AHL Quick Hits

LOOKING BACK:
In Wednesday’s action, Jordan Pearce made 31 saves and stopped four of five shootout attempts as Grand Rapids earned a 2-1 win over Oklahoma City… Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scored four times in the third period to defeat Manitoba, 4-1… Drew MacIntyre stopped 18 shots in Hamilton’s 2-0 shutout of Rochester… Oscar Moller tallied a pair of goals as Manchester doubled up Springfield, 4-2… Harry Zolnierczyk and Cullen Eddy scored their first career AHL goals in Adirondack’s 5-2 win over Binghamton.

Wed 3/16
ADIRONDACK 5, Binghamton 2
Charlotte 2, BRIDGEPORT 1 (SO)
GRAND RAPIDS 2, Oklahoma City 1 (SO)
Albany 6, SYRACUSE 1
MANCHESTER 4, Springfield 2
Hamilton 2, ROCHESTER 0
SAN ANTONIO 2, Milwaukee 1 (SO)
W-B/Scranton 4, MANITOBA 1

Thu 3/17
No games scheduled


LOOKING AHEAD:
Two points back of Chicago for a playoff spot in the Western Conference entering the weekend, Oklahoma City visits Rockford on Friday before opening a critical two-game road set against the Wolves on Saturday night… The Barons own a 4-1-0-1 mark against the Wolves this season and won both of their previous two visits to Allstate Arena… Brad Moran is on a three-game scoring streak (1-2-3) for the Barons, and Colin McDonald has netted a goal in three of his last four contests (3-0-3)… Moran (4-3-7) and McDonald (4-2-6) have combined for eight goals and 13 points in six games vs. Chicago on the year… Six players from Oklahoma City’s Clear Day list were in Edmonton’s lineup for the Oilers’ game vs. Phoenix on Thursday, including the AHL’s second-leading scorer Alexandre Giroux (29-38-67)… Chicago, which is idle on Friday, brings an impressive 9-2-1-2 record in its last 14 games into its showdown with OKC… Spencer Machacek boasts a team-high six points (3-3-6) against the Barons this season and has collected five points (1-4-5) in his last seven outings overall… Darren Haydar has a point in seven of his last eight games (5-6-11) for the Wolves, and Jason Krog has found the scoresheet in four of his last five (2-5-7)… Chicago has the AHL’s fourth-ranked power play (20.6 percent) but checks in at 29th on the penalty kill (77.7 percent).

Tied for fourth place in the North Division and each two points out of a playoff spot, Lake Erie and Grand Rapids go toe-to-toe tonight at Van Andel Arena… The Monsters are beginning a stretch of four games in five nights after playing just four times during the first 17 days of March… Lake Erie is 10-3-0-0 in its last 13 games, while the Griffins are on a 9-1-0-1 surge… Leading scorer Ben Walter (18-33-51) has picked up a point in 10 of his last 11 games (2-12-14) for the Monsters; Greg Mauldin has a point in eight of his last nine outings (5-4-9); and rookie defenseman Cameron Gaunce shows four points (1-3-4) in two games since returning from recall to Colorado… Griffins forward Francis Pare is riding a four-game scoring streak (4-2-6), and Ilari Filppula has a point in three straight (1-4-5) and 11 of his last 12 (2-15-17)… Rookie goaltender Jordan Pearce is 10-2-2 (2.59, .916) with one shutout over his run of 14 consecutive starts for the Griffins… Grand Rapids leads the AHL with 12 shorthanded goals on the year, while Lake Erie is tied for second in that category with 11… The Monsters are an impressive 20-9-0-2 against North Division opponents in 2010-11; the Griffins are 16-8-0-4.

Worcester, which is tied with Connecticut for the Atlantic Division’s final guaranteed playoff spot, begins a tough three-game road weekend in Providence tonight before battling division leaders Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Manchester on Saturday and Sunday, respectively… The Sharks have won three of their last four overall and are 6-1-1-0 against Providence for the season… Sharks rookie forward Tommy Wingels is on a three-game goal-scoring streak (4-0-4), matching his output from the previous 17 games combined… Dan DaSilva has a point in three of his last four games (2-2-4) for Worcester, and Benn Ferriero shows a team-best six points (3-3-6) in the season series vs. Providence… The Bruins, who are nine points out of a postseason berth, are coming off consecutive losses to Portland and Bridgeport last weekend… Goaltender Anton Khudobin is 4-1-1 (2.29, .910) in six appearances since joining the B’s from the Houston Aeros… Rookie forward Maxime Sauve had been on an eight-game scoring streak (5-6-11) before being held without a point on Sunday vs. Bridgeport… Trent Whitfield brings a six-game points streak (6-5-11) into the weekend for Providence.

(all times Eastern)

Fri 3/18
Charlotte @ Bridgeport, 7:00
Lake Erie @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Connecticut @ Manchester, 7:00
Portland @ Binghamton, 7:05
Worcester @ Providence, 7:05
Toronto @ Syracuse, 7:30
Hershey @ Springfield, 7:30
Albany @ Norfolk, 7:30
Milwaukee @ San Antonio, 8:00
Oklahoma City @ Rockford, 8:05
Texas @ Manitoba, 8:30
Hamilton @ Abbotsford, 10:00

Sat 3/19
Adirondack @ Toronto, 3:00
Portland @ Hershey, 7:00
Manchester @ Bridgeport, 7:00
Rochester @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Providence @ Connecticut, 7:00
Worcester @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Springfield @ Binghamton, 7:05
Albany @ Norfolk, 7:15
Charlotte @ Syracuse, 7:30
Oklahoma City @ Chicago, 8:00
Lake Erie @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Peoria @ Rockford, 8:05
San Antonio @ Houston, 8:35
Hamilton @ Abbotsford, 10:00

Sun 3/20
Springfield @ Connecticut, 3:00
Worcester @ Manchester, 3:00
Texas @ Manitoba, 3:00
Charlotte @ W-B/Scranton, 3:05
Oklahoma City @ Chicago, 4:00
Rockford @ Grand Rapids, 5:00
Houston @ San Antonio, 4:00
Portland @ Providence, 4:05
Syracuse @ Hershey, 5:00
Binghamton @ Bridgeport, 6:00
Lake Erie @ Peoria, 6:05

Mon 3/21
No games scheduled

Tue 3/22
Worcester @ Portland, 11:00am
Adirondack @ Charlotte, 7:00
Rochester @ Lake Erie, 7:00
Oklahoma City @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Houston @ Texas, 8:30


ALUMNI WATCH:
Goaltender Joey MacDonald, who is 10-9-1 in 20 AHL appearances for Grand Rapids this season, posted a 37-save shutout to help Detroit to a 2-0 win at Columbus on Thursday… Mark Olver, who ranks second among AHL rookies with 23 goals for Lake Erie, nabbed his first career NHL goal in Colorado’s 5-2 loss to Calgary… Called up from Oklahoma City, Chris Vandevelde and Teemu Hartikainen made their NHL debuts in Edmonton’s 3-1 loss to Phoenix.


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