LOOKING BACK:
In Cleveland on Tuesday, Brent Kelly, Eric Healey and Brad Richardson each posted three points and Tom Fritsche scored his first professional goal as Lake Erie outlasted Chicago, 7-5… On Monday, Cam Cunning netted a pair of goals to help Quad City defeat host Houston, 4-2.
Mon 3/17
Quad City 4, HOUSTON 2
Tue 3/18
LAKE ERIE 7, Chicago 5
LOOKING AHEAD:Fourth place in the Atlantic Division is on the line Wednesday when Manchester squares off with Springfield at the MassMutual Center… The Falcons sit one point up on the Monarchs for the division’s final playoff spot with 13 games remaining for each club… Springfield, 20-11-3-1 at home this season, is led in scoring by second-year pro Rob Schremp (17-45-62), who is currently riding a six-game scoring streak (3-5-8)… Rookie Viacheslav Trukhno boasts an eight-game scoring streak (6-5-11), including a goal in six of the eight contests… Stephane Goulet has a five goals and an assist in his last five outings for the Falcons… Manchester’s Teddy Purcell continues to lead all AHL rookie scorers with 66 points (18-48-66)… Gabe Gauthier has 10 points (3-7-10) in eight games vs. Springfield this season… The Monarchs are 15-1-2-0 against the Falcons over the last two campaigns.
Syracuse continues a nine-game homestand against division-rival Hamilton on Wednesday… The Crunch are 8-0-0-3 in their last 11 games and 12-1-0-5 in their last 18, and sit seven points up on the Bulldogs for the North Division’s final guaranteed playoff spot… Syracuse has taken five of the first six meetings in the season series, including a 9-2 victory in the Bulldogs’ last visit to the War Memorial on Dec. 15… Crunch captain Zenon Konopka is coming off a hat trick on Sunday and has a point in six of his last seven games (6-3-9)… Defenseman Clay Wilson, the reigning Rbk/AHL Player of the Week, has 11 points over his last eight contests (3-8-11)… Goaltender Karl Goehring is 5-0-2 with a 1.10 GAA and .963 save percentage over his last seven appearances… Corey Locke boasts team highs in goals (22), assists (32) and points (54) for the Bulldogs, who are trying to snap a six-game losing skid… Yann Danis has made nine straight starts in net for Hamilton since Jaroslav Halak was recalled by Montreal on Feb. 26… Bulldogs head coach Don Lever and Crunch counterpart Ross Yates both played for the Rochester Americans during the 1985-86 season.
San Antonio travels to the MTS Centre for a two-game set with Manitoba on Wednesday and Thursday… The Rampage, who swept a pair of games from the Moose back home in mid-January, have pulled into a second-place tie with Rockford in the West Division and hold two games in hand on the IceHogs… San Antonio has tied a franchise record with 36 wins this season… Matt Murley paces the Rampage with 50 points (17-33-50), and Bill Thomas has a team-high 21 goals (21-24-45)… Defenseman Brendan Bell has four points (1-3-4) in his last four games and has matched a career high with seven goals on the campaign (7-19-26)… San Antonio has scored 82 of its 199 goals (41.2%) in the third period… Manitoba has won six straight games and is seven points back of first-place Toronto in the North Division… Rookie goaltender Cory Schneider boasts a personal eight-game winning streak and has a 1.13 GAA and two shutouts over that span… Moose leading scorer Brad Moran has recorded two goals and three assists in his last three matches.
(all times Eastern)
Wed 3/19
Manchester @ Springfield, 7:00
Philadelphia @ Hartford, 7:00
Hershey @ Albany, 7:00
Hamilton @ Syracuse, 7:00
Toronto @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Bridgeport @ Worcester, 7:05
Lowell @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Providence @ Norfolk, 7:15
Quad City @ Houston, 8:05
San Antonio @ Manitoba, 8:30
Thu 3/20
Rochester @ Lake Erie, 7:00
Chicago @ Houston, 8:05
San Antonio @ Manitoba, 8:30
ALUMNI WATCH:
In Tuesday’s NHL action, two-time AHL All-Star Kari Lehtonen made 44 saves, but his Atlanta Thrashers still fell to 2005 Calder Cup Playoffs MVP Antero Niitymaki and the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2; Niittymaki has never lost to Lehtonen, including Philadelphia’s four-game sweep of Chicago in the 2005 Calder Cup Finals… Three-time AHL All-Star and 2000-01 Bastien Award winner Dwayne Roloson made 30 saves for his third straight win as Edmonton dropped Phoenix, 8-4.
BY THE NUMBERS:
10 — Victories for each team in 20 all-time regular-season meetings between Grand Rapids and Toronto… The North Division rivals, who have split six games this season, square off at Van Andel Arena on Wednesday.
AHL ON B2 NETWORKS:
