SYRACUSE 5, TORONTO 1
Craig MacDonald netted a pair of goals to lead Syracuse over Toronto by a 5-1 count on Friday before 5,588 fans at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
MacDonald tallied a power play goal in the first period and added an even strength marker in the third. Crunch goaltender Dan LaCosta made 43 saves in the win, his second 40-plus save performance of the season.
Syracuse took a 2-0 lead after the first period on goals by Mike York and MacDonald. York assisted on MacDonald’s tally to record a multiple-point effort.
After a scoreless middle stanza, captain Dan Smith extended the Crunch’s lead to 3-0 with his first goal of the season 1:46 into the third period.
Staffan Kronwall got the Marlies on the board with a power play tally at 5:43, but the Crunch’s Derek MacKenzie responded at 11:42, and MacDonald wrapped up the game’s scoring at the 17:47 mark.
LaCosta improved to 11-3-1 with the victory, and the 43 saves were his most since turning aside 44 shots in a 4-2 win over Chicago on Nov. 15.
HERSHEY 3, ALBANY 2 (OT)
Francois Bouchard scored 2:25 into overtime to give Hershey a 3-2 road win over Albany at the Times Union Center.
Alexandre Giroux and Kyle Wilson netted goals in regulation for the Bears, who captured their seventh straight victory.
Bears goaltender Simeon Varlamov stopped 18 of 20 shots in the winning effort.
Jakub Petruzalek and Harrison Reed tallied goals for the River Rats.
BRIDGEPORT 4, HARTFORD 1
Bridgeport erupted for four goals in the third period to take a 4-1 win over visiting Hartford at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Ben Walter made it a 1-1 game for the Sound Tigers 6:17 into the third stanza, and Trevor Smith’s power play goal at 11:30 put Bridgeport on top to stay. Mike Sillinger’s first AHL goal since the 1992-93 season came just 19 seconds later, and Tyler Haskins added a shorthanded marker at 15:54.
Sound Tigers goaltender Yann Danis earned the victory with 45 saves on 46 shots.
Artem Anisimov initially gave the Wolf Pack a 1-0 lead in the opening period, and neither side scored in the second frame.
GRAND RAPIDS 3, CHICAGO 2
Defenseman Jakub Kindl posted a goal and an assist as Grand Rapids edged visiting Chicago by a 3-2 count in front of 7,361 fans at Van Andel Arena.
Kindl tallied a power play goal in the first period and picked up the primary assist on Aaron Gagnon’s game-winner in the third, which came shorthanded.
Jamie Tardif also lit the lamp for the Griffins, and goaltender Daniel Larsson secured the victory with 22 saves on 24 shots.
Brett Sterling and Grant Stevenson netted goals for the Wolves, who fell to 2-4-0-0 in their last six outings.
PHILADELPHIA 4, SPRINGFIELD 1
Four different players lit the lamp as Philadelphia took a 4-1 win over visiting Springfield at the Wachovia Center, home of the NHL’s Flyers.
Jason DeSantis, Jeffrey Szwez, Patrick Maroon, and David Laliberte all netted goals for the Phantoms, and Claude Giroux chipped in a pair of assists.
Philadelphia goaltender Scott Munroe made 33 saves on 34 shots after coming on in relief of starter Jean-Sebastien Aubin just 3:21 into the contest.
Derek Bekar netted the Falcons’ lone goal on the night.
PROVIDENCE 5, WORCESTER 3
Providence rallied for three third-period goals en route to a 5-3 win over visiting Worcester at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
Trailing 3-2 entering the final 20 minutes, the Bruins received goals from Martin St. Pierre, Matt Lashoff, and Jeremy Reich to take control of the game.
Martins Karsums and Jeff Penner netted first-period markers to give Providence a 2-0 advantage heading into the first intermission.
The Sharks stormed back in the middle stanza on the strength of goals from Jamie McGinn, Tom Cavanagh, and Ryan Vesce. Worcester’s five-game winning streak came to an end with the defeat.
Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask made 35 saves to pick up the victory.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, NORFOLK 3
Connor James netted a pair of goals and Jeff Taffe scored the eventual game-winner as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton took a 4-3 road win over Norfolk at the Scope.
