BINGHAMTON 5, MANCHESTER 4 (SO)
Niko Dimitrakos tallied two regulation goals, an assist, and two shootout conversions as Binghamton outlasted host Manchester, 5-4, on Saturday before a crowd of 8,453 at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
The Senators snapped a five-game winless skid overall (0-4-0-1) and an eight-game slide in New England dating back to last season.
Binghamton took a 3-0 lead as Dimitrakos tallied goals both on the power play and shorthanded, with a Lawrence Nycholat man-advantage marker wedged in between.
But the Monarchs stormed back to tie the game with three goals in the middle stanza. Matt Moulson tallied his 11th and 12th goals of the season and added an assist on Brian Boyle’s team-leading 16th of the campaign.
Two of the three goals came on the power play, marking the third straight game in which Manchester’s league-leading power play unit converted twice.
Scott May’s first AHL goal of the season put Binghamton back on top at 9:41 of the third period, but Monarchs forward Matt Ryan scored at 18:03 to send the contest to overtime. Moulson assisted on that goal to complete a four-point night (2-2-4).
Dimitrakos scored in the first round of the shootout and again in the decisive sixth round. Nycholat and Ilya Zubov also converted for the Senators.
The teams finished deadlocked with 36 shots apiece. Binghamton goaltender Jeff Glass made 32 saves and climbed back to .500 on the campaign at 9-9-2.
The Senators won in New England for the first time since Nov. 24, 2006, when they edged division-rival Bridgeport by a 1-0 final at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
CHICAGO 6, MILWAUKEE 3
Darren Haydar netted a hat trick and Steve Martins scored twice as visiting Chicago doubled up Milwaukee by a 6-3 count before a season-high crowd of 13,843 at the Bradley Center.
Haydar, who played for Milwaukee from 2002-06, scored twice in the second period to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 Wolves lead.
His third goal, coming at 3:03 of the final stanza, turned out to be the game-winner.
Brett Sterling also lit the lamp for Chicago, and goaltender Ondrej Pavelec picked up the win with 27 saves.
Rich Peverley tallied a goal and an assist for the Admirals, who also received goals from Matt Ellison and Josh Langfeld.
WORCESTER 4, PROVIDENCE 3 (SO)
Worcester ended Providence’s five-game winning streak with a 4-3 shootout victory over the league-leading Bruins before 5,328 fans at the DCU Center.
The Sharks received all three of their regulation goals from defensemen, with Dan Spang, Derek Joslin, and Brad Staubitz doing the honors. Staubitz scored his first of the season at 15:03 of the third period, giving Worcester a 3-2 edge.
But Providence’s Alexandre Imbeault, playing in his second career AHL game, scored with just 21.7 seconds left to pull the visitors even and force overtime.
Mike Iggulden and Graham Mink netted shootout goals for the Sharks, and goaltender Thomas Greiss denied all four Providence attempts.
The Bruins suffered their first shootout loss of the season, having won each of their previous six.
Pascal Pelletier and Martins Karsums also scored in regulation for Providence.
TORONTO 2, HAMILTON 1
Robbie Earl’s goal with 3:18 left in regulation lifted Toronto to a 2-1 win over visiting Hamilton at Ricoh Coliseum.
Bates Battaglia tallied a first-period goal for the Marlies, who won their third straight game and ninth in their last 10 (9-1-0-0).
Hamilton leading scorer Corey Locke scored in the loss, which snapped the Bulldogs’ winning streak at three games.
Toronto goaltender Todd Ford only had to make 14 saves to pick up the victory in his first AHL game of the season.
LOWELL 3, HARTFORD 2
Lowell scored a goal in each period and took a 3-2 road victory over Hartford at the XL Center.
Devils rookie Joe Rooney tallied his first career AHL goal in the first period. Ivan Khomutov and Nicklas Bergfors followed with markers in the second and third stanzas, respectively.
Lowell goaltender Jordan Parise stopped 29 of 31 shots to snap a personal six-game winless skid (0-5-1).
Nigel Dawes and Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau each had a goal and an assist for the Wolf Pack, who are winless in a season-high three straight games (0-2-0-1).
SPRINGFIELD 2, PORTLAND 1
Springfield took a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes and held on for a 2-1 victory over streaking Portland at the MassMutual Center.
The loss snapped Portland’s seven-game points streak (5-0-1-1).
Marc Pouliot and Troy Bodie tallied goals for the Falcons, with Pouliot’s marker coming shorthanded just 2:14 into the contest.
