Friday roundup: Ennis, Gerbe help Pirates sink ‘Pack

Friday’s AHL Boxscores

PORTLAND 6, HARTFORD 3
Rookie Tyler Ennis registered a hat trick and an assist, and reigning AHL rookie of the year Nathan Gerbe also had four points (1-3-4) as Portland doubled up visiting Hartford by a 6-3 count on Friday. The Pirates, who had totaled eight goals in their previous four games, improved to 2-3-0-0 on the season.

Ennis, a first-round draft pick (26th overall) by Buffalo in 2008, tallied the first three goals of his professional career after racking up 43 goals each of the past two seasons in juniors for Medicine Hat (WHL). He scored once in each period, the latter two markers coming on the power play.

Gerbe, who assisted on two of Ennis’s three goals, scored just 10 seconds into the second period for his third tally of the season.

Jeff Cowan picked up two goals and an assist for the Pirates, and rookie defenseman T.J. Brennan added a pair of helpers. Portland goaltender Jhonas Enroth stopped 27 of 30 shots in net to earn the victory.

Defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti registered a goal and an assist for the Wolf Pack, who also received scores from Paul Crowder and Andres Ambuhl. Hartford’s brief two-game winning streak came to an end.

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 6, BINGHAMTON 3
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton grabbed a 3-0 lead just 7:52 into the contest and cruised to a 6-3 road win over Binghamton at the Broome County Arena.

The Penguins’ Chris Conner set the tone with a goal just 42 seconds after the opening face-off. Nick Johnson made it a 2-0 game at 6:06, and Ryan Bayda chased Sens starting goaltender Mike Brodeur with another goal at the 7:52 mark.

Ryan Keller brought Binghamton back into it with goals at 19:07 of the first period and 4:42 of the second. But Wilkes-Barre/Scranton answered, as Aaron Boogaard scored late in the second and Konstantin Pushkarev restored the three-goal lead at 5-2 just over a minute into the third frame.

The Senators’ Erik Condra and the Penguins’ Luca Caputi traded goals to account for the final margin.

Penguins goaltender John Curry stopped 38 of 41 shots in the winning effort.

ROCHESTER 5, TORONTO 2
A four-goal second period propelled Rochester to a 5-2 win over Toronto on Friday at Blue Cross Arena in the front end of home-and-home set.

Defenseman Jason Garrison put up a game-high three points (1-2-3) for the Americans, and Jeff Taffe scored his team-best third and fourth goals of the campaign.

Michal Repik chipped in a goal and an assist, and David Brine added a shorthanded goal for his second score of the year. Mike York contributed a pair of assists in the victory.

Rochester rookie goaltender Alexander Salak made 30 saves on 32 shots and improved to 2-0-0 on the campaign.

Brennan Evans and Christian Hanson potted goals for the Marlies, who will host Rochester at Ricoh Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

PROVIDENCE 4, LOWELL 2
Mikko Lehtonen registered a goal and two assists as Providence doubled up Lowell by a 4-2 count at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

Lehtonen posted his second three-point effort in his last four outings and now shows seven points (3-4-7) in five contests overall.

Trent Whitfield, Vladimir Sobotka, and defenseman Andy Wozniewski each chipped in a goal and an assist for the Bruins, and goaltender Dany Sabourin earned the win with 29 saves.

The Devils received goals from defensemen Tyler Eckford and Matthew Corrente, and netminder Mike McKenna made 38 saves in the losing effort.

SPRINGFIELD 4, MANCHESTER 1
Springfield scored four unanswered goals to rally past visiting Manchester by a 4-1 final on Friday at the MassMutual Center.

After surrendering the game’s first score to Manchester’s Oscar Moller at 10:11 of the second period, the Falcons struck for three goals in a 57-second span later in the stanza to take control.

Chad Wiseman sparked the rally with a goal in his Falcons debut at the 15:22 mark. Colton Fretter followed at 15:51, and Geoff Paukovich made it a 3-1 game at 16:19.

Colin McDonald provided additional insurance late in the third period, and goaltender Devan Dubnyk secured the win with 27 saves on 28 shots.

SYRACUSE 5, NORFOLK 4
A two-goal third period completed Syracuse’s rally from a 4-2 deficit and lifted the Crunch to a 5-4 win over visiting Norfolk at the Onondaga County War Memorial.

Trailing 4-3 entering the final 20 minutes, the Crunch received third-period tallies from Alexandre Picard at 4:29 and the game-winner from Jared Aulin at the 6:17 mark.

Stefan Legein, Maksim Mayorov, and Tom Sestito each had a goal and an assist for Syracuse, which improved to 2-0-0-0 at home. The Crunch are 0-3-0-0 on the road thus far.

