Tuesday roundup: Peters shines for ‘Rats

Tuesday’s AHL Boxscores

ALBANY 2, BRIDGEPORT 1 (SO)
2010 AHL All-Star goaltender Justin Peters continued his strong play and kept Albany rolling as the River Rats eked out a 2-1 road shootout win over Bridgeport at the Arena at Harbor Yard on Tuesday.

The River Rats now have a point in five straight games (4-0-1-0) and are 6-1-1-0 in their last eight contests.

Peters earned the victory after stopping 34 of 35 shots through the first 65 minutes and denying each of Bridgeport’s four shootout attempts.

The former second-round draft pick improved to 17-11-2 for the season and has now surrendered two or fewer goals in six of his last seven appearances.

Steven Goertzen gave Albany a 1-0 advantage just 5:45 after the opening face-off, a lead that held until Sound Tigers forward Greg Moore tallied the equalizer at 6:06 of the third period.

Both teams were scoreless in the first three shootout rounds, but Albany’s Drayson Bowman broke through against ‘Tigers goaltender Nathan Lawson in the fourth round. After Peters denied Matt Martin, defenseman Bryan Rodney sealed the River Rats’ victory with a fifth-round conversion.

The shootout loss left Bridgeport with just one win in its last seven contests (1-3-1-2).

PORTLAND 3, MANCHESTER 2 (SO)
Marc-Andre Gragnani and Mark Mancari notched shootout goals as Portland secured a 3-2 win over visiting Manchester at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Tuesday.

Pirates goaltender Jhonas Enroth stopped four of five attempts in the shootout after making 24 saves through regulation and overtime, improving to 16-14-1 on the campaign.

The Monarchs grabbed a 1-0 lead in the closing minute of the first period when Richard Clune tallied his third goal of the season.

But Portland responded in the second period with a pair of goals just 2:16 apart to take the lead. Brad Larsen scored at the 14:10 mark, and rookie Travis Turnbull followed with a power play strike at 16:26.

Manchester rookie Corey Elkins responded with a power play goal of his own just 1:16 after Turnbull’s marker, and neither side scored in the third period.

Portland won for the third time in its last four games (3-1-0-0) and moved into sole possession of fifth place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of Bridgeport.

TEXAS 5, MILWAUKEE 2
Aaron Gagnon notched two goals and an assist to pace Texas past visiting Milwaukee by a 5-2 count on Tuesday at the Cedar Park Center.

Gagnon now has a point in four of his last five games (3-3-6) for the Stars, who improved to 4-0-1-0 in their last five outings and jumped ahead of idle Rockford for second place in the West Division, one point back of Milwaukee for first.

Perttu Lindgren posted a goal and an assist in the victory, and Texas also received goals from rookie Sergei Korostin – his first marker since Nov. 21 – and former Eddie Shore Award winner Andrew Hutchinson.

Stars goaltender Todd Fords earned the victory with 21 saves on 23 shots, improving to 3-0-1 in four AHL appearances this season.

Colin Wilson and Hugh Jessiman notched goals for the Admirals, who finished 2-1-0-0 on a swing through the Lone Star State.

Milwaukee will now play five straight and 16 of its next 20 games on home ice, beginning with a match-up against Hamilton on Thursday night.