LOOKING BACK:
In Thursday’s only action, Peter Mannino celebratred his birthday with 34 saves to lead Chicago past Houston, 2-1… On Wednesday, rookie Luke Adam (2-1-3) was one of three players to record three points as Portland blanked Providence, 7-0… Trevor Smith’s fifth-round shootout goal lifted Springfield past Bridgeport, 4-3… Jamie Tardif tallied a pair of goals as Grand Rapids earned a 5-3 victory over Hamilton… Ryan Hamilton notched a hat trick in Toronto’s 5-3 win at Manitoba.
Wed 2/16
LAKE ERIE 4, Texas 2
PORTLAND 7, Providence 0
SPRINGFIELD 4, Bridgeport 3 (SO)
ADIRONDACK 4, Syracuse 2
GRAND RAPIDS 5, Hamilton 3
ROCHESTER 6, Worcester 4
ROCKFORD 2, Peoria 1
Toronto 5, MANITOBA 3
Thu 2/17
Chicago 3, HOUSTON 1
LOOKING AHEAD:
First place in the North Division is on the line this weekend as Manitoba hosts Lake Erie for a two-game set in Winnipeg… The Moose and Monsters are tied atop the division with 64 points apiece but have been heading in different directions of late… Manitoba is looking to snap out of a 1-5-0-0 slide, while Lake Erie has won four straight games and 12 of its last 16 (12-3-0-1)… The teams have not met since splitting a two-game set in Cleveland on Oct. 29 and 31… Monsters forward Matthew Ford is coming off a two-goal, three-point effort in Wednesday’s 4-2 win over Texas, and David Van der Gulik has netted a goal in three of his last four contests (3-2-5)… Ryan Stoa is on a three-game scoring streak (1-4-5) for Lake Erie, and his 16 goals overall (16-17-33) are tied for the active team lead with Ben Walter (16-24-40)… Manitoba has totaled just seven goals during the five losses in its current slump… Guillaume Desbiens has scored in his last two games for the Moose, and two-time AHL All-Star Sergei Shirokov shows five assists in his last three contests… Moose goaltender Eddie Lack (18-12-3, 2.04, .928) leads all AHL rookie netminders in goals-against average.
Oklahoma City returns to action after an eight-day hiatus tonight to take on Abbotsford at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, home of the NHL’s Flames… The teams will then battle on Saturday night in Abbotsford… The Barons enter the weekend one point back of Texas for a crossover playoff spot, while the Heat are part of a three-way tie for third place in the North Division… Oklahoma City defenseman Bryan Helmer enters the weekend having played in 999 career AHL games; only six men in history have reached 1,000… Alexandre Giroux has a point in four of his last five games (5-3-8) and 10 of 12 (8-7-15) for the Barons, and he ranks second in the AHL overall in both goals (27) and points (61)… Abbotsford brings a four-game winning streak into the weekend, one shy of its season-high five-game run from Nov. 6-13… Goaltender Leland Irving has stopped 83 of 84 shots (.988) over his last three appearances… Ales Kotalik has an assist in five of seven games (0-6-6) since joining the Heat from the parent Flames, and Cam Cunning shows a point in four of his last five outings (2-2-4).
League-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton takes its 40-15-0-0 record south this weekend for a pair of games at Norfolk… Three of the Penguins’ 15 losses have come at the hands of the Admirals, who boast a 3-1-0-0 mark in the season series thus far… Norfolk is 3-2-0-0 on its eight-game homestand but is coming off a 2-1 loss to Hershey on Tuesday… Marc-Antoine Pouliot paces the Admirals with 46 points (15-31-46) in 45 games, which is more than any Norfolk skater totaled all of last season… Defenseman Troy Milam has netted four of his 10 goals this season (4-2-6) against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Alex Berry (2-4-6) also boasts six points against the Pens… Wilkes-Barre remains without its top seven scorers, all of whom are on NHL recall to Pittsburgh… Chris Collins is the club’s leading active scorer with 10-15-25 totals in 52 contests… Keven Veilleux has a point in four of his last five games (2-3-5) for the Penguins, and Ben Street shows 5-2-7 in his last six outings… Penguins goaltender Brad Thiessen (22-5-0, 1.87, .925) ranks second in the AHL in both wins and goals-against average.
(all times Eastern)
Fri 2/18
Hamilton @ Toronto, 7:00
Worcester @ Albany, 7:00
Texas @ Grand Rapids, 7:00 
Charlotte @ Binghamton, 7:05
Portland @ Providence, 7:05
San Antonio @ Syracuse, 7:30
Manchester @ Springfield, 7:30
W-B/Scranton @ Norfolk, 7:30
Connecticut @ Adirondack, 7:30
Hershey @ Rochester, 7:35
Houston @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Chicago @ Rockford, 8:05
Lake Erie @ Manitoba, 8:30
Oklahoma City vs. Abbotsford, 9:00*
Sat 2/19
Grand Rapids @ Toronto, 3:00
San Antonio @ Hamilton, 4:00
Worcester @ Springfield, 7:00
Portland @ Manchester, 7:00
Bridgeport @ Hershey, 7:00
Providence @ Connecticut, 7:00**
Charlotte @ Adirondack, 7:00
Albany @ Binghamton, 7:05
W-B/Scranton @ Norfolk, 7:15
Rochester @ Syracuse, 7:30
Texas @ Chicago, 8:00
Milwaukee @ Peoria, 8:05
Houston @ Rockford, 8:05
Lake Erie @ Manitoba, 8:30
Oklahoma City @ Abbotsford, 10:00
Sun 2/20
Manchester @ Bridgeport, 3:00
Adirondack @ Albany, 4:00
Peoria @ Grand Rapids, 4:00
Worcester @ Providence, 4:05
Charlotte @ Hershey, 5:00
Texas @ Milwaukee, 6:00
Mon 2/21
Connecticut @ Portland, 1:00
San Antonio @ Toronto, 1:00
Rochester @ Hamilton, 2:00
Peoria @ Rockford, 3:05
Tue 2/22
Manchester @ Springfield, 7:00
Charlotte @ Syracuse, 7:00
Milwaukee @ Houston, 8:05
*at Calgary, AB
**at Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Conn.
ALUMNI WATCH:
Former AHL All-Stars Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov tallied regulation goals and Mats Zuccarello nabbed the winning shootout marker as the N.Y. Rangers edged Los Angeles, 4-3, on Thursday… On Wednesday, Pittsburgh’s Joe Vitale and Colorado’s Cameron Gaunce each notched his first career NHL goal in the Penguins’ 3-2 overtime win over the Avalanche.
BY THE NUMBERS:
21,508 — Largest single-game crowd in AHL history, achieved at last year’s Mirabito Outdoor Classic in Syracuse… The mark is expected to be challenged in Saturday night’s outdoor Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl featuring Connecticut and Providence at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.
AHL LIVE:
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