LOOKING BACK:
In Thursday’s lone AHL action, Fabian Brunnstrom notched the game-winner in the third period as Texas topped Chicago, 4-3… On Wednesday, Max Pacioretty had three points (1-2-3) to help Hamilton rally for a 5-4 win over Syracuse… Alexandre Giroux scored twice and added an assist as Oklahoma City captured a 4-1 win in Chicago.
Wed 10/27
HAMILTON 5, Syracuse 4
Albany 3, HARTFORD 1
Texas 4, ROCKFORD 3 (SO)
Oklahoma City 4, CHICAGO 1
Thu 10/28
Texas 4, CHICAGO 3
LOOKING AHEAD:
Atlantic Division-leading Portland (6-2-0-0) kicks off a four-game road trip with back-to-back weekend tilts at Norfolk (5-2-0-0), which is just two points off the pace in the East Division… The Pirates show a perfect 6-0-0-0 mark at home but have dropped their only two road contests thus far… Portland has AHL rookie scorer Luke Adam (5-5-10) back after the 20-year-old made his NHL debut for Buffalo on Tuesday in Philadelphia… Two-time AHL All-Star Mark Mancari shows just one assist in his last four outings after racking up 10 points (5-5-10) in his first four games for the Pirates… Portland newcomer Colin Stuart brings a three-game scoring streak (2-1-3) into the weekend… The Admirals return after playing five of their first seven games on the road… Leading scorer Marc-Antoine Pouliot (2-9-11) has a point in six of seven contests to begin the season, and Johan Harju (4-4-8) already boasts three multiple-point efforts… Norfolk has scored a league-best average of 4.29 goals per game and surrendered only 2.29 per contest, tied for third-fewest in the AHL.
Manitoba launches a stretch of seven road games in nine days on Friday with a visit to Lake Erie, before stopping in Grand Rapids on Saturday and returning to face the Monsters again on Sunday… The 4-2-0-0 Moose have been idle since collecting consecutive 4-3 shootout wins over Hamilton on Oct. 21 and 22… Veteran forward Joel Perrault (1-4-5) is tied with rookie defenseman Kevin Connauton (3-2-5) for the Moose scoring lead, and then rookie forward Jordan Schroeder (0-4-4) is among a trio of players with four points apiece… Moose goaltender Tyler Weiman (2-1-0, 2.94, .899) spent the past three seasons with Lake Erie and was an AHL All-Star in 2009… The Monsters are coming off a 2-4-0-1 road swing and will be playing at home for the first time since opening night on Oct. 8, a 3-2 win over Syracuse… Newcomer Greg Mauldin shows a three-game scoring streak (2-1-3) for Lake Erie… Six of the Monsters’ first eight games have been decided by a one-goal margin… Manitoba is 12-3-1-0 all-time against Lake Erie, but the teams split their four encounters last season.
Rochester continues a four-game road swing on Friday in Worcester, marking the Americans’ first visit to the DCU Center since battling the Worcester IceCats on Jan. 2, 2002… The Amerks split a pair of games in Abbotsford earlier this week and bring a 4-4-1-0 overall mark into the weekend… Former first-round draft pick Kenndal McArdle has a point in four straight games (3-1-4) since being assigned to Rochester, and Evgeny Dadonov put up three points (2-1-3) in the two-game set vs. Abbotsford… Amerks rookie goaltender Jacob Markstrom is 0-3-0 (3.98, .868) in his last three outings, but Tyler Plante earned a 2-1 win with 23 saves on Tuesday in his season debut… Worcester has allowed a league-worst average of 4.33 goals per game en route to its 2-2-1-1 start, but the Sharks are coming off a 4-3 win over Norfolk last Sunday… Second-year pro Benn Ferriero has a goal in three straight games (3-3-6) and four of his last five (5-4-9) for the Sharks, and rookie James Marcou shows a three-game points streak (2-2-4)… Worcester is 4-for-9 (44.4 percent) on the power play through two home games.
(all times Eastern)
Fri 10/29
Oklahoma City @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Toronto @ Hamilton, 7:00
Springfield @ Hartford, 7:00
Bridgeport @ Manchester, 7:00
Charlotte @ Binghamton, 7:05
Albany @ Providence, 7:05 
Rochester @ Worcester, 7:30
Hershey @ Syracuse, 7:30
Portland @ Norfolk, 7:30
Manitoba @ Lake Erie, 7:30
W-B/Scranton @ Adirondack, 7:30
Houston @ San Antonio, 8:00
Milwaukee @ Abbotsford, 10:00
Sat 10/30
Providence @ Worcester, 1:00
Lake Erie @ Toronto, 3:00
Rochester @ Adirondack, 7:00
Manitoba @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
W-B/Scranton @ Hershey, 7:00
Hartford @ Springfield, 7:00
Charlotte @ Binghamton, 7:05
Portland @ Norfolk, 7:15
Albany @ Syracuse, 7:30
Rockford @ Chicago, 8:00
Houston @ Texas, 8:00
Oklahoma City @ Peoria, 8:05
Milwaukee @ Abbotsford, 10:00
Sun 10/31
Worcester @ Providence, 1:05
Manitoba @ Lake Erie, 3:00
Manchester @ Hershey, 5:00
Texas @ Houston, 5:05
Mon, 11/1
No games scheduled
Tue, 11/2
Portland @ Charlotte, 7:00
Manitoba @ Hamilton, 7:00
ALUMNI WATCH:
Zack Smith tallied his first NHL goal of the season on Thursday as Ottawa outlasted Florida, 5-3; 2009 AHL All-Star Mike Santorelli notched his first goal of 2010-11 for Florida… 2007 AHL All-Star Jaroslav Halak registered a 24-save shutout as St. Louis beat Nashville, 3-0, handing the Predators their first regulation loss… Lauri Korpikoski scored twice in Phoenix’s 4-2 win at Detroit… 2005 AHL All-Star Patrice Bergeron nabbed his 100th career NHL goal to help Boston past Toronto, 2-0.
BY THE NUMBERS:
10 — Goals allowed by Syracuse – not including shootouts – in its first six games prior to surrendering five in Wednesday’s 5-4 loss to Hamilton… The Crunch host Hershey on Friday in the division rivals’ first clash of 2010-11.
AHL LIVE:
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