Ken Gernander scored with 3:42 left in regulation to lift Hartford to a 3-2 win over Manchester in a battle of AHL powers on Saturday night.
The Monarchs entered the game with the league’s top-ranked offense, while the Wolf Pack were first in defense.
In a game that featured 20 power plays and 106 minutes in penalties, Manchester took a 2-1 lead on goals by Mike Cammalleri and Noah Clarke 26 seconds apart, both on two-man advantages.
Ryan Hollweg tied the game later in the second period before Gernander put the Pack in front to stay.
Jason LaBarbera (12-4-1) made 21 saves to earn the win in net. Adam Hauser stopped 32 shots but suffered his first loss of the season (7-1-0).
With the win, Hartford (16-6-1-2) closed to within six points of first-place Manchester (20-3-1-0) in the Atlantic Division. The Monarchs have lost three in a row since their 13-game winning streak.
Elsewhere on Saturday:
Kyle Wellwood scored 4:05 into overtime to give St. John’s a 2-1 win over Portland… Eric Perrin set up three power-play goals and Tom Lawson made 35 saves as Hershey defeated Bridgeport, 3-1… Michel Ouellet (3g), Kris Beech (1g, 3a) and Matt Murley (1g, 2a) combined for 10 points and a plus-13 rating in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia… Peter Sejna scored with 1:26 left in regulation and netted the winning score in the shootout as Worcester beat Providence, 2-1… Aleksander Suglobov‘s second goal of the night was the winner in Albany’s 3-2 overtime victory over Binghamton… Ryan Bayda had a goal and an assist for Lowell in a 5-1 win over Norfolk… Dan Hamhuis recorded a goal and two assists as Milwaukee downed Syracuse, 3-2… Mathieu Chouinard made 37 saves to lead Cincinnati over Cleveland, 1-0… Chris Higgins scored with 47 seconds left in regulation to set up Hamilton’s 3-2 shootout win over Rochester… Kari Lehtonen turned aside 38 shots as Chicago edged Grand Rapids, 3-2.
