AHL Quick Hits: First place overall on the line

LOOKING BACK:
In Thursday’s only action, Jason Jaffray notched his second hat trick of the season to help Manitoba double up Hershey, 4-2… On Wednesday, goaltender Barry Brust made 31 saves for his second straight shutout as Houston edged Lake Erie, 1-0… Daniel Corso and Corey Locke tallied four points apiece in Hamilton’s 5-3 victory over Grand Rapids.

Wed 2/27
ALBANY 6, Binghamton 2
WORCESTER 4, Springfield 1
W-B/SCRANTON 2, Syracuse 1 (SO)
Houston 1, LAKE ERIE 0
HAMILTON 5, Grand Rapids 3
Chicago 5, SAN ANTONIO 1
Milwaukee 4, ROCKFORD 3
Hershey 4, MANITOBA 3

Thu 2/28
MANITOBA 4, Hershey 2


LOOKING AHEAD:
League-leading Providence begins a five-game West Division road trip with weekend games against Milwaukee, Rockford and Western Conference-leading Chicago… The Bruins defeated all three teams when they visited Providence earlier in the season… Pascal Pelletier ranks third in the AHL with 28 goals (28-28-56) and has a point in six straight games (3-4-7) for the B’s… Captain Nate Thompson boasts seven points (3-4-7) in his last four games and already has career highs in goals (12) and points (26)… Rookie goaltender Tuukka Rask (21-7-0, 2.49) has stopped 48 of 50 shots (.960) in his last two outings… Providence is 58-0-0-0 over the last two seasons when taking a lead into the third period… Milwaukee, 6-2-1-0 in its last nine, enters the weekend tied with Houston for fourth in the West… Antti Pihlstrom has a team-high 20 goals (20-13-33), while Cal O’Reilly paces the Admirals with 63 points (13-50-63).

Lowell visits Portland on Friday in the Atlantic Division rivals’ eighth meeting of the season… The Pirates are 5-2-0-0 in the season series and have outscored the Devils 9-1 in winning all three meetings in Portland thus far… Lowell is 5-1-2-0 in its last eight games after going winless in its previous 12 (0-9-2-1)… Devils rookie Benoit Mondou is coming off a three-goal, four-point night on Tuesday at Manchester… 2008 AHL All-Star Petr Vrana leads Lowell with 44 points (10-34-44) in 58 games… The Pirates, at 5-5-0-1 in February, are looking to avoid their first losing month of the season… Rookie Bobby Ryan boasts a seven-game scoring streak (4-5-9)… Andrew Ebbett has a four-game scoring streak (3-6-9) and a team-high 58 points (13-45-58) for the campaign… Portland is 19-8-1-1 at the Cumberland County Civic Center this year.

Hershey and Hamilton square off Saturday at Copps Coliseum for the first time since the 2007 Calder Cup Finals… The Bulldogs, who captured last spring’s championship in five games over the Bears, enter this weekend 7-0-1-0 in their last eight contests… Corey Locke, who led Hamilton with 22 points in the 2007 playoff run, paces the Bulldogs this season in goals (21), assists (31) and points (52)… Kyle Chipchura has a point in five straight (2-3-5) and eight of his last nine outings (2-6-8)… Hershey began its nine-game road trip with a split of two tilts in Manitoba… Alexandre Giroux had a goal and an assist in his return to the Bears on Wednesday… Kyle Wilson has a team-high 20 goals on the season (20-21-41)… Hershey defenseman Josef Boumedienne sports a point in 18 of his last 19 contests (4-20-24).

(all times Eastern)
Fri 2/29
Norfolk @ Hartford, 7:00
Binghamton @ Philadelphia, 7:05
Lowell @ Portland, 7:05
Bridgeport @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Iowa @ Hamilton, 7:30
Albany @ Springfield, 7:30
Toronto @ Syracuse, 7:30
Providence @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Grand Rapids @ Peoria, 8:00
Chicago @ San Antonio, 8:00
Manchester @ Worcester, 8:05
Lake Erie @ Rockford, 8:30

Sat 3/1
Worcester @ Albany, 7:00
Binghamton @ Bridgeport, 7:00
Hershey @ Hamilton, 7:00
Manchester @ Hartford, 7:00
Portland @ Springfield, 7:00
Iowa @ Toronto, 7:00
Norfolk @ Lowell, 7:05
Philadelphia @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Rochester @ Syracuse, 7:30
Milwaukee @ Chicago, 8:00
Lake Erie @ Peoria, 8:00
Providence @ Rockford, 8:05
Quad City @ Manitoba, 8:30

Sun 3/2
Quad City @ Manitoba, 3:00
Lake Erie @ Grand Rapids, 4:00
Syracuse @ Hamilton, 4:00
Hershey @ Toronto, 4:00
Bridgeport @ Lowell, 4:05
Springfield @ Manchester, 4:05
Hartford @ Portland, 4:05
Norfolk @ Worcester, 4:05
Philadelphia @ Albany, 5:00
W-B/Scranton @ Binghamton, 5:05
Peoria @ Rockford, 5:05
Iowa @ Rochester, 6:05
Providence @ Chicago, 7:00

Mon 3/3
No games scheduled

Tue 3/4
W-B/Scranton @ Philadelphia, 7:05
Quad City @ Peoria, 8:00
Providence @ Houston, 8:05


ALUMNI WATCH:
On Thursday, 2003 AHL All-Star Trent Hunter scored the overtime winner in the N.Y. Islanders’ 5-4 win at Atlanta… On Wednesday, Jeremy Williams, who leads the Toronto Marlies with 18 goals this season, scored his third goal in as many career NHL games to help the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win in Florida.


BY THE NUMBERS:
1.09
— Chicago goaltender Ondrej Pavelec’s goals-against average in his last 10 starts (9-1-0)… Pavelec has allowed more than one goal just twice in those 10 games, lowering his season GAA from 3.31 to 2.62.


AHL ON B2 NETWORKS:
B2 Networks brings AHL action to your computer all season long with live video webcasts of every AHL game… Visit theahl.com for details.