HAMILTON 6, MANITOBA 2
Brock Trotter and David Desharnais each tallied a goal and two assists as Hamilton rolled to a 6-2 win over Manitoba at Copps Coliseum on Sunday.
The North Division champion Bulldogs (51-16-3-7, 112 points), who used a four-goal second period to pull away with the victory, set a new franchise record for points in a season, eclipsing the 110 points attained by the 2002-03 squad which reached the Calder Cup Finals.
Defenseman Yannick Weber tallied a pair of goals for the Bulldogs, and he joined Trotter, Desharnais, and rearguard Shawn Belle (0-1-1) in posting a plus-3 rating on the afternoon.
Andrew Conboy and Hunter Bishop also scored in the victory, with Bishop earning his first goal as a professional. Hamilton goaltender Cedrick Desjardins (28-8-4) made 25 saves between the pipes.
The Moose, who punched their ticket to the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs on Saturday and were playing their third game in as many days, received goals from Tom Maxwell and Guillaume Desbiens.
Hamilton and Manitoba, who are on track to square off in the opening round of the playoffs, will conclude their regular-season series on Tuesday night at Copps Coliseum.
PROVIDENCE 3, PORTLAND 2 (OT)
Providence stayed alive in the playoff hunt with a 3-2 overtime win over host Portland on Sunday at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Kirk MacDonald tallied the game-winner 2:10 into overtime for the Bruins, who still must win their three remaining games and hope for help in order to reach the postseason for the 11th consecutive year.
Bruins forward Zach Hamill scored the game-tying goal unassisted with just 47 seconds left in regulation, sending the contest to overtime.
Jordan Knackstedt registered a power play goal in Providence’s victory, and goaltender Dany Sabourin turned aside 28 of 30 shots between the pipes.
Derek Whitmore and Cody McCormick lit the lamp for the Pirates, who extended their points streak to 11 games (8-0-2-1) and closed to within one point of Worcester for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Portland has not lost in regulation since a 6-2 setback to Binghamton on Mar. 13.
HERSHEY 3, NORFOLK 2
Hershey built a 3-0 lead by early in the third period and then had to hold on for a 3-2 win over visiting Norfolk on Sunday before 9,017 fans at the Giant Center.
Mathieu Perreault gave the Bears a 1-0 lead 11 minutes into the contest, and Cody Eakin made it 2-0 midway through the second period. Alexandre Giroux then extended Hershey’s advantage to 3-0 at 4:45 of the third frame, registering his league-leading 46th goal of the season.
Admirals forwards Ryan Craig (7:24) and Mitch Fadden (8:16) scored 52 seconds apart to make it a one-goal game, but Norfolk was unable to get the equalizer.
With the loss, Norfolk remains two points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and three points back of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for third place in the East Division.
Rookie goaltender Braden Holtby earned the win with 23 saves in net for the Bears, who finished the home portion of their schedule at a remarkable 34-4-0-2.
