MANCHESTER 2, HERSHEY 1
Manchester scored once apiece in the first and second periods and then held on to hand Hershey its first loss of the season, a 2-1 decision before 10,223 fans at Giant Center on Sunday. Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier stopped 34 of 35 shots to pick up the victory, improving to 3-0-0 on the campaign.
Manchester took a 1-0 advantage with just five seconds to play in the opening period when Brandon Segal bagged his second goal of the season. Justin Azevedo picked up the lone assist on the play.
Former second-round draft pick Oscar Moller extended the advantage to 2-0 when he tallied an unassisted marker at 13:57 of the middle frame, also his second of the year.
The Bears (3-1-0-0) poured on the pressure over the final two periods, outshooting Manchester by a combined margin of 27-12 after the Monarchs held a 16-8 edge in the first 20 minutes.
Hershey finally broke through on Bernier at 13:21 of the third, as Alexandre Giroux potted his third goal of the campaign. The reigning AHL MVP now has a point in each of Hershey’s first four games (3-4-7).
But the Monarchs held on for the win and improved to 3-1-0-0 with one contest to play on their season-opening five-game road swing. After a visit to Springfield on Friday, Manchester opens its home schedule against Portland on Saturday.
ROCKFORD 5, TORONTO 3
A four-goal second period lifted Rockford to a 5-3 road win over Toronto on Sunday at Ricoh Coliseum. Jake Dowell posted a goal and an assist in the second frame for the IceHogs, and Bryan Ewing’s first career AHL goal at the 11:57 mark stood up as the game-winner.
Daryl Boyle and Rob Klinkhammer also netted second-period markers for Rockford. Akim Aliu began the afternoon’s scoring with an unassisted marker 4:09 into the contest.
IceHogs forward Pete MacArthur registered two assists, and goaltender Joe Fallon made 27 saves in the winning effort.
Jiri Tlusty scored twice for the Marlies, and Jonas Frogren tallied his first career AHL goal.
LOWELL 4, PORTLAND 0
Lowell scored three times in the second period and cruised to a 4-0 win over visiting Portland on Sunday at Tsongas Arena.
Nathan Perkovich, Vladimir Zharkov, and Brad Snetsinger each posted a goal and an assist for the Devils, while Tim Sestito also found the back of the net.
Patrick Davis chipped in a pair of assists in the victory, and ex-Pirates goaltender Mike McKenna earned the shutout for Lowell with 38 saves in net.
Lowell picked up its first win of the season (1-1-1-0), while the Pirates fell to 1-3-0-0 on the campaign.
HARTFORD 3, PROVIDENCE 2
Defenseman Ilkka Heikkinen tallied his first career AHL goal and added an assist to help Hartford edge host Providence by a 3-2 count on Sunday at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau followed up his hat trick on Saturday vs. Springfield with a second-period power play tally, and Dale Weise beat Bruins goaltender Matt Dalton on a penalty shot at 10:31 of the second frame for the eventual game-winner.
Hartford rookie goaltender Chad Johnson stopped 22 of 24 shots in net to improve to 2-1-0 in the early going.
The Bruins both began and ended the game’s scoring with power play goals. Defenseman Drew Fata converted just 3:45 into the contest, and second-year pro Brad Marchand netted his fifth goal of the young season with 1:05 to go in regulation.
