AHL Quick Hits

LOOKING BACK:
In Sunday’s AHL action, rookie Jeff Zatkoff posted a 36-save shutout as Manchester blanked Providence, 2-0… Darren Haydar had two goals and an assist, and Tyler Weiman made 32 saves in Lake Erie’s 7-0 shutout win at Toronto… Keith Aucoin notched three points (2-1-3) to help Hershey to its sixth straight win, a 7-1 decision over Norfolk… Corey Locke scored 1:09 into overtime to lift Hartford past Springfield, 4-3… Jack Skille potted a pair of goals as Rockford outlasted Chicago, 6-4… Julian Talbot recorded two goals and an assist as Peoria captured a 5-1 win at Grand Rapids.

Sun 12/27
MANCHESTER 2, Providence 0
Hartford 4, SPRINGFIELD 3 (OT)
WORCESTER 3, Lowell 2
Rockford 6, CHICAGO 4
Peoria 5, GRAND RAPIDS 1
Lake Erie 7, TORONTO 0
SAN ANTONIO 4, Texas 1
ROCHESTER 5, Binghamton 3
W-B/Scranton 3, ALBANY 2
HERSHEY 7, Norfolk 1
MANITOBA 4, Abbotsford 1


LOOKING AHEAD:
Seeking its season-high third consecutive win, Adirondack continues a four-game road swing with a visit to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Monday… The Phantoms have defeated Worcester and Binghamton to begin the road stretch and are 4-1-0-0 in their last five games overall… Adirondack goaltender Johan Backlund (8-8-0, 2.77, .907) has strung together back-to-back wins for ther first time since Nov. 1-4… Stefan Legein has a point in seven of his last eight games (7-3-10) for the Phantoms and leads the club with 14 goals (14-4-18) in 29 contests overall… Wilkes-Barre/Scranton also enters on a two-game winning streak and has taken two of three clashes from the Phantoms this season… Penguins second-year pro Luca Caputi has registered three goals and four points thus far in the season series… Nick Johnson shows 12 points (6-6-12) in nine tilts since returning to the Penguins’ lineup from injury on Dec. 9.

Fresh off a 4-1 win on Sunday, Manitoba hosts North Division rival Abbotsford on Monday in the back end of a two-game set at the MTS Centre… Michael Grabner scored the game-winning goal on Sunday in his first appearance for the Moose since Oct. 13 and now shows seven points (5-2-7) in six AHL games for the campaign… Rookie Sergei Shirokov, who had a pair of assists Sunday, paces Manitoba with 11 goals and 23 points in 33 games, including six points (1-5-6) in three matches against Abbotsford this season… Defenseman Nathan McIver shows three points (1-2-3) in three games against the Heat and 0-1-1 in 31 contests against everyone else… Abbotsford is just 2-5-0-0 in its last seven outings and has totaled 11 goals over that span… Ex-Moose forward Jason Jaffray continues to lead the Heat with 12 goals and 28 points in 34 outings… Kris Chucko is riding a three-game scoring streak (1-3-4) for Abbotsford and has four points (2-2-4) against the Moose this year.

Winners of three straight and eight of 10 (8-2-0-0), Manchester visits the DCU Center on Tuesday for an Atlantic Division clash with the Sharks, who are 10-2-0-1 in their last 13 contests… Manchester is responsible for two of the Sharks’ three non-wins in that span, taking a 5-4 shootout win on Dec. 5 and a 3-1 regulation decision on Dec. 18… At 23-9-1-2 overall, the Monarchs boast a league-leading 49 points… Goaltenders Jonathan Bernier (16-8-2, 1.88, .944) and Jeff Zatkoff (7-2-0, 1.93, .942) have combined for three shutouts in the Monarchs’ last five games… Gabe Gauthier shows a team-high 20 points (5-15-20) for Manchester… Worcester’s Logan Couture is on a five-game scoring streak (2-6-8) and leads AHL rookies with 29 points (11-18-29) in just 20 games overall… Fellow rookie Benn Ferriero boasts a four-game scoring run (2-5-7) for the Sharks, as do Steven Zalewski (2-3-5) and John McCarthy (3-2-5)… Sharks rookie goaltender Alex Stalock (16-8-1, 2.39, .909) is tied with Manchester’s Bernier and Rochester’s Alexander Salak for the league lead in victories. 

(all times Eastern)
Mon 12/28
Adirondack @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Toronto @ Hamilton, 7:30
Grand Rapids @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Syracuse @ Houston, 8:05
Abbotsford @ Manitoba, 8:30

Tue 12/29
Peoria @ Lake Erie, 7:00
Providence @ Springfield, 7:00
Manchester @ Worcester, 7:05
Hershey @ Norfolk, 7:15
Rockford @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Syracuse @ Texas, 8:30


ALUMNI WATCH:
In Sunday’s action, 2008 AHL goaltender of the year Michael Leighton stopped 28 of 29 shots and 2005 Calder Cup champion Jeff Carter scored the game-winner as Philadelphia edged the N.Y. Islanders, 2-1… Mason Raymond notched a hat trick to propel Vancouver to a 5-1 win at Calgary… On Saturday, Chris Durno, who has 18 points in 17 AHL games for Lake Erie this season, tallied his first career NHL goal in Colorado’s 4-1 win over Dallas.


BY THE NUMBERS:
11 — Home games played by Milwaukee thus far, fewest in the AHL… The Admirals, who have already completed half of their road schedule (20 contests), open a three-game homestand on Monday against Grand Rapids.


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