NORFOLK 4, MANCHESTER 2
Norfolk scored four unanswered goals after allowing the game’s first two tallies and doubled up Manchester by a 4-2 count on Saturday, giving the Admirals a sweep of the teams’ two-game set at the Scope.
AHL All-Star forward Steve Downie netted a pair of goals and added an assist for the Admirals, who moved to 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 games.
Andrew Campbell and Justin Azevedo lit the lamp in the first period to give the Monarchs a 2-0 lead heading into intermission.
Downie netted a shorthanded goal at 4:20 of the second to make it 2-1 and then tied it on the power play at 11:40.
Bracken Kearns scored the eventual game-winner for Norfolk 2:38 into the final stanza, and Chris Gratton sealed the victory with an empty-net marker in the closing minute.
Admirals captain Zenon Konopka posted three assists in the win, and goaltender Mike McKenna stopped 19 of 21 shots between the pipes.
BRIDGEPORT 2, HARTFORD 1
A pair of second-period goals lifted Bridgeport to a 2-1 home-ice win over intra-state rival Hartford on Saturday before 5,791 fans at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Trevor Smith tallied his team-leading 19th goal for the Sound Tigers on the power play at 6:04 of the middle frame, and Ben Walter made it 2-0 at the 18:47 mark.
Artem Anisimov brought the Wolf Pack within 2-1 with a goal 10:02 into the third, but Hartford could not get the equalizer.
Sound Tigers goaltender Nathan Lawson earned the victory with 33 saves on 34 shots.
GRAND RAPIDS 4, PHILADELPHIA 0
Grand Rapids held a 48-27 advantage in shots and took a 4-0 win over Philadelphia before 6,740 fans at Van Andel Arena on Saturday, earning a split of the teams’ two-game set.
Griffins All-Star goaltender Daniel Larsson made 27 saves for his league-leading fifth shutout of the season. It was Grand Rapids’ seventh blanking as a team, three shy of a franchise record.
Mattias Ritola and Justin Abdelkader had a goal and an assist in the win, while Aaron Downey and Ryan Oulahen also lit the lamp. Ville Leino chipped in a pair of helpers.
The Phantoms are now 1-3-0-0 on their five-game road trip, which concludes on Sunday at Lake Erie.
ALBANY 6, HERSHEY 4
Albany rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the third-period, scoring four unanswered goals to take a 6-4 road win over league-leading Hershey before 8,321 fans at the Giant Center.
The River Rats initially took a 2-0 lead in the game, receiving goals from Jakub Petruzalek 5:13 into the first and Pat Dwyer at 3:39 of the second.
The Bears then scored four straight to move up by a 4-2 count by the 6:05 mark of the third period. Alexandre Giroux scored twice to extend his goal-scoring streak to 10 games (15-6-21), while Kyle Wilson and Mathieu Perrault added tallies.
Michael Ryan brought the Rats within 4-3 just 11 seconds after Giroux’s second goal, and Jerome Samson tallied the equalizer at 13:02. Nick Dodge’s power play goal put Albany on top to stay, and Ryan added an empty netter with a minute to play.
Albany goaltender Daniel Manzato picked up the win with 19 saves in net.
PORTLAND 5, SPRINGFIELD 2
Portland staked itself to a 4-0 lead and cruised to a 5-2 win over Springfield in the opener of the teams’ two-game set at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Marek Zagrapan tallied a pair of goals and added an assist for the Pirates, and Mathieu Darche racked up a game-high four points (1-3-4).
Mark Mancari and defenseman Zach Tarkir added goals in the victory, and Nathan Gerbe chipped in three assists. Goaltender Jhonas Enroth stopped 31 of 33 shots between the pipes.
The Falcons received goals from Taylor Chorney and Patrick Bordeleau in the losing effort.
BINGHAMTON 4, ROCHESTER 2
Binghamton captain Denis Hamel had a hand in all four goals, scoring twice and adding two assists as the Senators doubled up visiting Rochester by a 4-2 count at the Broome County Arena.
Greg Mauldin (1-2-3) and Peter Regin (0-3-3) had three points apiece for the Senators, and defenseman Derek Smith also lit the lamp.
Binghamton goaltender Jeff Glass stopped 23 of 25 shots in the winning effort.
Janis Sprukts and Drew Larman scored for the Americans, and goaltender Mike Brodeur made 42 saves in the losing effort.
SYRACUSE 4, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 3
Steve Kelly scored twice in regulation and added two shootout goals – including the decisive marker – as Syracuse edged Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by a 4-3 final in front of 7,270 fans at the Wachovia Arena.
