West Notes: Mannino rolls, SA hangs in

 Also see… East Notes: Rats pull away, Devils head home

 
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Abbotsford has five road games left on its schedule, all against either Lake Erie or Toronto… This Saturday, the Heat visit Cleveland before heading to Toronto on Sunday for a game televised live on CBC and NHL Network… Abbotsford is 13-2-0-3 since Feb. 5 and sits tied with Rochester for second place in the North Division race… Leading scorer Jason Jaffray (25-29-54) netted his first hat trick – and second multiple-goal game – of the season on Saturday in a 5-3 win over Lake Erie… Cam Cunning has a point in seven of his last eight games (3-4-7), and David Van der Gulik has found the scoresheet in eight of nine (5-6-11).
 
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Wolves goaltender Peter Mannino has won 15 straight decisions since his last loss, a 3-1 setback at Hamilton back on Jan. 6… Mannino is now 23-3-0 in 30 appearances for the season and ranks fourth in the AHL in goals-against average (2.12) and third in save percentage (.926)… Chicago’s 3-0 loss to Toronto on Friday marked the club’s first shutout against since a 1-0 defeat at Rockford on Nov. 20… Johnny Pohl broke a nine-game goal-scoring drought with the late game-winner in Tuesday’s 4-3 triumph at Milwaukee… The Wolves host San Antonio for a pair of games this weekend.
 
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Grand Rapids has earned a point in five straight games (3-0-1-1) for the first time since winning nine straight games from Oct. 23 to Nov. 13… The current points streak coincides with the time that newcomers Riley Armstrong, Brad May, Jordan Owens, and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen have been together in the lineup… Justin Abdelkader has a point in 10 of his last 11 games (7-7-14) for the Griffins, while defenseman Doug Janik shows an assist in six of his last eight outings (0-6-6) and nine of his last 13 (1-9-10)… Goaltender Daniel Larsson has limited the opposition to two goals or fewer in his last four starts, going 3-1-0 (1.72, .939) thus far in March… The Griffins visit Manitoba for a pair of critical games this weekend.
 
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Hamilton’s comeback from 4-1 and 5-2 third-period deficits in Wednesday’s 6-5 overtime win at Adirondack improved the Bulldogs to 3-11-1-2 this season when trailing after 40 minutes… It also marked Hamilton’s fourth straight shootout win since a 5-4 loss at Lake Erie on Feb. 12… Aaron Palushaj, who joined the club at the NHL trade deadline, notched his first goal as a Bulldog on Wednesday… David Desharnais has racked up 6-9-15 in 12 games since returning from an NHL stint with Montreal in mid-February… Owning a 20-point lead atop the North Division, Hamilton visits Lake Erie and Toronto this weekend.
 
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Houston is winless in four straight games (0-2-0-2) and has just one win in its last nine contests (1-5-0-3) and two in its last 13 outings (2-8-0-3)… Despite owning a points percentage of .500 (29-29-6-4), the Aeros are last in the competitive West Division and nine points back of a playoff spot… The Aeros have suffered 10 losses beyond regulation, most of any team in their division… Nathan Smith is riding a five-game scoring streak (3-3-6) after posting just four assists in his previous 11 games… Rookie defenseman Ryan Gunderson shows a point in four of his last five games (1-5-6)… The Aeros host Milwaukee in a pair of divisional showdowns this weekend.
 
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Lake Erie is winless in five straight games (0-3-0-2) – its longest drought since a five-game skid from Nov. 20-28 – but the Monsters are still just five points back of Manitoba for their first-ever playoff berth… Lake Erie plays its next three at home, beginning this weekend against Hamilton and Abbotsford, before embarking on a six-game road trip… T.J. Hensick recently went scoreless in three straight games but has rebounded to post three assists over his last two outings… Tom Preissing recorded a season-high three points (2-1-3) in Saturday’s 5-3 loss at Abbotsford… Lake Erie is AHL’s second-least penalized team, averaging 12.69 minutes per contest.
 
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Manitoba has not won more than two consecutive games since a season-high four-game run from Dec. 27 to Jan. 2… The Moose have split each of their last four back-to-back home series, most recently a set with Rockford last weekend when a 6-1 win was followed by a 6-3 loss the next night… Defenseman Lawrence Nycholat shows a point in four straight games (1-3-4) on the heels of a six-game drought… Guillaume Desbiens scored twice on Saturday, his first multiple-goal effort since Feb. 6 vs. San Antonio… Manitoba is one of two AHL teams – Lowell is the other – yet to score a shorthanded goal on the road; all six of the Moose’s shorties have come at home… The Moose host Grand Rapids for a pair of tilts this weekend.
 
