Sun. roundup: Oh my, Omark

Sunday’s AHL boxscores

OKLAHOMA CITY 7, TORONTO 6 (SO)
Linus Omark turned in what will stand as one of the AHL’s finest single-game performances of 2010-11 on Sunday, scoring five times in regulation and adding a shootout goal as Oklahoma City battled back for a dramatic 7-6 win over Toronto at the Cox Convention Center.

Omark doubled his goal total for the season, and he now sits atop the Barons scoring list with 10 goals and 17 points in 15 games this year. His 10 goals are now tied with Portland rookie Luke Adam for the overall AHL lead.

This game did not start well for the host Barons, who trailed 4-1 by the time the second period was nine seconds old. Joey Crabb, Mike Zigomanis, Darryl Boyce, and Jay Rosehill all scored for the Marlies, with an Oklahoma City strike by Liam Reddox mixed in.

Omark then set to work. He netted two second-period goals in a span of 2:07 to make it 4-3 deficit, but defenseman Matt Lashoff then extended Toronto’s lead to 5-3. After Omark recorded a hat trick at 18:26 of the second frame, Marlies rookie Nazem Kadri scored 6:27 into the third period, putting Toronto on top 6-4.

But Omark scored again just 1:39 later and then completed his remarkable regulation effort by netting the game-tying goal at 19:13 of the third period. The 23-year-old then put an exclamation point on his night by beating Marlies goaltender James Reimer in the second shootout round.

Oklahoma City’s Teemu Hartikainen also scored in the shootout before Milan Kytnar won it with an eighth-round conversion.

Omark recorded the AHL’s first five-goal game since Jiri Tlusty – then a member of the Marlies – scored five times in an 8-5 win over Syracuse on Feb. 18, 2009.

Reddox finished with four points (1-3-4) for the Barons, and Ryan O’Marra chipped in two assists. Goaltender Martin Gerber emerged with the victory after making 25 saves through 65 minutes.

The Barons improved to 6-1-0-0 in their last seven games and to 9-5-1-0 on the season.

Reimer stopped 44 of 50 shots through regulation and overtime for Toronto, which still now has a point in four straight contests (2-0-0-2) to begin its 10-game road swing.

PROVIDENCE 6, ALBANY 4
Third-year pro Jordan Knackstedt notched his first career hat trick and added an assist as Providence rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 4-1 to claim a 6-4 road win over Albany on Sunday afternoon at the Times Union Center.

On the strength of three power play goals, Albany built a 4-1 advantage by the 3:30 mark of the second period. Nick Palmieri, Vladimir Zharkov (1-1-2), Nathan Perkovich (1-1-2), and Adam Henrique all scored for the Devils, and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond had two assists.

After rookie Joe Colborne brought the Bruins within 4-2, Knackstedt racked up three straight goals to make it 5-4, scoring twice in the second period and once in the third. Former first-round draft pick Zach Hamill assisted on all three markers.

Bruins forward Jamie Arniel provided insurance on the power play at 11:08 of the third period, with Knackstedt picking up the lone assist. Knackstedt, still just 22 years old, recorded his first four-point performance since recording a goal and three assists vs. Hartford on Feb. 12, 2010.

Providence goaltender Nolan Schaefer, who relieved starter Michael Hutchinson, stopped all 10 shots he faced over 36:30 of action.

The Bruins finished 3-0-0-0 on the weekend, outscoring opponents 17-9 after totaling 18 goals in their first nine games of the season (2-5-1-1).

CHARLOTTE 4, HERSHEY 2
Charlotte scored three times before the second period was eight minutes old, snapping a scoreless tie on its way to a 4-2 win over visiting Hershey on Sunday before 5,644 fans at the Time Warner Cable Arena.

Checkers forwards Jerome Samson (0:40) and Zac Dalpe (2:35) notched power play goals early in the second frame, and Chris Terry made it a 3-0 game with an even strength marker at 7:32.

The Bears made it close in the third period on a pair of power play tallies by Kyle Greentree at 2:58 and 11:40, but Samson sealed Charlotte’s victory with a late empty-netter.

Goaltender Mike Murphy earned the win with 42 saves on 44 shots for the Checkers, who extended their points streak to seven games (4-0-1-2) and moved to .500 on the season (6-6-1-2).

The teams will square off again on Tuesday in Charlotte.

MILWAUKEE 4, CHICAGO 1
Mark Santorelli netted a pair of power play goals to help Milwaukee seal a come-from-behind 4-1 win over visiting Chicago on Sunday at the Bradley Center.

Teemu Laakso and Kelsey Wilson also scored for the Admirals, while Matt Halischuk and defenseman Jonathon Blum each chipped in two assists in the winning effort.

Laakso and Chicago’s Darren Haydar traded first-period goals before Wilson gave Milwaukee the lead for good with an even-strength marker 2:21 into the second frame.

Santorelli padded the lead at 7:54 of the second and then added another marker – his fifth of the year – with 6:31 left in the contest.

