NORFOLK 4, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 3
Paul Szczechura continued to pay dividends for the Norfolk Admirals, scoring the go-ahead goal and adding an assist in a 4-3 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the Wachovia Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Szczechura has scored a goal in five straight games and has found the scoresheet in all eight games since being acquired by Norfolk last month (6g, 6a).
Norm Milley and Bracken Kearns also had a goal and an assist each for the Admirals and Jonathan Boutin made 29 saves as Norfolk earned a regular-season win in Wilkes-Barre for the first time since Feb. 14, 2004. The Penguins had won 17 straight regular-season home meetings with the Ads prior to Saturday.
After going 1-14-0-1 in a 16-game stretch from Dec. 14 to Jan. 18, Norfolk is now 4-0-1-1 in its last six.
Tim Brent, Chris Minard and Mark Ardelan scored in the third period for the Penguins, who owned a 32-16 edge in shots for the game.
ROCHESTER 3, TORONTO 0
2008 AHL All-Star Mark Mancari tallied a goal and two assists to help Rochester snap a nine-game winless skid (0-5-2-2) with a 3-0 road victory over Toronto on Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum.
Adam Dennis earned his second shutout of the season with 38 saves for the Americans, who won just their third game since the beginning of December (3-31-2-2) and first in that span over an opponent other than Hamilton.
Rochester’s Dylan Hunter and Marc-Andre Gragnani each had a goal and an assist in the game. Hunter, Mancari, and defenseman Andrej Sekera all turned in plus-3 performances.
The loss snapped the Marlies’ seven-game points streak (6-0-1-0).
PHILADELPHIA 5, BINGHAMTON 1
Darroll Powe, Frederik Cabana and Pete Zingoni each recorded a goal and an assist and Scott Munroe made 33 saves as Philadelphia ended a four-game road winless slide with a 5-1 win at Binghamton on Saturday.
Munroe improved his record to 11-3-1 with his first win since Jan. 6.
Kyle Greentree and Denis Tolpeko also scored for the Phantoms, who got at least one point from 12 different skaters.
Shawn Weller had the lone goal for the Senators and Brian Elliott stopped 39 of 44 shots in defeat. Binghamton had been 5-0-0-2 in its previous seven home games.
BRIDGEPORT 2, HARTFORD 1 (SO)
Joey MacDonald made a season-high 39 saves and Trevor Smith scored once in regulation and once in the shootout as Bridgeport defeated Hartford, 2-1, at the XL Center.
The Sound Tigers are now 7-0 in shootouts this season, scoring on 17 of 28 attempts.
Andrew Hutchinson scored the Wolf Pack goal. Hartford’s four-game winning streak ended, but the Pack are still 8-1-2-1 in their last dozen games.
HERSHEY 5, ALBANY 2
Jason Morgan and Joe Motzko scored 50 seconds apart late in the third period, snapping a 2-2 tie and sending Hershey to a 5-2 win over Albany before 10,456 fans at Giant Center.
Morgan added an empty-netter for his first two-goal game of the season. Eric Fehr and Chris Bourque also scored, and Jay Beagle and Josef Boumedienne recorded two assists each.
Jamie Johnson and Brandon Nolan led the River Rats with a goal and an assist apiece, tying the score with 8:50 left in regulation.
The Bears are 10-1-0-1 in their last 12 home games, and have moved back into a three-way tie for second place in the East Division with Albany and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
SPRINGFIELD 3, LOWELL 2 (OT)
Ben Simon’s unassisted goal with 2:10 gone in overtime gave Springfield a 3-2 win in Lowell.
Marc Pouliot netted a shorthanded marker, Stephane Goulet tied the score with 1:50 left in regulation and Devan Dubnyk made 28 saves for his first win since Dec. 5.
Noah Clarke and Barry Tallackson scored for the Devils, who saw their winless streak hit nine games (0-6-2-1).
The Falcons are 5-8-1-1 in their last 15 road games, with all five victories coming at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell.
PROVIDENCE 4, PORTLAND 3
Matt Hendricks’ goal with 1:09 left in the third period allowed Providence to stun Portland, 4-3, at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
The Pirates, who have won a league-high 18 home games this season, had a 3-0 lead before the Bruins rallied for their league-leading 35th win of the year.
