SYRACUSE 6, ROCHESTER 1
Syracuse erupted for four goals in the first period and cruised to a 6-1 home-ice win over Rochester on Saturday before 6,142 fans at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Six different members of the Crunch scored on the night, and Mike York chipped in three assists as the Crunch matched an AHL record with their 17th consecutive regular-season victory.
The Amerks took a quick 1-0 lead when Karl Stewart scored just 4:46 into the contest, but the Crunch responded in earnest.
Maksim Mayorov, Nikita Filatov, Tom Sestito, and Adam Pineault all scored for Syracuse before the first 20 minutes expired, and Steve Kelly and Derek MacKenzie added goals before the night was out.
Crunch goaltenders Dan LaCosta and Sebastian Dahm combined for 29 saves on 30 shots in the victory.
The Crunch moved to 2-0-0-0 this season, and the team won its final 15 regular season games in the 2007-08 campaign.
Syracuse’s 17-game regular-season winning streak matches a streak originally set by the Philadelphia Phantoms from Oct. 22 – Nov. 27, 2004.
BRIDGEPORT 4, ALBANY 2
Trevor Smith tallied a pair of goals to lead Bridgeport to a 4-2 road win over Albany on Saturday at the Times Union Center.
Kurtis McLean and Tyler Haskins added goals for the Sound Tigers, and goaltender Yann Danis earned the victory with 30 saves on 31 shots.
Dwight Helminen posted a goal and an assist for the River Rats, and Mark Flood also scored in the loss.
SPRINGFIELD 4, HARTFORD 3
Springfield fell behind 3-0 after the first period but regrouped and rallied for a 4-3 season-opening road victory over arch-rival Hartford before 9,530 fans at the XL Center.
Vladimir Denisov, Dane Byers, and Tommy Pyatt all scored in the opening 20 minutes to give the Wolf Pack a three-goal lead entering the first intermission.
The Falcons battled back to tie it in the second, receiving goals from Cody Wild, Ryan Potulny, and Gilbert Brule.
Potulny then tallied his second of the night at 10:20 of the third period, and that goal held up as the game-winner.
Springfield goaltender Devan Dubnyk picked up the win with 34 saves.
LOWELL 6, WORCESTER 4
Rookie winger Matt Halischuk tallied the AHL’s first four-goal game of the season and also posted an assist to lead Lowell over visiting Worcester by a 6-4 count on Saturday at the Tsongas Arena.
Halischuk, a fourth-round draft pick by New Jersey in 2007, scored once in the first period, twice in the second, and once more in the third to help Lowell improve to 1-0-0-1 on the campaign.
Nicklas Bergfors turned in a goal and two assists for the Devils, who also received a goal from Patrick Davis and four assists from Jon DiSalvatore.
Devils goaltender Scott Clemmensen earned the victory with 39 saves on 43 shots.
Cory Larose scored twice for the Sharks, who received single goals from Frazer McLaren and Mike Morris.
PORTLAND 6, MANCHESTER 3
2008 AHL All-Star Mark Mancari netted a hat trick and added a pair of assists for a five-point night as Portland doubled up Manchester by a 6-3 count on Saturday at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Tyler Bouck (2-1-3) and Tim Kennedy (1-2-3) each tallied three points for the Pirates, while Chris Butler and Nathan Gerbe chipped in a pair of assists apiece.
Josh Kidd, Gabe Gauthier, and Bud Holloway netted goals for the Monarchs.
Pirates goaltender Adam Dennis stopped 28 of 31 shots in the winning effort.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, PHILADELPHIA 3
Chris Minard’s two-goal and three-point performance propelled Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 4-3 win over intra-state rival Philadelphia on Saturday before 7,476 fans at the Wachovia Arena.
Minard tallied a power play goal at 13:19 of the second period, and his even-strength marker at 4:20 of the third stanza turned out to be the game-winner.
Dustin Jeffrey and Ben Lovejoy added goals for the Penguins, who also received a 27-save performance from winning goaltender Adam Berkhoel.
Andreas Nodl, Jonathan Matsumoto, and Darroll Powe netted goals for the Phantoms.
HERSHEY 4, NORFOLK 3 (SO)
Hershey converted on three of its four shootout chances and remained perfect on the young season with a 4-3 road win over Norfolk at Scope Arena.