Milwaukee goaltender Mark Dekanich stopped 26 of 27 shots in the victory, which gave the Admirals back-to-back wins for the first time since beating Grand Rapids and Abbotsford on Oct. 22 and 23.

BINGHAMTON 5, SYRACUSE 0
Binghamton blitzed Syracuse for four goals in the first period and rolled to a 5-0 win over the visiting Crunch on Sunday at the Broome County Arena.

Rookie forward Bobby Butler netted a hat trick for the Senators, scoring twice in the first period before completing his afternoon with a power play goal at 19:31 of the third period. Butler, who notched a pair of man-advantage markers on the afternoon, now leads Binghamton with nine goals (9-5-14) in 12 games.

Jim O’Brien recorded Binghamton’s other two goals on the afternoon, his fifth and sixth tallies of the year. Sens leading scorer Corey Locke (0-3-3) joined Erik Condra (0-2-2) in posting multiple assists in the win.

Binghamton rookie goaltender Robin Lehner turned aside 33 shots to record his first professional shutout and his first win of the season (1-2-0).

The Crunch were shut out for the first time this season and saw their four-game points streak (2-0-1-1) come to an end.

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 2, ROCHESTER 1
Ryan Craig scored with 1:50 left in regulation, breaking a 1-1 tie and sending Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 2-1 road win over Rochester on Sunday at Blue Cross Arena.

The Penguins, whose nine-game season-opening winning streak was snapped by Syracuse on Saturday, nonetheless captured their second win at Rochester in a three-day span after a 5-4 triumph on Friday.

This contest was scoreless until Dustin Jeffrey potted his fourth goal of the season at 12:26 of the second period, with Brett Sterling and Eric Tangradi earning helpers. But Amerks defenseman Michael Caruso tied it up with his first of the year just 46 seconds later.

Craig’s late third-period goal, his second of 2010-11, was assisted by Nick Johnson and Chris Collins.

Penguins goaltender Brad Thiessen improved to 6-0-0 on the season after stopping 19 of 20 shots on the day.

GRAND RAPIDS 4, LAKE ERIE 3 (SO)
Lake Erie battled back from a 3-1 third-period deficit, but Tomas Tatar’s seventh-round shootout goal lifted Grand Rapids to a 4-3 road shootout win over the Monsters on Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena.

Ilari Filppula and Jan Mursak also notched shootout goals for the Griffins, who improved to 7-3-0-2 on the season and 1-2 in shootouts.

Logan Pyett, Francis Pare, and Chris Minard (1-1-2) scored in regulation for Grand Rapids, with Minard’s unassisted tally giving the Griffins a 3-1 advantage just 1:32 into the third period. But Monsters forward Curtis Fraser netted his second of the afternoon at 10:39, and defenseman Joel Chouinard tied it at 16:28.

Making his AHL season debut, Griffins goaltender Jordan Pearce stopped 37 of 40 shots through the first 65 minutes. Mark Olver and Ryan Stoa beat him in the first two shootout rounds, but Pearce denied Lake Erie’s final five shooters to earn the win.

PEORIA 5, ROCKFORD 1
Tyler Shattock had gone scoreless in his first 10 pro games with Peoria this season, but the 20-year-old rookie broke out with a goal and two assists on Sunday as the Rivermen took a 5-1 win over visiting Rockford at Carver Arena.

With the victory, Peoria snapped a four-game winless skid (0-3-0-1) and moved to 8-4-0-1 overall.

Fellow rookie Anthony Nigro also nabbed his first professional goal and added a helper for the Rivermen, who also got markers from Stefan Della Rovere, defenseman Mark Cundari, and two-time AHL All-Star T.J. Hensick.

Peoria rookie goaltender Jake Allen earned the victory with 31 saves on 32 shots, moving to 3-0-0 on the season.

Hugh Jessiman scored the lone goal for the IceHogs, who dipped to 1-3-0-1 in their last five outings.

HARTFORD 7, BRIDGEPORT 1
Dormant for the past nine games, Hartford’s offense erupted for a seven-spot Sunday as the Wolf Pack collected a much-needed 7-1 win over visiting Bridgeport at the XL Center.

With the victory, the Wolf Pack snapped a franchise-record nine-game losing skid (0-7-2-0) during which they managed just 10 goals in total.

Mats Zuccarello notched three goals and an assist to pace Hartford’s offense, recording on of four hat tricks around the AHL on Sunday. The rookie Zuccarello entered the afternoon with just four points (3-1-4) through his first 14 games this season.

Jeremy Williams added two goals and a helper in the victory, and Hartford also got scores from Dane Byers (1-1-2) and rookie Kelsey Tessier (1-1-2). Former AHL All-Rookie forward Tim Kennedy chipped in three assists.

Wolf Pack goaltender Chad Johnson halted a personal seven-game losing streak with 24 saves on 25 shots, surrendering only a late third-period power play goal to Robin Figren after Hartford had already taken a 6-0 lead.

The Wolf Pack (4-8-2-1) collected their first win since taking a 3-0 decision at Providence on Oct. 17.