Sun. roundup: Schneider blanks Griffins

Sunday’s AHL Boxscores

MANITOBA 4, GRAND RAPIDS 0
Goaltender Cory Schneider made 38 saves for his fourth shutout as Manitoba earned a 4-0 win over Grand Rapids before 12,851 fans at the MTS Centre on Sunday.

The Moose moved five points up on idle Lake Erie for the North Division’s final playoff spot and closed to within four points of Rochester for third place in the North.

Nineteen-year-old Jordan Schroeder, a first-round draft pick by Vancouver in 2009, tallied his first two professional goals to pace the Moose’s offensive attack.

Kevin Clark also notched his first pro goal for the Moose, and defenseman Lawrence Nycholat registered his fourth goal of the season.

Manitoba finished 3-for-5 on the power play while holding Grand Rapids to an 0-for-8 showing. Matt Pettinger chipped in three assists in the victory.

Schenider (29-21-1) halted a two-game winless skid and collected his first shutout since a 35-save blanking of Abbotsford back on Jan. 13.

ADIRONDACK 4, HERSHEY 3
Adirondack climbed out of a 2-1 deficit in the third period to hand Hershey its first home loss in nearly four months, a 4-3 decision before 10,302 fans at the Giant Center.

Hershey’s AHL-record home winning streak came to an end at 24 games, as the Bears suffered their first loss at the Giant Center since a 5-4 shootout setback to the Phantoms way back on Nov. 28, a total of 113 days ago.

It also marked the Bears’ first non-win of the season when taking a lead into the third period, dropping them to 40-1-0-0 in that situation.

All four of Adirondack’s goals were scored on special teams, including a trio of power play markers in the third period. Joonas Lehtivuori, Stefan Legein, and Mika Pyorala notched those goals, with an Andrew Gordon marker for Hershey mixed in between.

Jared Ross netted a shorthanded goal to round out the Phantoms’ offense, and defenseman Joey Mormina chipped in two assists.

Adirondack goaltender Carter Hutton stopped 35 of 38 shots to collect his first professional victory.

Gordon scored twice and Mathieu Perreault once for the league-leading Bears, who are off until a home-ice battle with Atlantic Division-leading Worcester on Friday.

TORONTO 2, ABBOTSFORD 1 (OT)
Ryan Hamilton tied the game at 19:12 of the third period and then scored the game-winner 4:05 into overtime as Toronto edged Abbotsford by a 2-1 count on Sunday afternoon in front of 6,756 fans at Ricoh Coliseum.

Ben Ondrus picked up the lone assist on Hamilton’s game-winner, which came shorthanded and lifted the Marlies to their season-high fourth consecutive victory. Toronto has a point in its last six outings (5-0-1-0).

After a scoreless opening period, Abbotsford struck first when defenseman Gord Baldwin lit the lamp 5:38 into the second frame. That advantage held until Hamilton’s late heroics.

Marlies goaltender James Reimer picked up the win in net with 33 saves on 34 shots.

BINGHAMTON 3, ALBANY 2
Defenseman Geoff Kinrade’s power play goal snapped a 2-2 tie 8:16 into the third period, and Binghamton held on for a 3-2 road win over Albany at the Times Union Center.

The Senators earned their third straight win, moved to 9-2-1-0 in their last 12 contest, and currently sit eight points back of Bridgeport for the East Division’s final playoff spot.

Josh Hennessy and captain Denis Hamel (1-1-2) also scored for the Senators, who grabbed leads of 1-0 and 2-1 only to watch Albany tie it on both occasions.

Binghamton goaltender Chris Holt stopped 24 of 26 shots in the winning effort.

Jerome Samson and Mike Angelidis tallied goals for the River Rats, the latter coming shorthanded. Albany has now dropped three straight games for the first time since Jan. 30 to Feb. 5.

BRIDGEPORT 2, SPRINGFIELD 1 (OT)
Mike Radja’s power play goal 2:13 into overtime boosted Bridgeport to a 2-1 win over visiting Springfield in front of 6,864 fans at the Arena at Harbor Yard.

Matt Martin put the Sound Tigers on top with a power play marker 9:25 into the contest, and Bridgeport held that slim edge until 4:42 of the third frame, when Falcons rookie Jordan Eberle tied it with his third goal in as many games since joining the team from juniors.

Sound Tigers defenseman Mark Flood assisted on both his team’s markers, and Martin also earned a helper on the overtime winner.

Goaltender Scott Munroe stopped 26 of 27 shots in net for the Sound Tigers, who extended their points streak to eight games (7-0-1-0) and moved one point up on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the East Division’s fourth and final postseason berth.

Despite the overtime loss, Springfield now has a point in five straight outings (3-0-2-0).

HARTFORD 4, PROVIDENCE 3 (OT)
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau capped a back-and-forth game with the decisive tally 4:05 into overtime as Hartford edged Providence by a 4-3 count at the XL Center.

