LOOKING BACK:
In Thursday’s lone action, rookie Ryan Flynn notched his first two pro goals to lead Milwaukee past Grand Rapids, 5-1… On Wednesday, Chicago’s Nigel Dawes (4-0-4) and Peoria’s Derek Nesbitt (4-1-5) each scored four goals as their teams collected 9-3 and 7-4 victories over Toronto and San Antonio, respectively… Tim Kennedy recorded a goal and an assist in Connecticut’s 2-0 win at Worcester… Adirondack won its fourth straight with a 3-2 shootout decision at Albany.
Wed 1/5
Adirondack 3, ALBANY 2 (SO)
Portland 5, BRIDGEPORT 3
W-B/Scranton 3, CHARLOTTE 2 (SO)
GRAND RAPIDS 3, Hamilton 2
Connecticut 2, WORCESTER 0
CHICAGO 9, Toronto 3
PEORIA 7, San Antonio 4
Thu 1/6
MILWAUKEE 5, Grand Rapids 1
LOOKING AHEAD:
Winners of five of its last six games (5-1-0-0), Hershey visits Manitoba for a two-game set this weekend in a rematch of the 2009 Calder Cup Finals… The Moose are also hot, showing an 8-1-0-0 mark in their last nine outings to pull within one point of first-place Hamilton in the North Division… Manitoba is 11-5-0-0 at the MTS Centre this season… 2010 AHL All-Star Sergei Shirokov has netted a goal in three straight games (4-0-4) and six of his last seven (7-2-9) for the Moose; Shirokov paces Manitoba in goals (13), points (28), and plus/minus (plus-11) through 35 games… Manitoba’s Marco Rosa has a point in five of his last six contests (3-4-7), and rookie goaltender Eddie Lack (13-7-2) ranks sixth in the AHL with a 1.98 goals-against average… Bears forward Keith Aucoin boasts 5-6-11 in just seven games since returning to the lineup from injury… Kyle Greentree has tallied a goal in four of his last six outings (5-2-7) for Hershey… Hershey goaltender Braden Holtby (10-3-1), who ranks among the AHL’s top-five in both goals-against average and save percentage, is coming off back-to-back shutouts… Manitoba is the only AHL club yet to surrender a shorthanded goal in 2010-11.
Riding a four-game points streak (2-0-0-2), Springfield begins a three-game weekend at Portland tonight before hosting Charlotte on Saturday and visiting Worcester on Sunday… The four-game run matches a season high for the Falcons, who went 3-0-0-1 from Oct. 29 to Nov. 5… Springfield begins the weekend without leading goal-scorer Matt Calvert (13-11-24) after the rookie was recalled by parent-club Columbus on Thursday… The Falcons’ Trevor Frischmon is on a four-game scoring streak (1-4-5)… Tonight could mark the Springfield debut for Trevor Smith, acquired this week after recording 12-15-27 in 35 games for Syracuse in 2010-11… The Falcons are above .500 on the road this year (9-6-0-2), but Portland enters with an impressive 10-2-3-1 record on home ice… Paul Byron has a point in five straight games (4-3-7) for the Pirates, including a goal in four of those five tilts… Byron has 13 goals overall (13-13-26), one shy of the 14 he totaled as a rookie last season… Mark Mancari continues to lead Portland in both goals (15) and points (35) through 32 games played.
A pair of Lone Star State rivals is set to collide tonight when Texas invades the AT&T Center to take on San Antonio… The teams have headed in different directions of late, with the Stars 5-0-1-1 in their last seven outings to pull within one point of the now third-place Rampage in the West Division, as San Antonio is on a season-long four-game losing skid… Fabian Brunnstrom is on a three-game goal-scoring run (3-0-3) for the Stars after going his previous 11 games without nabbing a goal… Travis Morin leads the Stars in goals (13), assists (17), and points (30) through 36 games, and he shows 2-3-5 in five games vs. San Antonio this season, in which the Stars have posted a record of 4-0-0-1… The Rampage are just 1-5-0-0 since the Christmas break and surrendered a season-worst seven goals in Wednesday’s 7-4 loss at Peoria… Andrew Ebbett has a point in four straight games (1-3-4) for San Antonio, and Matt Watkins shows a point in three straight (0-4-4) and four of his last five (3-4-7)… San Antonio brings the AHL’s second-best power play (22.9 percent) into the weekend.
(all times Eastern)
Fri 1/7
Charlotte @ Albany, 7:00
Springfield @ Portland, 7:00 
Bridgeport @ W-B/Scranton, 7:00
Syracuse @ Binghamton, 7:05
Manchester @ Providence, 7:05
Connecticut @ Norfolk, 7:30
Texas @ San Antonio, 8:00
Toronto @ Rockford, 8:05
Peoria @ Oklahoma City, 8:05
Hershey @ Manitoba, 8:30
Lake Erie @ Houston, 8:35
Adirondack @ Abbotsford, 10:00
Sat 1/8
Syracuse @ Albany, 7:00
Charlotte @ Springfield, 7:00
Manchester @ Portland, 7:00
Providence @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Rochester @ Binghamton, 7:05
Peoria @ Oklahoma City, 7:05
Connecticut @ Norfolk, 7:15
Toronto @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Hamilton @ Chicago, 8:00
Houston @ San Antonio, 8:00
Worcester @ Bridgeport, 8:00
Lake Erie @ Texas, 8:00
Grand Rapids @ Rockford, 8:05
Hershey @ Manitoba, 8:30
Adirondack @ Abbotsford, 10:00
Sun 1/9
Hamilton @ Milwaukee, 2:00
Springfield @ Worcester, 3:00
Toronto @ Chicago, 4:00
Binghamton @ Providence, 4:05
San Antonio @ Houston, 5:05
Lake Erie @ Oklahoma City, 6:05
Manchester @ Bridgeport, 7:30
Mon 1/10
No games scheduled
Tue 1/11
Binghamton @ Portland, 6:30
Albany @ Worcester, 7:00
Charlotte @ Norfolk, 7:15
ALUMNI WATCH:
On Thursday, two-time AHL Goaltender of the Year Jason LaBarbera posted a 34-save shutout as Phoenix blanked Colorado, 2-0… Rookie netminder Kevin Poulin, who is 10-4-0 for AHL Bridgeport this year, made his NHL debut with 19 saves on 19 shots in relief in the N.Y. Islanders’ 2-1 loss to Edmonton… On Wednesday, Mats Zuccarello notched his first career NHL goal in overtime to lift the N.Y. Rangers past Carolina, 2-1.
BY THE NUMBERS:
4 — Points separating first place from fifth place in the West Division entering the weekend… Peoria (49) leads the group on the strength of a three-game win streak, followed by Milwaukee (48), San Antonio (47), Texas (46), and Chicago (45).
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