LOOKING BACK:
On Thursday night, John Lammers posted a goal and an assist in Houston’s 2-1 win over Grand Rapids… Six different players lit the lamp as Milwaukee cruised past Iowa by a 6-2 count… On Wednesday, Jiri Tlusty recorded an AHL season-high six points (2-4-6) in Toronto’s 6-4 win over Providence… Jonathan Matsumoto’s power-play goal with 4:50 remaining in the third period lifted Philadelphia to a 4-3 win over Norfolk… The home team won all seven games on Wednesday’s AHL schedule.
Wed 3/4
GRAND RAPIDS 3, Rockford 1
HARTFORD 3, Worcester 1
MANCHESTER 5, Springfield 1
TORONTO 6, Providence 4
W-B/SCRANTON 3, Binghamton 1
PHILADELPHIA 4, Norfolk 3
PEORIA 5, Quad City 2
Thu 3/5
MILWAUKEE 6, Iowa 2
HOUSTON 2, Grand Rapids 1
LOOKING AHEAD: 
Two of the AHL’s hottest teams square off on Friday when Hartford brings its seven-game winning streak to Manchester, which is 11-3-0-1 since Feb. 4… The Wolf Pack’s 5-1-0-0 mark against Manchester this year includes two wins in as many trips to the Verizon Wireless Arena… Hartford boasts the AHL’s third- and fourth-ranked scorers in Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (26-41-67) and Artem Anisimov (26-39-65), each of whom had three points in Hartford’s 3-1 win over Worcester on Wednesday… Goaltender Matt Zaba has been in net for all seven games of the Wolf Pack’s winning streak (1.53, .952)… Manchester’s Gabe Gauthier has a goal in three straight games after scoring once in his previous 20… Marc-Andre Cliche notched three points (2-1-3) in a 5-1 win over Springfield on Wednesday… Rookie goaltender Jonathan Bernier has stopped 75 of 78 shots (.962) in the Monarchs’ last three games.
Toronto visits provincial rival Hamilton on both Friday and Sunday this weekend… Over their last 12 games, the Marlies have scored 51 goals in eight wins (6.4 gpg), including a 7-1 triumph over the Bulldogs at Copps Coliseum on Feb. 28, and eight goals in four losses (2.0 gpg)… Jiri Tlusty has racked up 34 points (16-18-34) in his last 15 games for Toronto, giving him 23-33-56 for the season… Tim Stapleton shows 12-11-23 in his last 12 AHL contests, and defenseman Anton Stralman has four goals and eight points in his last three outings… The Bulldogs have been outscored 14-3 in dropping their last three home contests but are coming off consecutive victories on the road… Ryan Russell scored in overtime to give Hamilton a 3-2 win in Syracuse on Tuesday… Toronto has the AHL’s third-best power play at 21.0 percent, and the Bulldogs rank fifth at 19.5 percent.
Fourth-place Binghamton visits the two teams directly above it in the East Division race this weekend, traveling to Bridgeport on Friday and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday… Captain Denis Hamel has a point in 11 of his last 12 contests (7-7-14) for the Sens, who enter the weekend trying to avoid their first three-game winless skid since Nov. 15-22… Ilya Zubov has recorded 11 points (3-8-11) in six match-ups with Bridgeport for the campaign… Binghamton rookie Mattias Karlsson ranks third among all AHL defensemen with 42 points (5-37-42)… Bridgeport’s 11-game points streak (8-0-0-3) ended with a 3-1 loss to Norfolk on Tuesday… Dustin Kohn is on a three-game scoring run (1-3-4) for the Sound Tigers… Trevor Smith leads the team with 25 goals and snapped a nine-game drought on Tuesday… Sound Tigers rookie goaltender Nathan Lawson is 4-0-2 in his last six decisions and 15-7-2 overall (1.81, .938).
(all times Eastern)
Fri 3/6
Binghamton @ Bridgeport, 7:00
Philadelphia @ Worcester, 7:05
Lowell @ Norfolk, 7:15
Toronto @ Hamilton, 7:30
Rochester @ Lake Erie, 7:30
Hartford @ Manchester, 7:30
Albany @ Springfield, 7:30
W-B/Scranton @ Syracuse, 7:30
Iowa @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Chicago @ Peoria, 8:00
Providence @ Manitoba, 8:30
Quad City @ Rockford, 8:30
Sat 3/7
Rochester @ Lake Erie, 1:00
Hershey @ Toronto, 4:00
Philadelphia @ Bridgeport, 7:00
Syracuse @ Hamilton, 7:00
Portland @ Manchester, 7:00
Hartford @ Springfield, 7:00
Binghamton @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Albany @ Worcester, 7:05
Lowell @ Norfolk, 7:15
Rockford @ Peoria, 8:00
Grand Rapids @ San Antonio, 8:00
Iowa @ Quad City, 8:05
Providence @ Manitoba, 8:30
Chicago @ Houston, 8:35
Sun 3/8
Hartford @ Bridgeport, 4:00
Toronto @ Hamilton, 4:00
Manchester @ Worcester, 4:05
Syracuse vs. Albany, 5:00 (at Glens Falls, N.Y.)
Hershey @ Lake Erie, 5:00
Norfolk @ W-B/Scranton, 5:05
Peoria @ Chicago, 6:00
Milwaukee @ Quad City, 6:05
Providence @ Rochester, 6:05
Mon 3/9
No games scheduled
Tue 3/10
Bridgeport @ Lowell, 7:00
Binghamton @ Portland, 7:00
Quad City @ Houston, 8:05
ALUMNI WATCH:
In Thursday’s NHL action, Joel Rechlicz notched an assist in his NHL debut and Jack Hillen scored his first NHL goal for the New York Islanders… Jeff Hamilton made his Maple Leafs debut and assisted on the game-winning goal in Toronto’s 2-1 win over Washington… Two-time AHL All-Star Pekka Rinne, who was named NHL Rookie of the Month for February earlier this week, made 31 saves for his sixth straight win as Nashville dropped Columbus, 4-2.
BY THE NUMBERS:
13-3 — Combined score of the previous three all-time meetings between Philadelphia and Worcester, including the Phantoms’ 7-1 triumph on Jan. 14… The Sharks host the Phantoms at the DCU Center on Friday.
AHL LIVE:
Don’t miss a step on the road to the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs. AHL Live brings AHL action to your computer all season long with live video webcasts and highlights of every AHL game, as well as behind-the-scenes features and interviews in the Video On Demand section… Visit theahl.com or ahllive.com for details.