Francois Bouchard and Keith Aucoin each scored in regulation and the shootout for the Bears, who also received a shootout marker from Alexandre Giroux.
Mathieu Perreault added a regulation goal and Simeon Varlamov made 22 saves for the Bears, who moved to 3-0-0-0 on the campaign, all on the road.
Radek Smolenak, Brandon Segal, and Zenon Konopka tallied regulation goals for the Admirals, and Wyatt Smith scored the team’s lone shootout marker.
LAKE ERIE 4, GRAND RAPIDS 3 (OT)
Brian Willsie netted the game-winning goal unassisted at 1:18 of overtime to give Lake Erie a 4-3 win over visiting Grand Rapids on Saturday before 10,868 fans on opening night at Quicken Loans Arena.
Willsie, who has 334 career NHL games on his resume, also added an assist for a multiple-point night.
Marty Sertich, Jesse Boulerice, and Nigel Williams scored in regulation for the Monsters, and goaltender Jason Bacashihua stopped 33 of 36 shots in the winning effort.
The Griffins received goals from Ryan Oulahen, Ville Leino, and Justin Abdelkader in the losing effort.
IOWA 4, PEORIA 3 (OT)
Joakim Lindstrom scored 3:08 into overtime to lift Iowa to a 4-3, come-from-behind victory over Peoria at Carver Arena.
The Rivermen took a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by Julian Talbot and Trent Whitfield.
After the Chops’ Ryan Donally made it 2-1 late in the second period, Peoria’s Cam Paddock put his club back up by two goals at 3:49 of the third period.
But Iowa’s Andrew Ebbett and Bobby Ryan scored just 24 seconds apart midway through the stanza to tie the score, setting the stage for Lindstrom’s game-winner.
Chops goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur earned the victory with 18 saves on 21 shots.
MILWAUKEE 3, SAN ANTONIO 1
Milwaukee opened its season with a 3-1 road win over San Antonio on Saturday at the AT&T Center.
Antti Pihlstrom, Josh Gratton, and Mike Santorelli netted goals for the Admirals, and goaltender Drew MacIntyre, a Second Team AHL All-Star last season, stopped 39 of 40 shots in the winning effort.
Garth Murray recorded the Rampage’s lone goal on the night, and goaltender Al Montoya made 23 saves in the loss.
QUAD CITY 3, ROCKFORD 1
Rookie winger Adam Cracknell scored the game-winning goal and added an assist to give Quad City a 3-1 victory over Rockford in its home opener at the I Wireless Center on Saturday.
Quad City’s Hugo Charpentier and Rockford’s Michael Blunden exchanged goals in the second period, making it a 1-1 game entering the third.
Cracknell broke the deadlock at the 12:25 mark, and Warren Peters sealed the Flames’ victory with an empty-net goal at 19:23.
Quad City goaltender Matt Keetley earned the win with 23 saves, while Rockford’s Antti Niemi made 34 saves in the losing effort.
HAMILTON 5, MANITOBA 3
Hamilton received goals from five different skaters on Saturday en route to a 5-3 road win over Manitoba at the MTS Centre, and a sweep of the teams’ two-game opening-weekend set.
David Desharnais posted a goal and an assist for the Bulldogs, while Ryan White, Yannick Weber, Brock Trotter, and Ben Maxwell added single goals apiece.
Jason Krog registered a goal and a helper for the Moose, and Nolan Baumgartner and Pierre-Cedric Labrie also scored. Manitoba’s Michel Ouellet recorded two assists on the night.
Bulldogs goaltender Marc Denis stopped 34 of 37 shots on the night, helping Hamilton improve to 2-0-0-0 on the young season.
HOUSTON 2, CHICAGO 1 (OT)
Newcomer Krys Kolanos scored 2:37 into overtime to give host Houston a 2-1 win over defending Calder Cup champion Chicago before 7,380 fans at the Toyota Center.
Defenseman Dane Crowley gave the Aeros a 1-0 lead at 10:35 of the first period, but Chicago’s Colin Stuart tied it with a power play marker at 14:18 of the middle stanza.
Kolanos, who tallied a career-high 30 goals for Quad City last season, was the hero in overtime on Saturday, with assists going to Morten Madsen and Clayton Stoner.
Houston goaltender Nolan Schaefer earned the victory with 27 saves on 28 shots.
