AHL Quick Hits: Wild West showdown in Houston tonight


LOOKING BACK:
B.J. Crombeen netted his first career AHL hat trick and added an assist in Iowa’s 7-3 triumph over Lake Erie on Tuesday night… Two-time AHL All-Star Pekka Rinne made 25 saves for his fifth shutout of the season as Milwaukee dropped Hamilton, 3-0, for its fourth straight win… Scott Munroe pitched a 22-save shutout to lead Philadelphia over Norfolk, 3-0.

Mon 3/10
No games scheduled

Tue 3/11
PHILADELPHIA 3, Norfolk 0
MILWAUKEE 3, Hamilton 0
IOWA 7, Lake Erie 3


LOOKING AHEAD:
Portland, winners of four straight games, kicks off a four-game East Division road trip on Wednesday at Albany, which has won nine of its last 10… The Pirates have pulled into a tie with Hartford for second place in the Atlantic Division at 84 points apiece… Portland’s Geoff Platt is tied for second in the league with 30 goals (30-27-57) and has a point in five of his last six games (5-2-7)… Drew Miller has notched a goal in three straight contests (4-3-7) and a point in five of his last six (7-6-13)… Jean-Sebastien Aubin is 3-1-0 (1.26, .958, 2 SO) since joining the Pirates on Feb. 26… Jamie Johnson (17-33-50) has passed the injured Brandon Nolan for the River Rats’ scoring lead… Michael Leighton, who played 16 games for Portland last season, leads the AHL in GAA (2.07) and save percentage (.932) and has won seven straight decisions… Albany is 22-11-0-2 at home, already their most home wins since 1998-99 (23-13-4).

Springfield visits Manchester on Wednesday in a key Atlantic Division battle… The Falcons sit six points up on the Monarchs for the division’s fourth and final playoff spot, and the teams meet three times over the next 12 days… Manchester is 14-1-2-0 against Springfield over the last two seasons, including seven straight wins at the Verizon Wireless Arena… Falcons rookie Viacheslav Trukhno has a goal in three straight games and a point in five straight (4-3-7)… Fellow rookie Liam Reddox has eight points (2-6-8) over his last six contests… 2008 AHL All-Star Rob Schremp has six points (2-4-6) in six games against the Monarchs this season… Manchester’s Gabe Gauthier, also a 2008 AHL All-Star, has nine points (3-6-9) in the season series against Springfield… Teddy Purcell continues to lead all AHL rookies in assists (46) and points (62) in 52 games… The Monarchs have the AHL’s best power play both at home (26.0%) and overall (23.3%).

Houston takes its seven-game winning streak into a two-game set with Rockford at the Toyota Center beginning on Thursday night… All seven victories have come against non-divisional opponents, but Houston plays 17 of its last 19 games within the West Division… Barry Brust, the reigning Rbk/AHL Player of the Week, has allowed nine goals total during the Aeros’ streak (7-0-0, 1.24, .956, 3 SO)… Second-year pro Ryan Hamilton has already bettered last season’s totals in goals (11), assists (17) and points (28), and he is currently riding a three-game goal-scoring streak… Joel Ward has put up an even or plus rating in 26 of 27 games since Jan. 1… The Aeros rank second in the AHL on the penalty kill (87.1 percent)… Rockford is 18-9-3-4 on the road this season but has dropped four of its last five away from the MetroCentre… Three-time AHL All-Star Martin St. Pierre has notched a point in five of his last six (2-7-9) and ranks second in the AHL in scoring (18-56-74)… Petri Kontiola has a goal and five assists in his last four outings for the IceHogs.

(all times Eastern)
Wed 3/12
Portland @ Albany, 7:00
Toronto @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Springfield @ Manchester, 7:05
San Antonio @ Worcester, 7:05
Norfolk @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Binghamton @ Bridgeport, 7:30
Hamilton @ Chicago, 8:00
Lake Erie @ Quad City, 8:05

Thu 3/13
Rockford @ Houston, 8:05


ALUMNI WATCH:
In Tuesday’s NHL action, David Jones, who has 30 points (14-16-30) in 45 AHL games with Lake Erie this season, scored his first NHL goal and added two assists as Colorado beat Atlanta, 5-2… 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs MVP Carey Price stopped all 38 shots he faced as Montreal blanked New Jersey, 4-0… Ben Walter (16-31-47 in 54 games with Bridgeport this season) tallied his first career NHL goal in the N.Y. Islanders’ 8-4 loss at Tampa Bay.


AHL CHAT ROOM:
Hamilton Bulldogs center and 2007 Calder Cup champion Corey Locke will enter the AHL Chat Room on Friday, Mar. 14, to answer fans’ questions… Visit theahl.com for more details.


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.