Falcons goaltender Jeff Deslauriers turned aside 33 of 34 shots to pick up the victory.
Petteri Wirtanen scored for the Pirates at 3:32 of the third stanza.
PHILADELPHIA 4, ALBANY 2
Frederik Cabana netted a pair of goals as Philadelphia doubled up host Albany by a 4-2 final at the Times Union Center.
Defenseman Josh Beaulieu and forward Ryan Potulny also scored for the Phantoms, and goaltender Brian Boucher turned aside 27 shots in net.
Rookie Yannick Tifu and Bobby Hughes netted goals for the River Rats.
NORFOLK 2, BRIDGEPORT 1
Norfolk ended a 10-game winless skid (0-9-0-1) with a 2-1 win over visiting Bridgeport at the Scope.
Bracken Kearns’ first AHL goal of the season broke a 1-1 deadlock at 12:10 of the third period.
Norm Milley also scored for the Admirals, his second-period goal coming on the power play.
Bridgeport’s Jeff Tambellini scored his club’s lone goal and extended his goal-scoring steak to six games, tying an AHL season high.
Norfolk forward Kyle Wanvig, who was recalled by parent-club Tampa Bay earlier Saturday, scored in six straight games from Nov. 9-23.
GRAND RAPIDS 2, SYRACUSE 1
Grand Rapids goaltender Jimmy Howard stopped 31 of 32 shots to lead the Griffins to a 2-1 road victory over Syracuse at the War Memorial at Oncenter.
Syracuse forward Adam Pineault gave the Crunch a 1-0 lead just 2:56 into the game, but that was the only goal Howard would allow on the night.
Howard has allowed two goals or fewer in six of his last eight games.
Ryan Oulahen and Mattias Ritola netted goals for the Griffins in the first and second periods, respectively. Oulahen’s goal came shorthanded.
Grand Rapids’ penalty-killing unit went a perfect 8-for-8 in victory.
SAN ANTONIO 3, IOWA 2 (OT)
Chris Durno scored 20 seconds into overtime to give San Antonio a 3-2 win over visiting Iowa at the AT&T Center.
Matt Murley put the Rampage on top with a first-period goal, but Iowa tied it on Marius Holtet’s fifth of the season at 6:07 of the second.
Stars defenseman Trevor Byrne put Iowa ahead with his first marker of the season just 36 seconds into the third period.
San Antonio’s Nate DiCasmirro sent the game to overtime with a goal at 6:26 of the stanza.
Rampage goaltender Josh Tordjman made 24 saves in the win, while Iowa’s Tobias Stephan turned aside 35 of 38 shots in the losing effort.
PEORIA 2, QUAD CITY 1 (SO)
Rookie Julian Talbot scored in the fifth round of the shootout to give Peoria a 2-1 win over host Quad City at the I Wireless Center.
Jean-Guy Trudel and Nikolay Lemtyugov also scored shootout goals for the Rivermen, who have won the first two games of a three-game weekend.
The Flames took a 1-0 lead on a second-period goal by Krys Kolanos, but Peoria’s Trent Whitfield tallied the equalizer in the third stanza.
Peoria goaltender Marek Schwarz stopped 31 of 32 shots through the first 65 minutes and improved to 7-6-2 on the season.
The two teams will square off for a rematch on Sunday in Peoria.
LAKE ERIE 2, ROCKFORD 0
Tyler Weiman turned in a 33-save performance for his second shutout in his last three starts as Lake Erie defeated host Rockford, 2-0, at the MetroCentre.
Weiman, who made 36 saves in a 3-0 win over Rochester on Dec. 29, upped his record to 5-7-1 with the victory.
Eric Healey and Jamie Lundmark had a goal and an assist each for the Monsters, who won for the first time in three tries against the IceHogs this season (1-0-1-1).
Rockford fell to 1-3-0-0 on a five-game homestand and was blanked for the first time all season.
MANITOBA 3, ROCHESTER 2
Manitoba scored three goals by the 10:47 mark of the opening period and held on for a 3-2 win over visiting Rochester before 7,300 fans at the MTS Centre.
The Moose swept a two-game weekend set and won for a 10th straight time over the Americans. Rochester last claimed a victory against Manitoba on Dec. 6, 2006.
Luc Bourdon, Mike Keane, and Alexandre Bolduc netted goals for the Moose, and rookie goaltender Cory Schneider made 30 saves in the win.
Stefan Meyer tallied a pair of third-period goals for the Amerks, but the rally fell short. Rochester has lost five straight games and 15 of its last 16 (1-15-0-0).
