AHL Quick Hits: Wolves host Chops in battle for fourth

LOOKING BACK:
In Monday’s action, Kyle Turris posted two goals and an assist as San Antonio edged Rockford, 4-3… Justin Azevedo scored twice to lead Manchester to a 4-3 win in Albany… Andrew Gordon broke a 2-2 tie to send Hershey past Syracuse, 3-2… On Tuesday, Bryan Young’s first professional goal was the game-winner as Springfield downed Portland, 6-3… Jamie Fraser scored in the final minute of overtime to give Bridgeport a 3-2 win over Norfolk.

Mon 2/16
San Antonio 4, ROCKFORD 3
Manchester 4, ALBANY 3
Hamilton 3, PHILADELPHIA 2
Hershey 3, SYRACUSE 2
Lake Erie 3, IOWA 2 (SO)

Tue 2/17
SPRINGFIELD 6, Portland 3
BRIDGEPORT 3, Norfolk 2 (OT)


LOOKING AHEAD:
Chicago holds a one-point lead on Iowa in the West Division as the teams clash on Wednesday at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill… The Wolves have won three of four meetings from the Chops this season, but two of the victories came in a shootout… Iowa plays nine of its next 12 games on the road beginning Wednesday… Wolves forwards Riley Holzapfel (2-1-3) and Joe Motzko (2-0-2) each show a pair of goals against Iowa on the campaign… Rookie Spencer Machacek has a goal in three straight games (3-3-6) and a point in his last six outings (4-5-9)… Jeff Hamilton paces Chicago with 49 points (15-34-49) in 44 games… The Chops are without a win in four straight games (0-3-0-1) and are 3-5-0-3 in their last 11 tilts… T.J. Trevelyan has netted three goals in his last two games for Iowa; Trevelyan leads the Chops with 36 points, and his 19 goals are tied with Drew Miller (19-12-31) for the team lead… Petteri Wirtanen has found the scoresheet in six of his last seven contests (4-4-8).

Toronto puts its four-game winning streak on the line against Syracuse on Wednesday in a pivotal North Division showdown… The Marlies hold a four-point lead on the Crunch for fourth place in the division and have played one fewer game… Toronto has racked up 24 goals during its current winning streak, including a 6-3 win over the Crunch on Feb. 11… Marlies forward Tim Stapleton has registered 10 goals (10-4-14) over his current seven-game scoring run after tallying six goals in his first 40 games combined… Jiri Tlusty has found the back of the net in three straight games (3-3-6) and six of his last seven (6-8-14) for Toronto… The Marlies’ fourth-ranked power play (20.5 percent) has gone 8-for-23 over the four-game winning streak.. Syracuse’s Craig MacDonald (3-2-5), Derek MacKenzie (3-2-5), and Aaron Rome (1-4-5) each have five points in five games against Toronto this season… MacKenzie leads the Crunch with 16 goals (16-14-30), and Mike York shows a team-high 37 points (8-29-37).

Lowell takes a five-game points streak (3-0-0-2) into Wednesday’s home clash with Albany, whom the Devils outlasted by a 7-4 count last Saturday in New York’s capital city… At 25-21-1-5 (56 points) overall, the Devils are tied with idle Worcester for the Atlantic Division’s fourth and final playoff spot… Rod Pelley (2-3-5) and defenseman Anssi Salmela (2-3-5) both have five points over their last two games for Lowell, and rookie Matt Halischuk shows eight points (4-4-8) in his last five contests… Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond scored twice in Saturday’s win over the River Rats… Albany has won its last three road games but is trying to avoid its first three-game losing skid overall since Dec. 17-20… Leading goal-scorer Michael Ryan (25-17-42) remains on NHL recall to Carolina… Jakub Petruzalek is on a five-game scoring streak (1-7-8), and his 42 points (13-19-42) are tied with Ryan for the team lead… Pat Dwyer also shows a five-game scoring run (2-4-6) for the River Rats… Lowell is 2-0-0-1 against Albany this season and 1-8-1-2 against the rest of the East Division.

(all times Eastern)
Wed 2/18
Bridgeport @ Hartford, 7:00
Albany @ Lowell, 7:00
Syracuse @ Toronto, 7:00
Norfolk @ Binghamton, 7:05
Grand Rapids @ Rochester, 7:05
Iowa @ Chicago, 8:00
San Antonio @ Peoria, 8:00
Lake Erie @ Quad City, 8:05

Thu 2/19
Rockford @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Iowa @ Houston, 8:05


ALUMNI WATCH:
Ryan Shannon, who has 35 points in 36 AHL games with Binghamton this season, scored his first two NHL goals of the campaign for Ottawa on Tuesday in the Senators’ 3-2 overtime loss at Colorado… David Krejci and 2005 AHL All-Star Patrice Bergeron each had a goal and an assist in Boston’s 5-1 win at Carolina… On Monday, B.J. Crombeen snapped a 1-1 tie to give St. Louis a 2-1 win over the N.Y. Rangers.


BY THE NUMBERS:
8 — Games scheduled between Binghamton and Norfolk over the remainder of the regular season, beginning on Wednesday in Binghamton… The two East Division rivals have yet to square off in 2008-09.


AHL LIVE:
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.

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