CHICAGO 7, MILWAUKEE 2
Matt Anderson tallied one of Chicago’s four second-period goals as the Wolves ran away with a 7-2 win over visiting Milwaukee on Wednesday afternoon at Allstate Arena.
Chicago, which matched a season high for goals in a game, captured its third straight win. The Wolves are 6-1-0-0 in their last seven contests and 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 outings and tied idle Peoria for fifth place in the West Division at 44 points apiece.
The Wolves raced out to a 3-0 lead by registering three goals in a 1:07 span during the first period. Tim Stapleton – who finished with three points (1-2-3) on the afternoon – began the onslaught at the 9:57 mark. Defenseman Chris Chelios followed at 10:50, and Riley Holzapfel scored 14 seconds after that goal.
After Milwaukee’s Hugh Jessiman cut the lead to 3-1 early in the second frame, Chicago put a four-spot on the board before the period was out. Mike Vernace, Johnny Pohl, 2010 AHL All-Star Brett Sterling, and Anderson all found the back of the net for the Wolves.
Stapleton had been scoreless in a season-high four straight games leading into this one, while Pohl (4-3-7) and Sterling (3-2-5) both now have a goal in three of their last four contests.
Jessiman tacked on another goal for the Admirals, but Chicago goaltender Peter Mannino emerged with the victory after stopping 17 of 19 shots.
Milwaukee, which visits Manitoba for a pair of tilts over the upcoming weekend, saw its four-game winning streak came to an end.
NORFOLK 4, HERSHEY 3
Norfolk finally cooled off high-flying Hershey with a 4-3 win over the visiting Bears on Wednesday at the Scope.
Admirals forward Mark Parrish was the hero, snapping a 3-3 deadlock with an unassisted goal at 19:53 of the third period, after Hershey had climbed out of a 3-1 third-period deficit to tie it.
Justin Keller, Juraj Simek, and Ryan Craig previously tallied goals for Norfolk, and Chris Lawrence chipped in two assists.
Norfolk rookie goaltender Dustin Tokarski earned the victory with 28 saves on 31 shots, helping the Admirals to just their second win in nine games (2-6-1-0).
Defenseman Patrick McNeill and 2010 AHL All-Star Patrick McNeill each had a goal and an assist for the Bears, and Kyle Wilson also scored.
The Bears’ franchise-record 12-game winning streak came to an end, as Hershey (29-9-0-2) lost for the first time since a 3-0 setback at Albany on Dec. 11.
LAKE ERIE 5, HAMILTON 3
Matthew Ford recorded a pair of goals as Lake Erie dropped host Hamilton by a 5-3 count on Wednesday at Copps Coliseum.
The Monsters, who were making their fourth visit to Hamilton in a 12-day span, captured their third straight win, moved to 10-2-0-1 in their last 13 contests, and climbed back to .500 overall (19-19-0-4) for the first time since the morning of Nov. 6.
Veteran Brian Willsie picked up a goal and two assists for the Monsters, while Mike Bartlett and T.J. Hensick rounded out the offense. Defenseman Tom Preissing contributed two assists in the victory.
Lake Erie goaltender Tyler Weiman stopped 41 of 44 shots between the pipes, improving his personal mark to 14-12-3 on the campaign.
Andre Benoit (1-1-2), Ben Maxwell, and Ryan White all scored for the Bulldogs. Hamilton, which dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to Lake Erie on Monday, is now winless in consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 24-25.
ADIRONDACK 3, BRIDGEPORT 2 (SO)
Jonathon Kalinski converted in the seventh shootout round as Adirondack eked out a 3-2 win over visiting Bridgeport at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
Phantoms forward Krys Kolanos sent the game to overtime with the tying goal at 17:47 of the third period and also scored in the shootout. Andreas Nodl added a shootout marker for Adirondack.
Defenseman Joonas Lehtivuori also registered a regulation goal in the win, and Adirondack goaltender John Grahame made 23 saves through the first 65 minutes before stopping five of seven in the shootout.
Jesse Joensuu put up a goal and an assist in regulation to pace the Sound Tigers, and Greg Mauldin also scored. Mark Flood assisted on both regulation markers.
SYRACUSE 3, LOWELL 2
Syracuse tallied the game’s first three goals and then had to hold on for a 3-2 road win over Lowell in the Crunch’s first visit to Tsongas Arena since Oct. 29, 2000.
Kevin Harvey, Maxsim Mayorov, and defenseman Jonathan Sigalet scored for the suddenly-hot Crunch, who have won three straight games – all on the road – and show a point in five straight contests (4-0-0-1).
The Crunch built a 3-0 lead by the 4:17 mark of the second period, but the Devils started chipping away. Eric Castonguay scored in the closing seconds of the second frame, and Brad Mills cut the deficit to 3-2 less than two minutes into the third.
Lowell was unable to tie it, though, and lost for just the fifth time in its last 15 contests (10-5-0-0).
Syracuse goaltender Dan LaCosta earned the win with 32 saves between the pipes. The Crunch will conclude their five-game road swing on Friday in Springfield.
SPRINGFIELD 4, WORCESTER 3 (OT)
Defenseman Taylor Chorney scored at 4:56 of overtime to lift Springfield to a 4-3 road win over Worcester at the DCU Center on Wednesday.
The Falcons initially took a 1-0 lead on a Liam Reddox power play goal in the opening period but then had to battle back from a pair of deficits.
Sharks defenseman Mike Moore tied it 5:43 into the second period, and Andrew Desjardins gave the home team a 2-1 lead at 6:04 of the third frame.
After Rob Hisey tied it for the Falcons, Worcester went back on top once more just 1:09 after Hisey’s goal when T.J. Trevelyan found the back of the net. But Hisey tallied the equalizer again, scoring on the power play at 15:36.
Falcons goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur made 34 saves in net, as his club snapped a four-game winless skid (0-3-1-0).
ROCKFORD 3, HOUSTON 2
Rockford jumped out to a 2-0 lead midway through the game and held on for a 3-2 win over visiting Houston on Wednesday at the MetroCentre.
2010 AHL All-Star Jack Skille put the IceHogs on the board 4:15 after the opening face-off with his 13th goal of the season. Rob Klinkhammer extended the advantage to 2-0 at 11:51 of the middle period.
The Aeros cut their deficit in half less than four minutes later, as rookie Chad Rau converted a power play chance for his 11th goal of the season.
Evan Brophey restored Rockford’s two-goal edge just 18 seconds before the second period ended, a goal that would prove decisive when 2010 AHL All-Star defenseman Maxim Noreau scored for Houston late in the third frame.
IceHogs goaltender Corey Crawford secured the win with 24 saves on 26 shots.
The teams will meet again in Rockford on Friday night.
MANITOBA 3, ABBOTSFORD 0
Goaltender Cory Schneider made 35 saves for his third shutout of the season as Manitoba took a 3-0 road win over Abbotsford before a sellout crowd of 7,046 at the Entertainment & Sports Centre.
The Moose earned a sweep of their two-game midweek set against the Heat and moved to 6-1-0-1 in their last eight games overall.
Mathieu Schneider provided all the offense Manitoba would need by tallying a power play goal just 47 seconds after the opening face-off.
Guillaume Desbiens provided an insurance marker midway through the first period, and it remained a 2-0 game until Desbiens sealed the victory with a late empty-net marker.
