In a matchup of two East Division powerhouses, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins clinched a playoff berth with a 2-1 overtime win over the Norfolk Admirals.
Tyler Spurgeon assisted on Micki DuPont‘s game-tying goal with 1:44 left in regulation before scoring the winner late in OT, and now has nine points (3g, 6a) in his last five games.
With the win, the Penguins site just three points behind first-place Norfolk in both the East Division and the overall AHL standings.
Corey Crawford finished with 48 saves and Martin St. Pierre scored the only goal for Norfolk.
Nolan Schaefer made 19 stops for Wilkes-Barre to improve his record to 7-1-0 with the Penguins.
WORCESTER 5, HARTFORD 2
After falling into a 2-0 hole early into the second period, the visiting Worcester Sharks rattled off five unanswered goals to defeat the Hartford Wolf Pack by a score of 5-2.
Worcester scored four times in the second period, including two in a six-second span late in the frame. Graham Mink netted two goals and Tom Cavanagh had a goal and an assist to lead the Sharks to their fourth straight win.
Thomas Greiss earned his 20th win of the year by stopping 38 of 40 shots from the Wolf Pack.
Lukas Kaspar and Garrett Stafford rounded out the scoring on the night for Worcester, which moved into a tie for fourth place in the Atlantic Division.
Brandon Dubinsky led Hartford with a goal and an assist.
BRIDGEPORT 6, BINGHAMTON 2
A four-goal opening period proved to be the difference as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers rolled to a 6-2 win over the Binghamton Senators at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.
Jamie Johnson led Bridgeport with a four-point night, scoring a goal and adding three assists. Cam McCaffrey recorded a goal and two helpers to help the Sound Tigers snap a two-game skid.
Wade Dubielewicz stopped 31 of 33 shots to improve his record to 21-10-5 on the year, eclipsing his number of wins from last season.
Stephen Wood, Jason Pitton, Steve Regier and Frans Nielsen each had a goal and an assist in the win for Bridgeport.
Andrew Ebbett led the B-Sens in the loss with a goal and an assist. Brian Elliott stopped 34 shots for Binghamton, making his professional debut following his senior season at the University of Wisconsin.
PHILADELPHIA 6, SPRINGFIELD 4
Mark Cullen tallied a hat trick and added an assist while teammate Boyd Kane recorded four helpers as the Philadelphia Phantoms defeated the Springfield Falcons, 6-4, at the Wachovia Spectrum.
Darren Reid had a goal and two assists and Nate Guenin and Frederik Cabana also produced goals for Philadelphia, which earned its fourth straight win at home.
David Spina scored two goals and added an assist, Kyle Wanvig had a goal and two helpers and Eric Healey recorded three assists in the loss for Springfield.
PORTLAND 3, LOWELL 2 (SO)
The Portland Pirates capped their comeback by scoring four goals in the shootout to post a 3-2 win over the Lowell Devils at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
After falling behind 2-0, Simon Ferguson tallied his sixth goal of the year to close the gap to 2-1 heading into the final frame. Aaron Rome scored the game-tying goal with 4:58 to go in regulation.
Joe Motzko scored twice in the shootout, including the decisive goal in the sixth round.
Gerald Coleman stopped 16 of 18 shots in regulation and overtime and three of six players in the shootout to help the Pirates end a three-game losing skid.
Petr Vrana and Grant Marshall each tallied for the Devils, who remain unbeaten in regulation in their last nine games (5-0-0-4).
MANCHESTER 2, PROVIDENCE 1
In a key Atlantic Division matchup, it was the Manchester Monarchs who came out on top as they edged the Providence Bruins by a score of 2-1 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
Jason LaBarbera stopped 31 of 32 shots to improve his record 34-19-1 and snap the Monarchs’ three-game losing streak.
Marty Murray and defenseman Brendan Buckley provided goals for the Monarchs, who earned their 40th win of the year.
Dwayne Zinger tallied the lone goal in the loss for the P-Bruins.
Manchester’s lead over second-place Providence now sits at five points.
HAMILTON 3, ALBANY 2 (SO)
After giving up the game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation, the Hamilton Bulldogs rallied for a 3-2 shootout win over the visiting Albany River Rats.
Eric Manlow snapped a 48-game drought with his first goal of the season for Hamilton and Michael Lambert also scored for Hamilton, which played its seventh consecutive one-goal game.
Yann Danis made 17 saves on 19 shots and stopped the final four River Rats in the shootout to earn his 19th win of the year.
Corey Locke scored the decisive shootout goal in the fifth round, giving the Bulldogs the win and snapping their three-game skid.
Pat Dwyer scored with 22 seconds left in regulation to give Albany the point in the standings. The River Rats are tied with Bridgeport for fourth place in the East Division.
MILWAUKEE 4, PEORIA 2
Milwaukee scored three unanswered goals in the third period to double up the Peoria Rivermen at Carver Arena by a score of 4-2.
Pat Leahy led the Admirals with a goal and two assists and teammates John Vigilante and Sheldon Brookbank each had a goal and an assist for Milwaukee, which has won three of its last four games.
Karl Goehring stopped 29 of 31 shots to improve his record to 21-15-4 for the Admirals.
Jon DiSalvatore led Peoria with a goal and an assist in a losing effort.
SYRACUSE 3, TORONTO 2
The Syracuse Crunch fell behind 2-0 before rattling off three unanswered goals to edge the visiting Toronto Marlies by the score of 3-2.
Darcy Verot scored twice and Joakim Lindstrom provided the other tally for Syracuse, which earned its third straight win.
Tomas Popperle stopped 29 of 31 shots to earn his sixth win in his last seven starts.
Aleksander Suglobov and Chris Harrington scored in the loss for Toronto.
ROCHESTER 6, HOUSTON 4
The Rochester Americans came back from a 4-1 deficit midway through the second period to score five unanswered goals and defeat the Houston Aeros 6-4 at the Toyota Center.
Marek Zagrapan led the scoring with a pair of goals and Greg Jacina, Mark Mancari and Martin Lojek each tallied a goal and an assist for Rochester, which has won three straight.
Adam Dennis made 17 saves on the night to record the win for the Amerks, while Dylan Hunter, Patrick Kaleta and Janis Sprukts all recorded two helpers apiece.
Mattias Weinhandl and Jason Morgan each registered a goal and an assist for Houston in the loss.
IOWA 3, CHICAGO 2
Francis Wathier scored the game-winning goal with 5:20 left in the third period to give the Iowa Stars a 3-2 win over the visiting Chicago Wolves.
Dan Ellis earned his 25th win of the year by stopping 17 of 19 shots for the Stars, including Brett Sterling‘s penalty shot with 2:14 remaining.
Junior Lessard and Mario Scalzo provided the other goals for Iowa, which won its fourth straight one-goal game.
Jason Krog and Darren Haydar each had a goal and an assist in a losing effort for the Wolves.
MANITOBA 3, GRAND RAPIDS 2 (SO)
Mason Raymond and Lee Goren each tallied in regulation as the Manitoba Moose rallied to edge the Grand Rapids Griffins by a score of 3-2 in a shootout at the MTS Centre.
Raymond’s first professional goal came with 4:04 left in the third period and forced the tie.
After trailing 2-0 in the latter part of the second period, the Moose rallied to even the score at 2-2 behind the play of former Griffins netminder Drew MacIntyre, who stopped 24 of 26 shots in regulation and overtime.
MacIntyre also stopped four of five Griffins in the shootout, while Lee Goren and Yannick Tremblay each scored to get Manitoba back on the winning track after dropping two straight.
Matt Ellis had a pair of goals in the loss for Grand Rapids.