Parenteau scored twice on the afternoon for the Wolf Pack, who also received regulation tallies from Dale Weise (power play) and Dane Byers (even strength). Kris Newbury and defenseman Ilkka Heikkinen each chipped in two assists.

Weise put Hartford up 1-0 midway through the first period, but the Bruins’ Yannick Riendeau and Jeff Penner scored less than three minutes apart in the second to give Providence a 2-1 edge after 40 minutes.

Byers and Parenteau scored to restore a one-goal advantage for the Wolf Pack, but Providence’s John Lammers tied it back up just 50 seconds after Parenteau’s goal.

Hartford goaltender Chad Johnson emerged with the victory after making 27 saves on 30 shots in net.

CHICAGO 3, SAN ANTONIO 2 (SO)
Chicago punched its ticket to the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs on Sunday with a 3-2 triumph over visiting San Antonio at Allstate Arena.

The Wolves, who won the AHL championship in 2002 and 2008, will return to the playoffs after missing out last spring.

Tim Stapleton and rookie Andrew Kozek notched shootout goals for the Wolves, and goaltender Drew MacIntyre stopped all four San Antonio tries after making 45 saves through the first 65 minutes.

Stapleton also tallied both of Chicago’s goals in regulation, scoring shorthanded at late in the second period and at even strength midway through the third. Both markers tied the game after the Rampage had gone ahead by one.

Brett MacLean scored twice for the Rampage, who fell to 0-6-0-1 against Chicago this season and now sit six points back of Milwaukee for the West Division’s final playoff spot.

WORCESTER 6, LOWELL 5 (SO)
Worcester erupted for four goals in the second period and eventually took a 6-5 road shootout win over Lowell at the Tsongas Center on Sunday.

T.J. Trevelyan registered 1-1-2 in regulation and netted a shootout goal for the Sharks, and rookie Benn Ferriero also scored in the shootout. Worcester goaltender Frank Doyle, an ex-Devil, turned aside all four of Lowell’s shootout attempts.

Six different Sharks tallied regulation goals, including Trevelyan, Dan DaSilva (1-1-2), John McCarthy, Brandon Mashinter, and Kevin Henderson, who scored his first career AHL goal in his 54th game of the season.

Doyle made 32 saves in regulation and overtime for Worcester (43-21-2-3), which maintained a three-point lead on Portland for first place in the Atlantic Division.

Michael Swift paced the Devils with two goals and an assist, while Stephen Gionta (1-1-2), defenseman Cory Murphy (1-1-2), and Nick Palmieri also found the back of the net. Matt Taormina recorded a pair of helpers.

TEXAS 4, PEORIA 2
Texas forward Aaron Gagnon recorded a hat trick by 15:22 of the second period, and the Stars went on to double up host Peoria by a 4-2 final at Carver Arena.

Gagnon has racked up seven goals and 10 points in his last six games for the Stars, who collected their fourth straight win and moved to 9-2-0-0 in 11 games since Feb. 26.

With the victory, the Stars moved one point up on Rockford for second place in the West Division and have still played three fewer games than the IceHogs.

Perttu Lindgren also scored for Texas, and former Eddie Shore Award winner Andrew Hutchinson chipped in two assists.

Texas goaltender Matt Climie stopped 26 of 28 shots to pick up his first win since Mar. 6.

Rookie Brett Sonne and Pascal Pelletier found the back of the net for the Rivermen, but Peoria’s modest two-game winning streak came to an end.

PORTLAND 2, MANCHESTER 1
Mark Mancari notched a pair of power play goals and Portland held on for a 2-1 triumph over Manchester on Sunday in Lewiston, Maine.

Mancari tallied his 24th goal of the season midway through the second period and followed with his 25th midway through the third, with Nathan Gerbe picking up an assist on both markers.

Making his Pirates debut, goaltender Todd Ford was poised for his third AHL shutout of the season before Manchester’s Oscar Moller scored on the power play with 6.5 seconds left in regulation.

Ford finished with 36 saves on 37 shots, as Portland remained three points back of Lowell for first place in the Atlantic Division while opening up an eight-point bulge on third-place Lowell.

The Monarchs, who have resided in the top half of the Atlantic all season, are now just one point up on surging Bridgeport for fourth place.

MILWAUKEE 2, HOUSTON 1 (OT)
Defenseman Robert Dietrich scored 44 seconds into overtime to give Milwaukee a 2-1 road win over Houston on Sunday in the back end of the teams’ two-game weekend set.

The Admirals won both contests on the heels of a three-game losing skid and will return to play seven of their final 10 contests on home ice.

Milwaukee’s Nick Spaling and Houston’s Robbie Earl traded first-period goals, and it stayed 1-1 until Dietrich’s game-winner. Mike Santorelli earned the lone assist on the overtime goal.

Admirals goaltender Mark Dekanich earned the victory with 26 saves on 27 shots between the pipes.

The slumping Aeros are now without a win in their last six games (0-3-1-2) and fell to 2-9-1-3 in their last 14 outings.