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Milwaukee is just 1-4-0-1 in its last six games and has seen its lead over San Antonio for the West Division’s final playoff spot dwindle to three points… The Admirals do hold three games in hand on the Rampage, and the teams do not play each other again this season… Milwaukee has not had a losing month since posting a 3-4-0-1 mark in October… Ben Guite scored just 12 seconds into a 5-1 win over Lake Erie on Mar. 10, his first goal since scoring on Jan. 29 vs. Houston… The Admirals drew a season-high crowd of 15,253 fans for Saturday’s contest against Toronto… Milwaukee heads to the Lone Star state for games at Texas on Thursday and at Houston on Saturday and Sunday.
 
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Peoria’s 6-5 overtime win over San Antonio on Wednesday marked its highest goal output since a 6-3 triumph at Texas on Feb. 5… Since that contest, each of the Rivermen’s last eight victories have been by either a one- or two-goal margin… Nicholas Drazenovic scored twice on Friday vs. Houston, his second two-goal game in a nine-game span after going his previous 57 contests without scoring twice in a game… Drazenovic (3-1-4) and Chris Porter (2-1-3) are each riding three-game scoring streaks, and rookie Lars Eller shows a point in seven of his last eight (5-8-13)… The Rivermen’s power play is up to second in the AHL at 21.2 percent… Peoria visits Rockford on Friday and hosts Texas on Sunday.
 
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Rochester defenseman Clay Wilson has a point in four straight (1-3-4) and eight of his last nine (2-7-9) to pull into a tie for second among AHL defensemen with 50 points (12-38-50) in 66 games overall… Victor Oreskovich shows a point in four straight outings (2-2-4) after totaling four points (2-2-4) in his previous 19 contests… The Americans are now the only team in the AHL that has not suffered a shootout loss this season; Rochester is a perfect 2-0 thus far in the tiebreaker, topping Hamilton on Jan. 15 and Portland on Feb. 21… Tied with Abbotsford for second place in the North Division, the Amerks open a three-game road swing this weekend with stops in Binghamton and Wilkes-Barre.
 
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With Rockford’s 6-3 win at Manitoba on Saturday, Corey Crawford became the winningest goaltender in IceHogs history; he now shows 71 victories as an IceHog… Rockford converted on three of nine power plays on Saturday, the first time since Jan. 2 that the team had tallied three power play goals… The IceHogs’ 24 home wins (24-8-1-1) is their most in three years as a member of the AHL… Danny Bois became the nine different IceHog to reach double-digit goals when he scored on both Saturday and Sunday last weekend… Rockford continues a seven-game homestand on Friday vs. Peoria and Saturday vs. Texas.
 
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San Antonio has scored five or more goals four times in the nine games since offensive contributors Kevin Porter and Chad Kolarik departed at the NHL trade deadline… Deadline acquisition Alexandre Picard has helped fill the void with 7-3-10 totals since joining the Rampage from Syracuse, including a four-point effort (2-2-4) in Wednesday’s 6-5 overtime loss to Peoria… Goaltender Josh Tordjman has made nine straight starts since counterpart Justin Pogge was dealt to the Carolina organization at the deadline… Rampage leading scorer Brett MacLean (27-30-57) has a point in five of his last six games (2-7-9)… San Antonio enjoys Friday off before visiting Chicago on both Saturday and Sunday.
 
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Texas is 6-2-0-0 in its last eight games to build a four-point lead on Milwaukee for third place in the West Division heading into the teams’ Thursday night clash at the Cedar Park Center… After that game, the Stars will embark on a season-high seven-game, 14-day road trip and will not play at home again until a date with San Antonio on Apr. 2… Texas is 27-5-1-1 this season when scoring the game’s first goal… Aaron Gagnon has netted a goal in three straight games (3-2-5), and defenseman Dan Jancevski shows a point in three straight (0-3-3) and six of his last seven contests (1-5-6)… The Stars are 0-17-1-1 this season when trailing after two periods, joining Wilkes-Barre (0-23-0-1) as the only AHL teams without a victory in that situation.
 
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Toronto has a point in four straight games (3-0-1-0) for the first time since posting s 2-0-0-2 mark from Jan. 22-27… Despite owning just 27 wins – fewest in the Western Conference – the Marlies are just seven points back of Manitoba for the North Division’s fourth and final playoff berth… Brendan Mikkelson is riding a four-game scoring streak (2-4-6), while Kyle Calder also shows six points (3-3-6) in his last four contests… Joey MacDonald’s 40-save shutout in a 3-0 win at Chicago on Friday marked his first whitewash since a 19-save effort vs. Adirondack back on Oct. 30… The Marlies have Friday off before hosting Hamilton and Abbotsford to close the weekend.