Shooting Star leads Iowa past Milwaukee, 7-5

Vojtech Polak set career highs with four goals and six points in Iowa’s 7-5 win over visiting Milwaukee at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday night.

Polak scored three times in the third period alone as the Stars snapped a 4-4 tie and earned their fourth victory in five games.

Marty Sertich added two goals and two assists for Iowa, which never trailed in the game.

Rich Peverley led the Admirals with two goals and an assist, giving him eight points in his last four games (5g, 3a).

The 21-year-old Polak, a second-round draft choice by Dallas in 2003, moved into a tie for second on Iowa’s scoring page with 33 points on the season, tying an AHL season high for goals in a game.


TORONTO 3, SPRINGFIELD 1
Colin Murphy recorded a goal and an assist and Jean-Francois Racine made 22 saves as Toronto snapped a nine-game home winless streak with a 3-1 victory over Springfield at Ricoh Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

The Marlies had been 0-8-0-1 on home ice since beating Milwaukee on Nov. 29.

John Mitchell and Brad Leeb also scored for Toronto and former Falcon Erik Westrum registered a pair of assists, extending his scoring streak to five games (4g, 3a).

Springfield has dropped six in a row and 11 of its last 13.


WORCESTER 4, ALBANY 3
Mike Iggulden and Graham Mink each had a goal and an assist to rally Worcester past Albany, 4-3, at the Times Union Center.

Patrick Traverse scored the game-winning goal 11 minutes into the third period for the Sharks, who rallied from a 3-0 second-period deficit.

Thomas Greiss finished with 38 saves en route to his 10th win of the season for Worcester, which improved to 8-2-0-1 in its last 11 games.

Dan DaSilva, Matt Murley and Dave Gove scored for the River Rats, who have lost three in a row. Justin Peters, a second-round pick by Carolina in 2004, finished with 23 saves for Albany, which outshot Worcester 41-27.


LOWELL 5, HERSHEY 4 (OT)
Dan McGillis scored 2:31 into overtime to give Lowell a 5-4 win over visiting Hershey.

Barry Tallackson led the Devils with two goals and an assist, while Ryan Murphy and Petr Vrana added a goal and an assist each. Vrana’s goal came on a second-period penalty shot.

Chad Wiseman, Alexandre Giroux and Joey Tenute registered a goal and an assist apiece for the Bears, who have earned points in seven of their last eight games (4-1-2-1).


PORTLAND 5, BRIDGEPORT 1
Portland snapped a seven-game losing streak with a resounding 5-1 victory over Bridgeport at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Matt Keith had a goal and two assists to lead the Pirates, who won for the first time since Jan. 14. Drew Miller and Aaron Rome added a goal and an assist each and Shane Endicott and Tim Brent also scored.

Sebastien Caron made 23 saves in his first AHL appearance since Dec. 29.


WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 5, HAMILTON 4 (SO)
Kurtis McLean’s goal in the top half of the ninth shootout round gave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 5-4 win over visiting Hamilton.

It was the fifth straight home victory for the Penguins, and the first loss in six outings for the Bulldogs.

Mikhail Grabovski and Andrei Kostitsyn notched a goal and two assists each for Hamilton, which led 3-1 and 4-3 in the game.

Marc-Antoine Pouliot, who played 65 games as a rookie with the Bulldogs in 2005-06, forced overtime by scoring the equalizer with 6:16 gone in the third period for the Penguins.

Devan Dubnyk, Edmonton’s first-round pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, made 23 saves to get the win in his first career AHL start.


SYRACUSE 6, ROCHESTER 0
Dan LaCosta made 31 saves for his second straight shutout and Adam Pineault scored two of Syracuse’s four power-play goals as the Crunch rolled past division-leading Rochester, 6-0.

The Crunch swept their four-game homestand, outscoring the opposition, 16-3. Syracuse is 6-0-0-1 in its last seven at the Onondaga County War Memorial.

Geoff Platt, Joakim Lindstrom, Curtis Glencross and Steven Goertzen also scored for the Crunch, who have earned points in six of seven meetings with the Americans this season (4-1-0-2).

Filip Novak, Philippe Dupuis, Ryan Caldwell and Jamie Pushor each dished out two assists.

The Amerks had won 10 of their previous 11 games.


NORFOLK 4, PHILADELPHIA 3 (SO)
Craig MacDonald’s goal in the fifth round of the shootout gave Norfolk a 4-3 win over Philadelphia, the Admirals’ 13th straight win on home ice.

Pierre Parenteau notched a goal and two assists for Norfolk, which has also won five straight overall.

Corey Crawford set a Norfolk franchise record with his 28th win of the season, breaking the mark of 27 set by Michael Leighton in 2001-02. Ironically, Leighton was in net for the Phantoms on Saturday, stopping 33 shots.

Martin St. Pierre and David Bolland also scored for the Admirals.

Boyd Kane scored twice in the loss for Philadelphia.


MANCHESTER 3, PROVIDENCE 1
Gabe Gauthier’s goal 12 seconds into the third period snapped a 1-1 tie and sent Manchester to a 3-1 decision over visiting Providence.

The Monarchs have won nine in a row and 16 of 18, and are 22-4-1-0 since Dec. 3.

Jason LaBarbera improved to 27-14-1 on the season by making 23 saves, running his personal win streak to eight games. LaBarbera is 13-2-0 in his last 15 decisions at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Petr Kanko and Matt Moulson also scored as Manchester handed the Bruins their first regulation loss in 12 games (10-1-0-1).

T.J. Trevelyan scored for Providence, his 16th goal in 30 games.


SAN ANTONIO 2, OMAHA 1
Tyler Redenbach scored with 6:11 left in regulation, lifting San Antonio to a 2-1 win in Omaha.

The victory put the Rampage at 2-3-0-0 after five games of their 16-game road trip, which continues in Iowa on Tuesday. The loss ended the Knights’ eight-game homestand at 6-2-0-0.

Josh Tordjman made 30 saves for his first win since Jan. 6. Curtis McElhinney, making his 14th straight start for Omaha, stopped 17 shots in the loss.


MANITOBA 4, CHICAGO 3
Yannick Tremblay scored with 2:47 left in regulation, giving Manitoba a 4-3 win over Chicago at the MTS Centre.

The victory snapped a five-game losing streak for the Moose, while ending the Wolves’ seven-game points streak (5-0-0-2).

Lee Goren recorded two goals and an assist and Jason Jaffray, whose wife Michelle gave birth to the couple’s first child – a girl – on Saturday morning, added three assists for Manitoba.

Colin Stuart, Mark Popovic and Jon Awe scored for the Wolves.


PEORIA AT GRAND RAPIDS, PPD.
Saturday night’s game between the Rivermen and the Griffins, scheduled to be played at Van Andel Arena, was postponed due to severe winter weather in Grand Rapids.

Make-up information will be announced at a later date.