LOOKING BACK:
In Wednesday’s action, rookie goaltender Dustin Tokarski registered a 26-save shutout as Norfolk took a 2-0 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton… Defenseman Maxim Noreau’s overtime taly lifted Houston to a 2-1 victory over San Antonio.
Wed 12/16
NORFOLK 2, W-B/Scranton 0
HOUSTON 2, San Antonio 1 (OT)
Thu 12/17
No games scheduled
LOOKING AHEAD:
Longtime rivals Hershey and Rochester square off for a home-and-home set this weekend… The Bears (37 points) are setting the pace in the East Division thus far, while the Americans (41 points) enter the weekend atop the North… Hershey collected a 6-2 win last Saturday when the teams clashed in Chocolatetown… Keith Aucoin racked up four points (3-1-4) in that win and has a point in five of his last six overall (4-7-11)… Andrew Gordon shows a point in seven of eight contests for the Bears (7-4-11) and is tied for the league lead with 15 goals on the campaign (15-16-31)… The Bears are averaging a league-leading 3.68 goals per game on the season… Jamie Johnson shows five points (1-4-5) in his last two outings for Rochester, which is 11-1-1-0 on home ice this season… Johnson (10-15-25) is tied with former Bear Graham Mink (10-10-20) for the Amerks team lead in goals… Rochester has the AHL’s second-best power play (21.3 percent), but the Bears feature the league’s top-ranked penalty kill (93.3 percent).
Albany takes its seven-game winning streak on the road for games in Lowell on Friday and Syracuse on Saturday… The River Rats are just 4-6-1-1 on the road compared to a 13-4-0-1 mark at the Times Union Center this year… Jerome Samson leads the Rats with 11 goals and 23 points in 30 games, but is scoreless in three straight games for just the second time all season… Albany goaltender Justin Peters is on a personal five-game winning streak (0.99, .970)… The River Rats have scored first in six straight games and are 12-1-0-1 overall when nabbing the first goal… Lowell coughed up a 3-0 first-period lead and dropped a 5-4 overtime decision at Albany in the teams’ first meeting on Nov. 6… Matt Halischuk shows seven points (3-4-7) in four games since joining Lowell… Alexander Vasyunov tallied his first AHL hat trick in Tuesday’s 6-1 win over Springfield… The Devils feature the AHL’s top-ranked power play at 24.0 percent.
Texas travels to Houston on Friday for the intra-state foes’ second battle of the week… Houston collected a 5-2 win on Tuesday in suburban Austin, which gave the division-leading Stars their first two-game winless skid of the season… The Aeros have won three games in a row overall, and goaltender Wade Dubielewicz has allowed just four goals during that stretch (1.30, .935)… Rookie Chad Rau has a point in three straight (2-2-4) and seven of eight (4-5-9) for Houston, and defenseman Maxim Noreau is riding a seven-game scoring run (3-4-7)… Andy Hilbert shows a point in five of six outings (1-5-6) since returning from injury… Greg Rallo has a team-high 12 goals (12-6-18) for the Stars, three more than rookie Sergei Korostin (9-4-13), who hasn’t lit the lamp since Nov. 21 at Rockford… Texas’s Francis Wathier has a point in five of his last six contests (3-2-5)… The Stars are 17-0-1-0 this season when taking a lead into the third period.
(all times Eastern)
Fri 12/18
Toronto @ Hartford, 7:00
Albany @ Lowell, 7:00
Springfield @ Portland, 7:00
Bridgeport @ Providence, 7:05
Hershey @ Rochester, 7:05
Manchester @ Worcester, 7:05
Binghamton @ Norfolk, 7:15 
Hamilton @ Adirondack, 7:30
W-B/Scranton @ Syracuse, 7:30
Grand Rapids @ San Antonio, 8:00
Chicago @ Rockford, 8:05
Lake Erie @ Manitoba, 8:30
Texas @ Houston, 8:35
Sat 12/19
Hamilton @ Hartford, 7:00
Rochester @ Hershey, 7:00
Lowell @ Manchester, 7:00
Bridgeport @ Portland, 7:00
Providence @ Springfield, 7:00
Toronto @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Adirondack @ Worcester, 7:05
Binghamton @ Norfolk, 7:15
Albany @ Syracuse, 7:30
Milwaukee @ Chicago, 8:00
Grand Rapids @ Texas, 8:00
San Antonio @ Rockford, 8:05
Lake Erie @ Manitoba, 8:30
Peoria @ Abbotsford, 9:00
Sun 12/20
Springfield @ Bridgeport, 4:00
Lowell @ Providence, 4:05
Toronto @ Hershey, 5:00
Hamilton @ Rochester, 5:00
San Antonio @ Milwaukee, 5:00
Grand Rapids @ Houston, 5:05
Peoria @ Abbotsford, 9:00
Mon 12/21
No games scheduled
Tue 12/22
Rochester @ Lake Erie, 7:00
ALUMNI WATCH:
On Thursday, 2007 AHL All-Rookie forward Ryan Callahan racked up a career-high four points (2-2-4) as the N.Y. Rangers captured a 5-2 road win over the N.Y. Islanders; 2009 AHL All-Star Andrew MacDonald scored his first career NHL goal for the Islanders… 2008 Calder Cup champion Ondrej Pavelec registered 42 saves as Atlanta edged Dallas in overtime, 6-5… 2008 AHL All-Star Jimmy Howard pitched a 30-save shutout in Detroit’s 3-0 win over Tampa Bay.
BY THE NUMBERS:
3 — Remaining AHL teams who have yet to score a shorthanded goal this season, and remaining AHL teams who have yet to allow a shorthanded tally… The Grand Rapids Griffins are the only club that is currently on both lists.
AHL LIVE:
Watch live games, highlights and features, get video on demand and more all season long with AHL Live. Visit ahllive.com for more information.