Crunch goaltender Dan LaCosta finished with 22 saves on the night.

Ryan Craig scored twice for the Admirals, Mark Parrish had a goal and an assist, and Paul Szczechura also found the back of the net.

MANITOBA 3, LAKE ERIE 2
Manitoba kicked off a six-game road trip on Friday with a 3-2 win over Lake Erie at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Rookie Eric Walsky scored his first professional goal for the Moose, who also received markers from Marty Murray and captain Mike Keane in overcoming a 1-0 deficit. Keane now has four goals on the campaign, tied with the recalled Michael Grabner for the team lead.

Moose goaltender Cory Schneider made 26 saves to help his club improve its season mark to 5-2-0-0.

Brian Willsie both began and ended the game’s scoring for the Monsters, who suffered their fourth straight loss since winning their season opener.

ADIRONDACK 2, HERSHEY 1
Defenseman Kevin Marshall’s first professional goal broke a 1-1 tie at 6:20 of the third period, and Adirondack went on to a 2-1 win over visiting Hershey at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The Phantoms held on for the victory, as Hershey held a 10-3 shots advantage in the third period and a 21-9 edge over the final two frames combined. Adirondack goaltender Johan Backlund stood tall and finished with 26 saves in the win.

After a scoreless first period, Patrick Maroon put the Phantoms on top with a power play goal at 3:24 of the second period, the first man-advantage marker allowed by the Bears this season.

Jay Beagle netted Hershey’s lone goal of the night at 18:26 of the second frame. Andrew Gordon picked up an assist to extend his scoring streak to five games (4-5-9).

HAMILTON 5, PEORIA 4 (OT)
Mathieu Darche’s second goal of the game came just 16 seconds into overtime and lifted Hamilton to a 5-4 road win over Peoria at Carver Arena.

Darche netted a first-period power play goal for the Bulldogs, who also received markers from Ben Maxwell and Tommy Pyatt.

Veteran defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron picked up three helpers in the win, and goaltender Curtis Sanford made 20 saves on 23 shots. Hamilton, which entered the night having played a league-low two games thus far, improved to 2-0-0-1 on the young season.

Defenseman Jonas Junland netted his fourth goal of the campaign for the Rivermen. Chris Porter and Yan Stastny also registered goals in the losing effort.

ROCKFORD 4, CHICAGO 1
Nathan Davis notched a pair of goals to help Rockford take a 4-1 win over visiting Chicago on Friday in its home opener at the MetroCentre.

Mark Cullen broke a 1-1 tie for the IceHogs at 12:37 of the second period, and it turned out to be the game-winner. Davis provided insurance at the 17:26 mark and then added an empty-netter late in the third frame.

Danny Bois netted a power play goal to begin the night’s scoring, Jake Dowell chipped in two assists, and goaltender Corey Crawford earned the win with 27 saves in net.

The Wolves received their lone goal from Tim Stapleton at 6:15 of the second period, his third of the season. Chicago is now 1-4-0-0 on the young season.

HOUSTON 5, SAN ANTONIO 2
Houston struck three times in the third period and handed San Antonio its first regulation loss of the season, a 5-2 decision on Friday at the Toyota Center.

Aeros defenseman Ryan Gunderson scored his first career AHL goal just 53 seconds into the third frame to break a 2-2 deadlock. Duncan Milroy followed with a power play goal at 9:17, and Milroy tacked on an empty-net marker with 1:04 to play.

Danny Irmen and Pete Zingoni also scored for the Aeros, and ex-San Antonio forward Jon DiSalvatore posted two assists in the win.

Houston goaltender Anton Khudobin made 18 saves and improved to 3-0-0 on the campaign.

Brett MacLean and Joel Perrault notched goals for the Rampage, who were wrapping up a five-game road swing and fell to 4-1-1-0 overall.

ABBOTSFORD 7, MILWAUKEE 5
Seven different Abbotsford skaters scored goals as the Heat held off Milwaukee by a 7-5 count on Friday at the Entertainment & Sports Centre.

John Armstrong (1-2-3) and Jamie Lundmark (0-3-3) led the way with three points apiece for the Heat.

Abbotsford also received single goals from Mikael Backlund, David Van der Gulik, Colin Stuart, Keith Aulie, Garth Murray, and Keith Seabrook.

Riley Armstrong chipped in two assists in the winning effort, and Heat goaltender Leland Irving made 23 saves in net. Abbotsford extended its season-opening points streak to five games (2-0-2-1).

Rookie defenseman Jonathan Blum notched two goals and an assist for the Admirals, and Mike Santorelli put up four points (1-4-5) in his AHL season debut. Peter Olvecky and blueliner Alexander Sulzer each had a goal and a helper in the loss.