Sean Curry and Jeff Hoggan each had a goal and an assist and Pascal Pelletier netted his 25th goal of the season for Providence.
Petteri Wirtanen and Bobby Ryan led Portland with a goal and an assist each.
The Bruins finished with a 43-33 advantage in shots, including 18-5 in the third period.
WORCESTER 3, MANCHESTER 1
Graham Mink scored two goals and assisted on another as Worcester downed Manchester, 3-1, at the DCU Center.
Dimitri Patzold made 27 saves and was credited with an assist for the Sharks. T.J. Fox also scored and Dennis Packard had two helpers.
Gabe Gauthier scored the only goal for the Monarchs, who were without reigning AHL Rookie of the Month Brian Boyle. Boyle made his NHL debut for Los Angeles on Saturday and recorded a goal and an assist in the Kings’ 6-3 loss to New Jersey.
SAN ANTONIO 4, SYRACUSE 3 (SO)
Enver Lisin’s goal in the seventh round of the shootout lifted San Antonio to a 4-3 win at Syracuse.
Lisin also scored in regulation, David Spina scored on a penalty shot and Bill Thomas had a goal and an assist for the Rampage, who are 5-1-1-0 at the halfway point of their 14-game road trip.
Joakim Lindstrom and Tom Sestito recorded a goal and an assist each for the Crunch, and Dan LaCosta made 41 saves in his first AHL appearance since opening night, Oct. 5.
GRAND RAPIDS 3, IOWA 2
Randall Gelech and Darren Helm scored late in the second period to propel Grand Rapids to a 3-2 win at Iowa.
Mark Hartigan also scored and Adam Berkhoel made 29 saves for the Griffins, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Marty Sertich and Chris Conner scored power-play goals in the first period for the Stars, who were coming off a 3-0 win over Grand Rapids on Friday.
CHICAGO 4, ROCKFORD 2
Alexandre Giroux scored twice as Chicago doubled up visiting Rockford, 4-2, before 11,419 fans at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.
Defenseman Grant Lewis scored shorthanded for his first career professional goal and Andre Deveaux snapped a 2-2 tie with 16:52 left in regulation.
Kris Versteeg and Petri Kontiola each had a goal and an assist for the IceHogs, whose lead atop the West Division is down to three points over the Wolves.
Ondrej Pavelec made 25 saves in the victory.
The loss ended the IceHogs’ 15-game road points streak (10-0-1-4).
HAMILTON 2, MANITOBA 0
Carey Price made 25 saves for his first shutout since Game 1 of the 2007 Calder Cup Finals, leading Hamilton to a 2-0 win over Manitoba at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.
Duncan Milroy snapped a scoreless tie with 6:01 left in the third period and Corey Locke tallied an empty-netter in the final minute as the Bulldogs won their fifth straight road contest.
Drew MacIntyre stopped 25 of 26 shots, but the Moose fell to 2-7-0-1 in their last 10 games.
HOUSTON 3, QUAD CITY 1
Marco Rosa scored the go-ahead goal with 1:08 left in regulation and Barry Brust made 31 saves as Houston got past Quad City, 3-1, snapping a five-game winless streak.
Peter Olvecky and Joel Ward also scored for the Aeros.
Krys Kolanos netted his 21st goal of the season for the Flames, tying the score at the 17:47 mark of the third period. Kolanos has 14 goals in his last 15 games.
Houston is now tied with Quad City for sixth place in the West Division, three points behind fifth-place Milwaukee.
MILWAUKEE 7, PEORIA 3
Josh Langfeld tallied two goals and an assist during Milwaukee’s four-goal second period as the Admirals rolled to a 7-3 win at Peoria on Saturday.
Antti Pihlstrom also scored twice and Cal O’Reilly recorded three assists for Milwaukee, which is 7-2-1-1 in its last 11 games.
Ryan Maki, Kelsey Wilson and Janne Niskala also scored for the Admirals, and Pekka Rinne made 28 saves.
Martin Kariya, Cam Keith and Alexander Hellstrom scored for the Rivermen, who suffered just their third regulation loss in 17 games (13-3-0-1).
