot on the AHL’s stingiest defense thus far en route to a 6-4 win over visiting Hershey on Friday at the Wachovia Arena.
The Bears entered the game having surrendered just eight goals in six contests but suffered their third loss in four games since beginning with a three-game winning streak.
Second-year pro Luca Caputi led the Penguins with two goals and an assist, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton also got tallies from Ryan Bayda, Mark Letestu, Ben Lovejoy, and Tim Wallace.
Wyatt Smith (0-3-3) and Joe Vitale (0-2-2) each posted multiple assists for the Penguins, and goaltender John Curry earned the victory with 29 saves on 33 shots.
Francois Bouchard netted a pair of goals for Hershey, while Darren Reid and Andrew Gordon also found the back of the net.
ADIRONDACK 3, HARTFORD 2
David Laliberte registered a goal and two assists as Adirondack handed visiting Hartford a 3-2 loss on Friday at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
Laliberte scored just 1:20 after the opening face-off and then assisted on second-period goals by Jon Matsumoto and defenseman Oskars Bartulis.
Patrick Maroon chipped in two assists for the Phantoms, and goaltender Johan Backlund earned the victory with 26 saves on 28 shots. Adirondack now has a point in three straight games (2-0-1-0).
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau and Dane Byers each scored power play goals for the Wolf Pack, who are now out to a 2-5-0-0 start to the season.
MANCHESTER 2, BRIDGEPORT 0
Goaltender Jonathan Bernier registered a 40-save shutout as Manchester dropped struggling Bridgeport by a 2-0 count at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
John Zeiler and rookie Andrei Loktionov netted goals for the Monarchs, who won their third straight game and improved to 6-2-0-0 overall for an Atlantic Division-leading 12 points.
Bernier picked up his second consecutive shutout, having blanked Portland on 29 shots on Oct. 17, and improved to 5-1-0 on the campaign.
The Sound Tigers have been shut out in their last two games and have lost four straight overall since a 4-0-0-0 start to the season.
LOWELL 4, SPRINGFIELD 3 (SO)
Vladimir Zharkov’s goal in the seventh round of the shootout lifted Lowell to a 4-3 road win over Springfield on Friday at the MassMutual Center.
Ben Walter and defenseman Tyler Eckford also netted shootout goals for the Devils, who captured their third straight victory.
Stephen Gionta, Eckford, and Alexander Vasyunov netted regulation goals to help Lowell erase a 2-0 first-period deficit. Goaltender Mike McKenna finished with 19 saves before stopping five of Springfield’s seven shootout tries.
Colton Fretter, Colin McDonald, and Chris Minard tallied regulation markers for the Falcons, who suffered their first home loss of the season (3-0-0-1).
SYRACUSE 4, BINGHAMTON 3
Tom Sestito’s power play goal at 4:36 of the third period broke a 3-3 tie and propelled Syracuse to a 4-3 win over visiting Binghamton at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
The Crunch grabbed a 3-1 lead by 6:42 of the second period on the strength of goals from Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman, Alexandre Picard, and Derek MacKenzie.
But the Senators battled back to tie it on goals by defenseman Derek Smith and forward Josh Hennessy, who scored at 9:36 of the middle period. Jesse Winchester, down on a conditioning assignment from parent-club Ottawa, also scored for Binghamton.
Sestito registered his first game-winning goal of the season and helped the Crunch extend their points streak to three games (2-0-0-1).
Syracuse goaltender Dan LaCosta stopped 42 of 45 shots in the winning effort.
HAMILTON 3, SAN ANTONIO 0
Hamilton remained unbeaten in regulation on the campaign with a 3-0 shutout of league-leading San Antonio on Friday at the AT&T Center.
The Bulldogs (5-0-1-1) received a tally from Tommy Pyatt in the opening period and from Ben Maxwell and defenseman Mathieu Carle in the third frame.
Pyatt finished with a goal and an assist for Hamilton, and goaltender Curtis Sanford (3-1-1) made 24 saves to earn his second shutout of the young season.
The Rampage, who were coming off consecutive seven-goal performances last weekend against Grand Rapids, lost in regulation for just the second time this season (6-2-1-0).
ROCKFORD 6, MILWAUKEE 1
Rockford jumped out to a 3-0 lead by early in the second period and cruised to a 6-1 win over visiting Milwaukee at the MetroCentre.
Mark Cullen led the way with a goal and two assists for the IceHogs, and Evan Brophey and defenseman Brian Connelly each posted a goal and a helper.
Danny Bois, Akim Aliu, and Jack Skille each scored once apiece in the victory, while Kyle Greentree and Rob Klinkhammer both contributed two assists.
IceHogs goaltender Corey Crawford made 33 saves on 34 shots in the winning effort.
Mike Santorelli lit the lamp for the Admirals, who finished 2-3-0-1 on a season-opening six-game road swing. Milwaukee will finally open at home on Saturday against Manitoba.
TEXAS 5, LAKE ERIE 3
Texas staked itself to a 4-0 lead and held on for a 5-3 win over visiting Lake Erie on Friday at the Cedar Park Center.
The Stars avenged a 4-0 loss to the Monsters on Tuesday and improved to 5-2-0-1 on the young season.
Warren Peters netted a pair of goals for Texas, which also received markers from Greg Rallo (1-1-2), Francis Wathier (1-1-2), and Sergei Korostin.
Stars goaltender Brent Krahn stopped 30 of 33 shots in the winning effort.
Marty Sertich and Darren Haydar netted power play goals for the Monsters, and Chris Durno extended his goal-scoring streak to four games (5-1-6) with a shorthanded tally. Lake Erie finished 2-1-0-0 on its three-game swing through the Lone Star State.
MANITOBA 1, CHICAGO 0 (SO)
Matt Pettinger’s goal in the fifth round of a shootout lifted Manitoba to a 1-0 road win over Chicago on Friday at Allstate Arena.
Moose captain Mike Keane also scored in the shootout, helping Manitoba improve to 7-4-0-0 on the season.
Manitoba goaltender Cory Schneider earned the shutout, stopping all 24 shots through regulation and overtime before denying four of Chicago’s five shootout tries.
Tim Stapleton tallied the lone shootout goal for the Wolves, and Manny Legace picked up a shutout with 30 saves through the first 65 minutes. Chicago fell to 1-5-0-1 on the season.