James tallied a shorthanded goal in the second period and an even-strength marker in the third. Taffe’s eventual game-winner came 16:35 into the third, at the time giving the Penguins a 4-2 advantage.
Bill Thomas also lit the lamp for the Penguins, and goaltender David Brown earned the win with 26 saves in net.
Brandon Bochenski registered a goal and an assist for the Admirals, who also received markers from Daryl Boyle and Blair Jones.
MANCHESTER 3, PORTLAND 1
Trevor Lewis netted a pair of goals as Manchester rolled on with a 3-1 win over visiting Portland before 6,328 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
Bud Holloway also lit the lamp for the Monarchs, who have won six straight games and moved to 9-6-0-3 on the season.
Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Quick earned the victory with 41 saves on 42 shots.
Captain Tyler Bouck netted the Pirates’ lone goal. Portland fell to 0-3-0-1 in its last four outings following an eight-game winning streak.
ROCHESTER 2, LAKE ERIE 1
Rochester scored twice in the second period and held on for a 2-1 win over visiting Lake Erie at the Blue Cross Arena.
Dan Collins and Michal Repik netted goals for the Americans, who snapped a seven-game winless skid (0-6-0-1).
Amerks goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu stopped 27 of 28 shots in the winning effort.
Chris Mueller netted his first career AHL goal in the third period for the Monsters.
PEORIA 5, ROCKFORD 4 (SO)
Nikolay Lemtyugov scored twice in the shootout, including the decisive marker in the sixth round, as Peoria came away with a 5-4 win over visiting Rockford at Carver Arena.
Alexandre Imbeault also netted a shootout marker for the Rivermen, and goaltender Ben Bishop stopped four of Rockford’s six tries after making 35 saves through regulation and overtime.
Jonas Junland, Ross Carlson, Ryan Reaves, and Josh Soares all scored in regulation for Peoria.
The IceHogs received regulation tallies from Petri Kontiola, Pete MacArthur, and Jordan Hendry. Tim Brent and Mike Radja scored in the shootout for Rockford.
QUAD CITY 6, SAN ANTONIO 4
Quad City scored five goals in the first period and cruised to a 6-4 win over visiting San Antonio at the I Wireless Center.
Six different members of the Flames netted goals in the victory. Jamie Lundmark and Dan Ryder each posted a goal and an assist, while Kyle Greentree, Aki Seitsonen, Matt Pelech, and David Van der Gulik all added a goal apiece.
Carsen Germyn (0-4-4) and Anders Eriksson (0-3-3) each chipped in multiple assists, and goaltender Matt Keetley earned the win with 33 saves.
Jeff Hoggan led the way with a pair of goals for the Rampage, who dropped their 16th consecutive game (0-15-0-1).
MANITOBA 4, IOWA 3 (SO)
Manitoba scored on three of its five shootout tries en route to its sixth straight win, a 4-3 decision over Iowa before 7,091 fans at the MTS Centre.
Playing in his first AHL game of the season, Mark Derlago scored both in regulation and the shootout for the Moose. Jason Krog and Jason Jaffray added shootout markers, and goaltender Karl Goehring stopped three of Iowa’s four tries after making 28 saves through regulation and overtime.
Maxime Fortunus netted a pair of goals in regulation for the Moose, while the Chops received a pair of markers from Joakim Lindstrom and one from Brendan Mikkelson.
Josh Green netted the lone shootout marker for Iowa, which will return to the MTS Centre ice for a rematch with the Moose on Saturday night.
MILWAUKEE 2, HOUSTON 1 (OT)
Ryan Jones tallied an unassisted goal at 3:39 of overtime to give Milwaukee a 2-1 road win over Houston at the Toyota Center.
The teams engaged in a scoreless battle through the first two periods of play.
Houston’s Clayton Stoner finally broke the deadlock with a shorthanded goal a mere six seconds into the third period, with Bryan Lundbohm picking up the lone assist.
Mike Santorelli tied it for the Admirals at the 14:01 mark, setting the stage for Jones’ overtime heroics.
Admirals goaltender Drew MacIntyre stopped 27 of 28 shots in the winning effort, a victory which improved Milwaukee to 9-2-0-0 in its last 11 contests.
