TORONTO 3, HAMILTON 1
Toronto clinched a spot in the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs with a 3-1 win over division-rival Hamilton on Saturday at Ricoh Coliseum. Bates Battaglia, David Ling, and Robbie Earl netted goals for the Marlies, who swept their home-and-home set with the Bulldogs.
Battaglia put Toronto on top with a power play goal at 13:39 of the first, and Ling made it 2-0 with an unassisted marker 3:22 into the second.
The Bulldogs pulled within a goal when Brock Trotter scored at 7:25 of the second, but Earl regained the two-goal advantage for Toronto at 15:16 of the third.
Marlies goaltender Scott Clemmensen earned the victory with 29 saves on 30 shots.
Hamilton fell to 0-8-1-0 in its last nine games.
HARTFORD 4, SPRINGFIELD 1
Hartford clinched its 11th Calder Cup Playoffs berth in as many seasons with a 4-1 road win over Springfield before 6,112 fans at the MassMutual Center.
Dane Byers tallied the eventual game-winning goal for the Wolf Pack, snapping a 1-1 tie with just 1:54 remaining in regulation. Mark Lee and Josh Gratton added empty-net goals in the closing minute.
Hartford’s Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau and Springfield’s Rob Schremp exchanged first-period goals. Schremp’s marker extended his scoring streak to nine games (5-7-12).
Wolf Pack goaltender Miika Wiikman only had to make 15 saves in the winning effort, as Hartford outshot the Falcons 45-16 for the game, including 21-6 in the third period.
The Wolf Pack won the 2000 Calder Cup and reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 1998 and 2004.
HERSHEY 3, PHILADELPHIA 1
Hershey snapped a three-game losing skid with a 3-1 win over division-rival Philadelphia before 10,436 fans at the Giant Center.
Andrew Joudrey, Andrew Gordon, and Kyle Wilson all scored in the victory, giving the Bears a 3-0 lead by the 8:46 mark of the second period.
Phantoms rookie Jonathan Matsumoto netted a power play goal at 9:44 of the second to make it 3-1, and neither team scored the rest of the way.
Hershey goaltender Frederic Cassivi earned the victory with 25 saves on 26 shots.
MANCHESTER 7, PORTLAND 3
Rookies Brian Boyle and Teddy Purcell paced Manchester to a 7-3 road win over Portland at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Boyle posted a game-high four points (2-2-4), and Purcell added two goals and an assist. Purcell leads all AHL first-year players with 71 points (20-51-71), and Boyle ranks second with 54 (26-28-54).
Trevor Lewis also scored twice for the Monarchs, and defenseman Troy Milam added a goal. Lauri Tukonen (0-3-3) and Matt Moulson (0-2-2) each chipped in multiple assists.
Manchester goaltender Daniel Taylor stopped 21 of 24 shots in the victory, which pulled the Monarchs within one point of Springfield for the Atlantic Division’s final playoff berth. The Monarchs and Falcons meet for the final time this season on Sunday in Manchester.
Jason King and Brian Salcido each had a goal and a helper for the Pirates, and Tyler Bouck also lit the lamp.
ALBANY 3, WORCESTER 2
Albany jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period and held on for a 3-2 road win over Worcester at the DCU Center.
Marc Cavosie and Pat Dwyer posted a goal and an assist apiece for the River Rats in the opening stanza. Each player picked up the primary assist on the other’s goal.
After Worcester defenseman Dennis Packard scored at 7:24 of the second, Jakub Petruzalek regained a two-goal lead for Albany at 14:52.
The Sharks’ Ashton Rome closed the game’s scoring at 12:12 of the third period.
Albany goaltender Justin Peters earned the victory with 21 saves, helping the River Rats improve to 12-2-1-1 in their last 16 games.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 3, PROVIDENCE 2
Ben Lovejoy’s power play goal at 11:29 of the third period propelled Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 3-2 win over league-leading Providence before 7,878 fans at the Wachovia Arena.
The Penguins initially took a 2-0 lead by 8:37 of the second period on goals by Tim Wallace and Paul Bissonnette.
But the B’s stormed back with a pair of tallies just 30 seconds apart late in the stanza. Matt Lashoff scored at 18:03, and defenseman Adam McQuaid followed with his first professional goal at 18:33.
Lovejoy’s goal, just his second of the season, made a winner of Penguins netminder David Brown, who stopped 36 of 38 shots.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton improved to 10-1-0-0 in its last 11 games and snapped Providence’s points streak at eight games (6-0-0-2).
