CHICAGO 5, SAN ANTONIO 2
Former Rampage forward Tim Stapleton had a goal and an assist and Drew MacIntyre made 33 saves as Chicago put an end to a five-game winless streak with a 5-2 win over San Antonio on Sunday evening at Allstate Arena.
The Wolves end the weekend in seventh place in the West Division, but just five points behind first-place Milwaukee.
Coming off a 1-0 loss to Rockford on Saturday, Chicago needed just 2:02 to get on the board in this one when Darren Haydar netted his 14th goal of the season. The Wolves went on to build a 4-0 lead before the first intermission on goals by Jared Ross, Ryan Garbutt and Stapleton, his first with Chicago this season after playing 20 games for the Rampage earlier in the year.
Ryan Hollweg and Andrew Ebbett scored 74 seconds apart early in the third period to get San Antonio on the board, but Paul Postma put the game away with a power-play goal at 11:57.
The victory brought an end to a seven-game homestand for the Wolves (2-3-0-2), who head to Grand Rapids for a pair of games Friday and Saturday.
Al Montoya, still searching for his first win since Dec. 4, stopped 27 shots but lost his fifth straight start. The Rampage, who have now dropped four in a row and eight of 10 overall, as well as five straight on the road, continue their Midwest swing with a holiday matinee in Rockford tomorrow.
CONNECTICUT 6, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 3
Chad Kolarik scored his first two career shorthanded goals as part of a four-point first period to propel Connecticut to a 6-3 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the XL Center.
Evgeny Grachev also scored twice and Jeremy Williams and Tim Kennedy added a goal and an assist each as the Whale ended the league-leading Penguins’ seven-game winning streak.
Kolarik became the first player in franchise history with two shorthanded goals in one period, and his two assists helped Connecticut build a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes.
Keven Veilleux and Geoff Walker cut the Wilkes-Barre deficit to 4-3 at the second intermission, but the Penguins were held to just four shots in the third period as the Whale put away their 21st win of the season.
Cameron Talbot (8-3-2) made 27 saves and is now 7-1-1 in his last nine decisions for Connecticut. Brad Thiessen (18-4-0) took the loss after allowing four goals on 10 shots in the first period.
TORONTO 3, ABBOTSFORD 2 (SO)
Mike Zigomanis and Juraj Mikus scored in regulation to erase a two-goal deficit and Jerry D’Amigo converted in the fifth shootout round to give Toronto a 3-2 win over Abbotsford before 6,023 fans at the Entertainment & Sports Centre and an international television audience on CBC and NHL Network.
James Reimer, just back from a successful stint with the parent Maple Leafs, made 23 saves for Toronto and moved to 8-3-1 in 12 AHL appearances this season.
The Marlies now head to Winnipeg for a pair of games to close out a nine-game road swing; they are 3-2-0-2 so far.
After a scoreless first period, Jon Rheault and John Armstrong scored in the opening 2:07 of the second to give the Heat a 2-0 advantage. Abbotsford could not hold the lead, but still managed to earn a point for a fifth straight game (3-0-1-1).
Rheault finished with a goal and an assist and Matt Keith registered two assists for the Heat. Zigomanis notched a goal and an assist for Toronto.
The Marlies remained the only team in the AHL this season not to have a game decided in the overtime period. They are now 4-7 in shootouts.
PORTLAND 4, SPRINGFIELD 1
For the second straight day, Portland broke a tie with a big third period, this time outlasting Springfield, 4-1, at the MassMutual Center.
Some 18 hours after scoring five times in the final frame of an 8-3 win over Worcester, the Pirates got goals from Matt Ellis, Mark Parrish and Colin Stuart to secure their third straight win and sixth victory in their last seven outings.
Portland, 7-2-2-0 since the Christmas break, is four points behind first-place Manchester in the Atlantic Division.
Parrish also scored in the first period, a shorthanded marker, and Jhonas Enroth stopped 27 of 28 shots in the win.
Cody Goloubef had the only goal for the Falcons, who have lost three straight in regulation for the first time this season.
ADIRONDACK 5, SYRACUSE 2
Wins have been hard to come by for Adirondack this season, but not when lining up against Syracuse.
The Phantoms (12-27-2-2) improved to 4-0-0-0 this year against the Crunch with a 5-2 victory at the War Memorial at Oncenter on Sunday afternoon. Three of Adirondack’s six road wins this season have come in Syracuse.
