LOOKING BACK:
On Wednesday, Tim Kennedy and Kris Newbury each had a goal and two assists as Connecticut won its fifth straight game, 6-4 at Adirondack… Jamie Johnson recorded a goal and two helpers in Grand Rapids’ 5-2 win over Houston… Nick Johnson’s overtime tally lifted Wilkes-Barre/Scranton past Abbotsford, 3-2… Ryan Garbutt notched the game-winner as Chicago doubled Rockford, 4-2.
Wed 12/15
Connecticut 6, ADIRONDACK 4
GRAND RAPIDS 5, Houston 2
W-B/SCRANTON 2, Abbotsford 1 (OT)
Chicago 4, ROCKFORD 2
Thu 12/16
No games scheduled
LOOKING AHEAD:
Tied atop the Atlantic Division with 36 points apiece, Portland and Manchester kick off a home-and-home set tonight at the Verizon Wireless Arena… The Pirates have won three straight games – all on the road – on the heels of a 1-5-0-1 funk, and have taken three of four meetings from Manchester this season (3-1-0-0)… Rookie Luke Adam, who has 11 goals and 19 points in 17 AHL games on the year, is back with the Pirates after missing nine games while on NHL recall to Buffalo… Adam shows five points (3-2-5) in two contests vs. Manchester this season… Portland’s Derek Whitmore has 10 goals (10-4-14) in 27 games overall, and four of them have come against the Monarchs… Defenseman Drew Schiestel is riding a five-game scoring streak (1-4-5) for the Pirates… Manchester, which fell to Connecticut and Portland last weekend, is looking to avoid its first three-game losing skid since Nov. 6-13… Thomas Hickey (1-3-4) and defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov (0-4-4) are both on three-game scoring runs for the Monarchs, and Corey Elkins has a team-best three goals vs. Portland this season… After tonight, Manchester will have played 19 of its first 31 games at home, where it is 11-6-1-0.
Hamilton begins a four-game road trip down south tonight in Oklahoma City before visiting Cedar Park to battle Texas on Saturday in a rematch of the 2010 Western Conference Finals… The Bulldogs are just 3-5-0-0 in their last eight games following a 13-3-1-3 start… ‘Dogs leading scorer David Desharnais, who is tied for second in the AHL with 32 points (7-25-32), will look to avoid going scoreless in back-to-back games for just the second time all season… Desharnais and Brendon Nash each had a goal and an assist in Hamilton’s 3-2 overtime loss to Oklahoma City on Oct. 24… Aaron Palushaj has a point in four of his last five games (2-3-5) overall for the Bulldogs… Oklahoma City’s Alexandre Giroux, who scored the overtime winner back on Oct. 24, needs just one more point to reach 600 for his AHL career… Liam Reddox has four points (2-2-4) in his last two games for the Barons and leads the team with 15 goals (15-12-27) and a plus-13 rating for the season… Oklahoma City’s top-rated penalty kill (89.8 percent) will go up against a Hamilton power play which ranks sixth in the AHL (20.0 percent).
Charlotte opens up a three-game road weekend tonight in Providence before visiting Binghamton and Hershey – two teams right below the Checkers in the East Division standings – on Saturday and Sunday, respectively… The Checkers have won five straight on the road since a 4-3 overtime loss to Binghamton on Oct. 29… Charlotte’s Zach Boychuk is coming off a season-high four-assist effort vs. Hershey on Sunday, and his 32 points overall (10-22-32) are good for a share of second place in the AHL… Jacob Micflikier (4-3-7) and Oskar Osala (2-5-7) both have seven points in their last five games for the Checkers, while Chris Terry saw his six-game scoring streak (3-5-8) end on Sunday… Providence is just 3-10-1-1 on home ice this year compared with an 8-2-1-0 mark away from the Dunkin’ Donuts Center… Jamie Arniel paces the Bruins with 11 goals and 19 points in 25 games; no other member of the B’s has more than seven tallies on the year… Former first-round draft pick Jordan Caron shows two assists in three games since joining the club from Boston… Charlotte ranks among the AHL’s top three in both power play (21.8 percent; 3rd) and penalty killing (88.0 percent; 2nd).
(all times Eastern)
Fri 12/17
Springfield @ Bridgeport, 7:00
Peoria @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Worcester @ Connecticut, 7:00 
Portland @ Manchester, 7:00
Abbotsford @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Syracuse @ Binghamton, 7:05
Charlotte @ Providence, 7:05
Hamilton @ Oklahoma City, 7:05
Albany @ Norfolk, 7:30
Hershey @ Adirondack, 7:30
Toronto @ Rochester, 7:35
Texas @ San Antonio, 8:00
Lake Erie @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Chicago @ Rockford, 8:05
Houston @ Manitoba, 8:30
Sat 12/18
Rochester @ Toronto, 3:00
Manchester @ Portland, 7:00
Abbotsford @ Adirondack, 7:00
Providence @ Hershey, 7:00
Worcester @ Bridgeport, 7:00
Charlotte @ Binghamton, 7:05
Albany @ Norfolk, 7:15
W-B/Scranton @ Syracuse, 7:30
Hamilton @ Texas, 8:00
Milwaukee @ Chicago, 8:00
Lake Erie @ Rockford, 8:05
Grand Rapids @ Peoria, 8:05
San Antonio @ Oklahoma City, 8:05
Houston @ Manitoba, 8:30
Sun 12/19
Portland @ Bridgeport, 3:00
Worcester @ Manchester, 3:00
Connecticut @ Syracuse, 3:00
Springfield @ Providence, 4:05
Lake Erie @ Peoria, 4:05
Charlotte @ Hershey, 5:00
Binghamton @ Rochester, 5:05
Hamilton @ San Antonio, 5:30
Mon, 12/20
Oklahoma City @ Texas, 8:30
ALUMNI WATCH:
Max Pacioretty, who leads the AHL with 17 goals this season for Hamilton, notched his first NHL goal of the year and added an assist as Montreal edged Boston by a 4-3 count on Thursday… Linus Omark, who boasts 26 points in 26 games for AHL Oklahoma City this year, scored his first career NHL goal to help Edmonton past Columbus, 6-3… 2010 AHL All-Rookie forward Logan Couture tallied the overtime game-winner in San Jose’s 4-3 victory at Dallas.
BY THE NUMBERS:
15 — Games on Friday’s American Hockey League schedule, with all 30 AHL clubs taking the ice… This marks the busiest night of action in the league’s 75-year history.
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.
