LOOKING BACK:
Prior to the AHL’s four-day Christmas break, the home team was victorious in eight of nine games on Sunday… Wacey Rabbit had a goal and an assist and Tuukka Rask made 23 saves in Providence’s 3-0 win over Springfield… Jed Ortmeyer scored twice to lead Milwaukee over Iowa, 4-1… Ville Leino had a pair of goals and Daniel Larsson notched a 38-save shutout in Grand Rapids’ 6-0 win at Rochester.
Sun 12/21
BRIDGEPORT 4, Lowell 0
CHICAGO 4, Rockford 1
HARTFORD 4, Toronto 3
PORTLAND 3, Worcester 2
PROVIDENCE 3, Springfield 0
HERSHEY 3, Lake Erie 2 (SO)
MILWAUKEE 4, Iowa 1
PEORIA 4, Houston 3 (SO)
Grand Rapids 6, ROCHESTER 0
LOOKING AHEAD: 
Philadelphia puts its eight-game points streak (7-0-0-1) on the line Friday when it hosts Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the Wachovia Spectrum… The Phantoms have taken three straight wins from the Penguins since a 4-3 loss on Oct. 11… Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux has netted a goal in six straight games (7-4-11) and leads all AHL rookies in both goals (17) and points (33)… Jared Ross shows a point in seven of his last eight contests (7-7-14)… Goaltender Scott Munroe (14-5-1) is tied for the league lead in wins and is 3-0-0 (1.00, .964) against the Penguins this season… Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Chris Minard is pacing the league with 20 goals (20-13-33) in 24 games and has lit the lamp in his last three AHL tilts (4-0-4)… Defenseman Paul Bissonnette is riding a five-game scoring run (3-3-6), while Janne Pesonen has a point in four of his last five outings (2-6-8).
Houston hosts in-state rival San Antonio on Friday at the Toyota Center… The Aeros are riding a nine-game points streak (5-0-0-4) and are 10-0-1-2 against West Division foes this season, including three wins in as many tries versus the Rampage… Marco Rosa has a goal in three straight games (3-2-5) for Houston, while defenseman Brandon Rogers is also on a three-game scoring run (1-3-4)… Houston leading scorer Corey Locke (11-21-32) shows eight points (3-5-8) in three games against San Antonio this year… Aeros goaltender Barry Brust is 5-0-2 (1.24, .955) in seven appearances since Nov. 30… The Rampage are 7-2-0-0 in their last nine games overall but are still looking for their first road win of the season (0-10-0-1)… David Spina is coming off a four-point night (1-3-4) against Chicago on Dec. 19… Joel Perrault (2-3-5) and rookie Brett MacLean (2-2-4) each has a point in four of his last five games.
The Hartford Wolf Pack get right back on the bus for a three-game road weekend, beginning Friday night in Bridgeport with the fourth of 10 meetings this season between the Connecticut rivals… The Pack are 5-1-0-1 in their last seven, most recently rallying from two goals down for a 4-3 win over Toronto on Sunday… Miika Wiikman stopped all 16 shots he faced in relief to earn the victory, one night after allowing five goals on 24 shots in a loss to Hamilton… Greg Moore has three game-winning goals in that seven-game stretch for Hartford… The Sound Tigers’ Trevor Smith has nine points (5-4-9) in his last four games and has scored nine goals in his last nine outings… Mike Iggulden, scoreless in his last two contests, remains two points off the AHL scoring lead (15-20-35) entering the weekend.
(all times Eastern)
Fri 12/26
Providence @ Worcester, 6:05
Hartford @ Bridgeport, 7:00
Peoria @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Syracuse @ Binghamton, 7:05
W-B/Scranton @ Philadelphia, 7:05
Toronto @ Lake Erie, 7:30
Manchester @ Springfield, 7:30
Hamilton @ Rochester, 7:35
Quad City @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Chicago @ Rockford, 8:30
San Antonio @ Houston, 8:35
Sat 12/27
Rochester @ Albany, 5:00
Lake Erie @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Binghamton @ Hershey, 7:00
Providence @ Lowell, 7:00
Portland @ Manchester, 7:00
Hartford @ Springfield, 7:00
Manitoba @ Toronto, 7:00
Bridgeport @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Philadelphia @ Norfolk, 7:15
Hamilton @ Syracuse, 7:30
Milwaukee @ Chicago, 8:00
San Antonio @ Peoria, 8:00
Rockford @ Iowa, 8:05
Houston @ Quad City, 8:05
Sun 12/28
Hartford @ Lowell, 4:00
Springfield @ Manchester, 4:00
Worcester @ Portland, 4:00
Manitoba @ Toronto, 4:00
Albany @ Hershey, 5:00
Binghamton @ W-B/Scranton, 5:05
Rochester @ Hamilton, 6:00
Houston @ Peoria, 8:00
Mon 12/29
Portland @ Worcester, 7:05
San Antonio @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Iowa @ Rockford, 8:05
ALUMNI WATCH:
On Tuesday night, Quad City call-up Brett Sutter scored a goal in his NHL debut as Calgary rallied past Anaheim, 4-3… Andreas Nodl’s first NHL goal helped Philadelphia past Ottawa, 6-4… On Monday, Alex Goligoski recorded two goals and an assist as Pittsburgh defeated Buffalo, 4-3, in overtime… Toronto’s Justin Pogge made 19 saves for the win in his NHL debut, a 6-2 Toronto decision over Atlanta.
BY THE NUMBERS:
20-4-1-1 — Manitoba’s record in 26 all-time meetings with Toronto, including two wins this season… The North Division rivals will square off this weekend for a two-game set at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto.
AHL LIVE:
AHL Live brings AHL action to your computer all season long with live video webcasts and highlights of every AHL game… Visit theahl.com or ahllive.com for details.