BINGHAMTON 7, ROCHESTER 4
Scott May scored twice and added an assist as Binghamton emerged with a 7-4 win over visiting Rochester at the Broome County Arena.
Alexander Nikulin (1-2-3) also had three points for the B-Sens, and Niko Dimitrakos scored a pair of goals in the win. Josh Hennessy and Nick Foligno rounded out the Senators’ scoring attack.
Binghamton jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first period, but Rochester scored three times in the middle stanza to make it 4-3. Drew Larman finished with a pair of goals for the Amerks, while Marc-Andre Gragnani and Dylan Hunter also scored in the losing effort.
Senators goaltender Brian Elliott picked up the win with 28 saves on 32 shots. Binghamton improved to 5-0-2-1 in its last eight games and remained tied with Hershey for the East Division’s fourth and final playoff spot.
LOWELL 4, NORFOLK 2
Lowell scored three times in the third period to rally past Norfolk by a 4-2 score at the Scope. The win allowed the Devils a split of their two-game weekend set with the Admirals.
Lowell’s Petr Vrana and Norfolk’s Rob Klinkhammer exchanged goals through the first 40 minutes – Klinkhammer’s coming on a penalty shot – making it a 1-1 game entering the third.
The Ads took a 2-1 lead at 3:43 on a goal by Brandon Segal, but Nicklas Bergfors brought the Devils even with a power play marker at 8:22.
Jason Ryznar tallied the game-winner for Lowell at 12:40, and Grant Marshall tacked on an empty-netter with 22 seconds to go. Devils goaltender Frank Doyle picked up the victory with 23 saves.
SYRACUSE 5, GRAND RAPIDS 2
Duvie Westcott scored twice and rookie Derick Brassard posted a goal and an assist to lead Syracuse over Grand Rapids, 5-2, at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Brett Motherwell contributed a goal and a helper for the Crunch, and Kirill Starkov closed the game’s scoring with his first career AHL tally.
Karl Goehring earned the win with 35 saves on 37 shots for the Crunch, who won their fifth straight game and improved to 14-1-0-5 in their last 20 outings.
The Griffins received goals from Ryan Oulahen and Jamie Tardif in the losing effort.
PEORIA 6, IOWA 2
Peoria took a 3-0 lead after the first period and cruised to a 6-2 win over visiting Iowa at Carver Arena.
Rivermen forward Mike Glumac scored twice and added a pair of assists for a game-high four points. Jean-Guy Trudel posted two goals and an assist in the win, while Nicholas Drazenovic and Nikolay Lemtyugov also scored.
Peoria goaltender Ben Bishop made 24 saves on 26 shots to earn his second win in as many nights. He took a shutout into the third period, before Iowa’s B.J. Crombeen netted a pair of goals.
The Rivermen pulled one point back of Houston for a potential playoff spot in the Western Conference.
CHICAGO 3, SAN ANTONIO 1
Chicago snapped a four-game losing skid with a 3-1 road win over San Antonio at the AT&T Center.
Jason Krog and Darren Haydar each notched a goal and an assist for the Wolves, and Colin Stuart also lit the lamp.
Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec earned the win with 38 saves on 39 shots, improving his AHL rookie-leading win total to 29 for the season (29-12-2).
Steven Goertzen initially gave the Rampage a 1-0 lead in the opening period, scoring his first goal in a San Antonio uniform.
It was the 300th career AHL win for Chicago head coach John Anderson, who became the third active AHL coach to reach that milestone.
ROCKFORD 3, MILWAUKEE 1
Rockford scored three straight goals after allowing the game’s first tally and took a 3-1 win over visiting Milwaukee at the MetroCentre.
Petri Kontiola, Kris Versteeg, and Martin St. Pierre found the net for the IceHogs. St. Pierre, who scored into an empty net, turned in a three-point night with assists on his club’s other two goals.
IceHogs goaltender Wade Flaherty stopped 29 of 30 shots in the winning effort.
The Admirals, who had a seven-game winning streak snapped, initially took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by Bryan Schmidt.
LAKE ERIE 2, QUAD CITY 1
Lake Erie netted a pair of third-period goals to post a 2-1 comeback victory over host Quad City at the I Wireless Center.
With the Monsters tailing 1-0, Wyatt Smith scored at 4:55 of the third, and Chris Stewart netted the decisive at 11:55. It was the rookie’s 22nd goal of the season and fifth game-winner, both team highs.
The rally made a winner of Lake Erie goaltender Mike Wall, who stopped 24 of 25 shots.
Derek Couture put the Flames on top in the first period, and the 1-0 lead held until the third. Quad City saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
