WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 9, ALBANY 2
Chris Conner set a franchise record and tied an AHL season high with six points, including a hat trick, as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton romped to 9-2 win over visiting Albany on Wednesday at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
The nine goals also marked a franchise record for the Penguins, who scored three times in each period. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has now won four straight games, tying a season high originally accomplished from Dec. 26-30.
Conner scored once in each period and assisted on goals by Ben Lovejoy, Wyatt Smith, and Luca Caputi. Conner, who previously registered five points (2-3-5) in a game at Syracuse on Jan. 22, tied Springfield’s Chad Wiseman (Jan. 17) for most points in an AHL contest this season.
Caputi (2-2-4) and Smith (1-3-4) each finished with four points for the Penguins, while Dustin Jeffrey (1-2-3), Mark Letestu (1-2-3), Eric Tangradi (0-2-2), and Steve Wagner (0-2-2) all added multiple-point efforts.
Penguins rookie goaltender Brad Thiessen earned the win between the pipes with 30 saves on 32 shots.
Wilkes-Barre had built a 6-0 lead before Albany’s Nick Dodge finally broke through on Curry with a shorthanded goal 8:24 into the second period. Jerome Samson added a power play marker for the River Rats, whose two-game winning streak ended.
NORFOLK 7, HARTFORD 3
Seven different Norfolk skaters found the back of the net as the Admirals took a 7-3 road win over Hartford on Wednesday at the XL Center.
The Admirals finished 3-1-0-0 against the Wolf Pack for the season and moved back within four points of second-place Albany in the East Division race.
Brandon Bochenski registered three points (1-2-3) for Norfolk, including his franchise-record 77th career goal as a member of the Admirals in 140 games played.
Former AHL All-Star defenseman Matt Lashoff also posted a goal and two helpers in the victory. Ryan Craig (1-1-2), Juraj Simek, Adam Hall, Ty Wishart, and Scott Jackson all joined in the offensive attack.
Dana Tyrell and Paul Szczechura each chipped in two assists for the Admirals, and goaltender Jaroslav Janus earned his fourth straight victory with 21 saves in net.
Jared Nightingale (1-1-2), Brodie Dupont, and Paul Crowder scored for the Wolf Pack, who surrendered seven goals for the third time during their current four-game losing skid.
BRIDGEPORT 3, LOWELL 2 (SO)
Bridgeport rallied from a 2-0 deficit in regulation and eventually took a 3-2 shootout win over visiting Lowell on Wednesday at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Greg Mauldin and Robin Figren notched shootout goals for the Sound Tigers, and goaltender Scott Munroe turned aside four of Lowell’s five attempts after making 24 saves through the first 65 minutes.
The Devils grabbed a 2-0 lead on a first-period power play strike by Michael Swift and an early second-period tally off the stick of Brad Mills.
But Mauldin cut Bridgeport’s deficit in half at 7:06 of the second with his team-leading 19th goal of the season, and Greg Moore notched the equalizer on the power play 6:08 into the third frame.
The Sound Tigers, who extended beyond regulation for a league-high 21st time this season, improved to 5-6 in the shootout.
Lowell is now without a win in its last seven straight (0-4-1-2).
TEXAS 3, SYRACUSE 1
Aaron Gagnon converted a partial breakaway with a backhand flip over Syracuse goaltender Kevin Lalande at 10:35 of the third period, snapping a 1-1 tie and lifting Texas to a 3-1 road win over the Crunch at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Gagnon’s game-winning goal – his 13th tally of the season – was assisted by Scott McCulloch.
The game was scoreless for the better part of two periods before Stars forward Mathieu Beaudoin broke through on the power play, roofing a rebound attempt past Lalande.
Syracuse tied it at 7:42 of the third period, as defenseman David Liffiton tallied his third goal of the season. Dan Fritsche and Michael Blunden earned the helpers.
After Gagnon’s marker, Greg Rallo sealed the Texas victory in the closing minute by intercepting a pass in his defensive zone and sending the puck the length of the ice into Syracuse’s vacated net.
Stars goaltender Richard Bachman earned the win with 23 saves on 24 shots.
TORONTO 4, MANITOBA 3
Toronto battled back from an early 2-0 first-period deficit and eked out a 4-3 win over visiting Manitoba at Ricoh Coliseum on Wednesday.
The Moose were ahead by a goal just 11 seconds after the opening face-off when Michael Grabner scored his 12th of the season, and Marco Rosa extended the lead to 2-0 on the power play at 8:14.
But the Marlies registered the game’s next four goals to take a 4-2 lead, as Tim Brent scored twice and Kyle Calder and defenseman Phil Oreskovic once apiece.
Rookie Sergei Shirokov brought the Moose within 4-3 at 12:23 of the third period, but they could not find the equalizer.
Greg Scott posted two assists for the Marlies, and goaltender Joey MacDonald secured the win with 22 saves on 25 shots.
ADIRONDACK 4, BINGHAMTON 3
Adirondack gave up a pair of one-goal leads early in the game but finally edged out host Binghamton by a 4-3 count at the Broome County Arena.
Phantoms defenseman Sean Curry tallied the eventual game-winning goal on the power play 2:54 into the third period, which at the time made it a 4-2 contest. Binghamton’s Martin St. Pierre closed the scoring with a power play strike of his own at 12:51.
Mika Pyorala tallied a first-period shorthanded goal for the Phantoms, who also received markers from Jon Matsumoto and defenseman Logan Stephenson, his first of the season.
Adirondack goaltender Johan Backlund held on for the victory, stopping 42 of 45 shots between the pipes. With the win, the Phantoms snapped a brief two-game losing skid.
Keegan Dansereau (1-1-2) and Josh Hennessy had the other Binghamton goals, as the Senators fell to 3-7-0-1 in their last 11 contests.
CHICAGO 3, SAN ANTONIO 2
Chicago scored three times in the first period and held off a San Antonio rally to edge the visiting Rampage by a 3-2 count on Wednesday at Allstate Arena.
The West Division-leading Wolves extended their winning streak to five games and their points streak to 11 contests (9-0-0-2) while halting San Antonio’s own points streak at five (4-0-0-1).
Matt Anderson notched the eventual game-winning goal and added an assist for the Wolves, who also received tallies from Patrick Galivan and Joey Crabb. For Crabb, it marked his 20th goal of the season.
Rampage forward David Schlemko scored twice in the second period to pull his team back into the game, but they could not put the equalizer past Wolves netminder Drew MacIntyre.
MacIntyre (14-11-1) finished with 31 saves on 33 shots to collect his sixth consecutive victory between the pipes.
