ALBANY 4, TORONTO 1
Albany took a 3-1 lead after the first period and never looked back on its way to a 4-1 road victory over Toronto at Ricoh Coliseum on Sunday. Albany, at 20-15-0-2 on the season, moved to within three points of first-place Philadelphia in the East Division.
Jerome Samson was one of three River Rats skaters to notch a goal and two assists in the contest.
Samson started the game’s scoring with a power play goal at 5:41 of the opening period, his 13th marker of the season.
Toronto defenseman Derrick Walser tallied the equalizer at 9:20, but River Rats leading scorer Keith Aucoin (7-26-33) put the visitors on top to stay with a shorthanded marker at 10:37.
Mark Flood gave Albany a 3-1 cushion later in the first, and Brandon Nolan concluded the scoring with his 13th of the campaign in the third period.
Albany goaltender Michael Leighton secured the victory with 23 saves on 24 shots. Toronto netminder Justin Pogge suffered his first regulation loss since Nov. 17, having gone 8-0-2 in 10 decisions since.
The loss also ended the Marlies’ winning streak at six games.
IOWA 3, PEORIA 2
A pair of second-period goals was the difference as Iowa downed host Peoria by a 3-2 final at the Carver Arena.
B.J. Crombeen and Marty Sertich tallied goals in the middle stanza for Iowa, breaking a 1-1 tie.
The Stars’ Janos Vas scored in the first period, and goaltender Tobias Stephan picked up the win with 30 saves.
Mike Glumac and Josh Soares lit the lamp for Peoria.
HARTFORD 5, MANCHESTER 2
Nigel Dawes scored two of Hartford’s five second-period goals as the Wolf Pack dropped host Manchester by a 5-2 score before 8,021 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
Bruce Graham and Lauri Korpikoski also scored for the Wolf Pack, and Greg Moore tallied his team-leading 17th goal of the season (17-17-34).
Hartford goaltender Miika Wiikman turned aside 26 shots, improving to 7-1-0 on the campaign.
Manchester rookie Teddy Purcell notched a goal and an assist, while defenseman Peter Harrold also scored in the losing effort.
LOWELL 4, WORCESTER 3
Lowell scored three times on the power play and edged host Worcester, 4-3, at the DCU Center.
Petr Vrana tallied a game-high three points (1-2-3) for the Devils, who also received a pair of goals from Barry Tallackson and one from Pierre-Luc Leblond.
Devils goaltender Frank Doyle stopped 33 of 36 shots sent his way, helping his club extend its season-high winning streak to four games.
Tom Cavanagh netted a pair of goals for the Sharks, and Mike Iggulden contributed a goal and a helper.
SYRACUSE 4, ROCHESTER 0
Tom Sestito notched two goals as Syracuse blanked host Rochester by a 4-0 count at the Blue Cross Arena.
Adam Pineault posted a goal and an assist for the Crunch, and Philippe Dupuis also lit the lamp.
A night after picking up his first AHL win of the season, Syracuse goaltender Craig Kowalski earned his first shutout, stopping all 19 shots he faced.
It marked the second time the Amerks were blanked in as many nights, and Rochester fell to 1-12-0-0 in its last 13 outings.