Ben Holmstrom had a goal and an assist and former Crunch forwards Stefan Legein and Rob Bordson were among the Phantoms goal scorers. Denis Hamel added two assists and a game-high nine shots on goal. The five goals scored matched a season high for Adirondack.
Johan Backlund (4-12-1) made 24 saves for his first win since Nov. 12.
Kyle Palmieri recorded a goal and an assist for Syracuse.
PROVIDENCE 2, WORCESTER 0
Matt Dalton made 45 saves for his second shutout of the season, leading Providence to a 2-0 win over visiting Worcester at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
Dalton, a second-year pro whose first career AHL win came two weeks ago in Bridgeport, stopped 13 shots in the first period, 12 in the second and 20 in the third.
Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman and Jeff Penner scored for the Bruins, whose offense was held to three goals or fewer for the 23rd consecutive game (9-13-1-0).
Alex Stalock made 17 saves in the loss as the Sharks finished with a 45-19 edge in shots.
NORFOLK 4, CHARLOTTE 2
Blair Jones scored twice, Radko Gudas broke a 2-2 tie late in the second period and Norfolk won its third in a row, 4-2 over Charlotte at the Time Warner Cable Arena on Sunday.
It was just the Admirals’ second regulation win in eight meetings with the Checkers this season, and lifted Norfolk two points clear of Charlotte for second place in the East Division.
Brett Sutter (12 seconds into the game) and Brett Carson (his first of the year) scored for the Checkers, who got 33 saves from Justin Pogge in defeat.
Cedrick Desjardins stopped 21 of 23 shots for Norfolk before leaving the game late in the second period. Dustin Tokarski was credited with the win after turning aside all 12 shots he faced in relief.
BINGHAMTON 2, HERSHEY 1
Ryan Keller’s power-play goal 7:37 into the third period stood up as the difference as Binghamton edged visiting Hershey, 2-1, on Sunday evening.
Andrew Sweetland scored 1:46 into his first AHL game of the season to give the Senators the early lead. Barry Brust finished with 29 saves as Binghamton hung on for the win, withstanding a late Bears power play created by his own roughing minor.
Boyd Kane notched the only goal for Hershey, which had won four of the first five meetings this season with Binghamton.
The Sens’ win puts them three points behind the fourth-place Bears in the East Division, and ends Hershey’s five-game points streak (3-0-1-1).
GRAND RAPIDS 3, HOUSTON 2 (SO)
Grand Rapids rallied from 2-0 down in regulation and again from 2-0 down in the shootout and pulled out a 3-2 win over Houston at the Toyota Center on Sunday.
Robbie Earl opened the scoring for the Aeros and Patrick O’Sullivan added his second goal in as many nights to give Houston a two-goal cushion nine minutes into the game.
Jamie Tardif got the Griffins on the board late in the second period before Derek Meech tied the game with 10:18 left in regulation.
The Aeros then grabbed a 2-0 lead through three rounds of the shootout on conversions by O’Sullivan and Casey Wellman. But Grand Rapids rallied as Jamie Johnson, Tardif and Chris Minard scored on successive attempts.
With Joey MacDonald and Thomas McCollum both on recall to Detroit, Jordan Pearce (4-3-1) made his third consecutive start and turned aside 24 shots for the win.
Matt Hackett, just back from an NHL stint with Minnesota, finished with 35 saves.
LAKE ERIE 6, ROCHESTER 4
Despite coughing up a three-goal lead, road-weary Lake Erie had enough gas left in the tank to pull out a 6-4 win over Rochester on Sunday.
The Monsters, who also played in Rochester on Friday and then traveled to Hershey on Saturday, won all three games on the weekend and moved one point ahead of Abbotsford for fourth place in the North Division.
Mark Olver’s second goal of the night snapped a 4-4 tie with 9:59 left in the third period after the Americans had scored three power-play goals to erase a 4-1 deficit.
Justin Mercier, Harrison Reed, Ben Walter and Patrick Rissmiller also scored for Lake Erie. John Grahame, who played all three games on the weekend, stopped 20 shots in the win, and Julien Brouillette was a plus-5.
Defensemen Joe Callahan and Mike Kostka each had a goal and an assist for the Amerks, who have lost four in a row.
