AHL Quick Hits: Lone Star rivals finish home-and-home

For Immediate Release
October 26, 2007

LOOKING BACK:
On Wednesday night, Janne Niskala scored two of Milwaukee’s six second-period goals in an 8-1 win over Quad City… Petteri Nokelainen scored with 5:23 left in regulation to give Providence a 4-3 win at Hartford… Jamie Johnson lit the lamp twice as Albany downed Syracuse, 3-2… Chicago rallied from three one-goal deficits to take a 4-3 shootout decision from San Antonio… Grand Rapids improved to 4-0-0-0 on the road with a 5-3 win at Hamilton.

Wed 10/24
ALBANY 3, Syracuse 2
Providence 4, HARTFORD 3
LOWELL 4, Bridgeport 3
Grand Rapids 5, HAMILTON 3
CHICAGO 4, San Antonio 3 (SO)
MILWAUKEE 8, Quad City 1

Thu 10/25
Rockford 4, MANITOBA 2


LOOKING AHEAD:
Manitoba and Rockford conclude their two-game set at the MTS Centre on Friday night… The IceHogs have gained a point in six straight games (5-0-1-0), vaulting them into first place in the West Division, while Manitoba’s nine points (4-3-1-0) are good for a share of first in the North Division… Moose forward Jozef Balej enters with a goal in four of his last five outings (4-3-7) and a point in seven of eight games overall (4-5-9)… Rookie winger Pierre-Cedric Labrie has tallied a goal in three straight contests for the Moose (3-2-5)… Dustin Byfuglien, who was plus-4 in Rockford’s 4-2 defeat of Manitoba on Thursday, has a point in all five games he has played (2-5-7)… Fellow defenseman Prestin Ryan, who played the past two seasons for the Moose, is tied with Byfuglien for the Rockford team lead with seven points (3-4-7).

The Eastern Conference’s two first place teams square off on Saturday when Springfield visits Philadelphia… The Falcons will take a 5-2-0-1 record into the weekend, which begins with a contest in Hartford on Friday… Center Patrick Thoresen leads the club with five goals and nine points (5-4-9), including a pair of two-goal performances… Rookie winger Liam Reddox had a four-game goal-scoring streak snapped last Sunday in Portland… The Phantoms (5-1-0-0) open the weekend with a game in Norfolk on Friday… Rookie forward Kyle Greentree has six points in his last three games (2-4-6) and leads the active roster with eight overall (2-6-8)… Former Falcon Darren Reid has notched three goals in his last two outings (3-1-4) for Philadelphia… Goaltender Brian Boucher’s four wins (4-1-0) are tied for the league lead.

Hamilton and Toronto kick off their 12-game season series on Saturday at Ricoh Coliseum… The Marlies sit atop the North Division and have yet to lose in regulation (4-0-0-1) this season… Toronto enters the weekend first in the AHL on the power play (29.0 percent) and second in penalty killing (92.3 percent)… Derrick Walser (4-4-8) and David Ling (1-7-8) pace the Marlies’ offense with eight points apiece, and both have registered at least one point in all five games… The Bulldogs, who are looking to end a two-game skid, were 4-0-1-1 at Ricoh last year… Leading scorer Maxim Lapierre (4-4-8) has been held off the scoresheet in three straight outings… Jonathan Ferland has a point in three straight games (2-1-3), including a goal in his last two… Ferland’s four goals are tied with Lapierre for the team lead.

(all times Eastern)
Fri 10/26
Springfield @ Hartford, 7:00
Lowell @ Manchester, 7:05
Worcester @ Portland, 7:05
Hershey @ Binghamton, 7:05
Albany @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Philadelphia @ Norfolk, 7:15
Syracuse @ Rochester, 7:35
Iowa @ Peoria, 8:00
Milwaukee @ Quad City, 8:05
Rockford @ Manitoba, 8:30
San Antonio @ Chicago, 8:30

Sat 10/27
Providence @ Lowell, 2:05
Portland @ Manchester, 7:05
Hartford @ Worcester, 7:05
Binghamton @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Springfield @ Philadelphia, 7:05
Bridgeport @ Norfolk, 7:15
Rochester @ Syracuse, 7:30
Hamilton @ Toronto, 8:00
Grand Rapids @ Peoria, 8:00
Houston @ San Antonio, 8:00
Lake Erie @ Iowa, 8:07
Chicago @ Milwaukee, 8:30

Sun 10/28
Peoria @ Grand Rapids, 4:00
Syracuse @ Toronto, 4:00
Rockford @ Hamilton, 4:00
Albany @ Hershey, 5:00
Norfolk @ Philadelphia, 5:05
San Antonio @ Houston, 5:05
Binghamton @ Rochester, 6:05

Mon 10/29
No games scheduled

Tue 10/30
Syracuse @ Houston, 8:05
Milwaukee @ Iowa, 8:07


ALUMNI WATCH:
19-year-old Jiri Tlusty, recalled from the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday night, scored a pair of goals in his NHL debut for the Maple Leafs in Thursday’s 5-2 win at Pittsburgh… Also on Thursday, 2006-07 Hartford Wolf Pack leading scorer Nigel Dawes netted both goals as the N.Y. Rangers blanked New Jersey, 2-0… Phoenix’s Craig Weller, a teammate of Dawes’ in Hartford from 2005-07, scored his first career NHL goal to lead the Coyotes to a 1-0 win over Anaheim.


BY THE NUMBERS:
36 — Games it took a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton player to record a hat trick last season… This year, it has taken six games for two players to accomplish it – Chris Minard on Oct. 3 vs. Hershey, and Jeff Taffe on Oct. 20 at Bridgeport.


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.