The teams traded goals throughout regulation, with the Penguins squandering leads of 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2.
Kelly sent the game to overtime by scoring with 5.3 seconds left in regulation, and his winning shootout marker came in the sixth round.
Derek MacKenzie also had a shootout goal for the Crunch, and Andrey Plekhanov had the team’s other regulation marker. Goaltender Sebastian Dahm stopped four of six in the shootout after making 31 saves through the first 65 minutes.
Janne Pesonen had a goal in regulation and in the shootout for the Penguins, who also received regulation scores from Mark Letestu and Ben Lovejoy.
WORCESTER 2, LOWELL 1
Brett Westgarth’s first goal of the season came with 1:36 left in regulation and lifted Worcester to a 2-1 win over visiting Lowell on Saturday at the DCU Center.
Ryan Vesce and Lukas Kaspar picked up assists on Westgarth’s tally, which was his first since Feb. 17, 2008.
After a scoreless first period, Worcester’s T.J. Fox and Lowell’s Anssi Salmela exchanged markers in the second stanza.
Sharks goaltender Thomas Greiss earned the victory with 21 saves on 22 shots, helping Worcester wrap up its seven-game homestand at 5-2-0-0.
HAMILTON 4, LAKE ERIE 3
Hamilton scored a pair of third-period goals to rally past host Lake Erie by a 4-3 count before 6,207 fans at the Quicken Loans Arena.
The Bulldogs first took a 2-0 lead in the game, receiving opening-period markers from Brock Trotter and Mike Glumac.
But the Monsters scored the next three, as T.J. Galiardi, Chris Durno, and Tom Fritsche each posted a goal and an assist.
Yanick Lehoux tied it for Hamilton at 9:22 of the third, and Ryan White potted the game-winner with 5:10 left in regulation.
Bulldogs goaltender Loic Lacasse made 31 saves in the win, which was Hamilton’s third straight and sixth in its last seven games (6-1-0-0).
PEORIA 3, CHICAGO 2
Peoria took a 3-0 lead into the third period and held on for a 3-2 road win over Chicago on Saturday in front of 7,312 fans at Allstate Arena.
Eric Neilson gave the Rivermen a 1-0 lead four minutes into the game, and Jeff Cowan and Trent Whitfield added second-period goals. Defenseman Steve Wagner chipped in a pair of assists.
The Wolves attempted a third-period comeback, receiving scores from Jeff Hamilton (7:46) and Steve Martins (10:10). But they could not find the equalizer and saw their winless skid reach six games (0-5-1-0).
Rivermen goaltender Ben Bishop earned the win with 23 saves, helping Peoria into sole possession of fourth place in the tight West Division race.
MILWAUKEE 3, SAN ANTONIO 1
Kelsey Wilson scored a pair of goals – including the game-winner – as Milwaukee took a 3-1 road decision over San Antonio before 7,001 fans at the AT&T Center.
The victory earned the Admirals a split of the teams’ two-game set this weekend and extended their points streak to 11 games (8-0-2-1).
Hugh Jessiman also scored for Milwaukee, and goaltender Drew MacIntyre stopped 33 of 34 shots in the winning effort.
Captain Jeff Hoggan scored a goal for the seventh time in eight games for the Rampage, whose three-game winning streak came to an end.
MANITOBA 2, IOWA 1 (SO)
Manitoba secured a sweep of its two-game visit to Iowa this weekend with a 2-1 shootout win over the Chops on Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena.
Iowa took a 1-0 lead when Troy Bodie scored at 8:23 of the opening period, assisted by Pierre-Luc O’Brien and Francis Wathier.
Alexandre Bolduc tied it for the Moose with a power play marker 15:29 into the second, and neither side scored in the third.
After a scoreless overtime, Mike Keane and Bolduc netted shootout markers for Manitoba, and goaltender Cory Schneider stopped all four Iowa attempts.
Schneider made 23 saves through regulation and overtime and won his 13th consecutive decision for the Moose.
QUAD CITY 3, HOUSTON 1
Warren Peters broke a 1-1 deadlock with 3:59 to play in regulation, and Quad City went on to post a 3-1 win over visiting Houston at the I Wireless Center.
Brett Sutter, who opened the game’s scoring in the first period, tallied an empty-net goal in the closing minute to seal the Flames’ victory.
Peters finished with thee points (1-2-3) on the night, and Flames rookie goaltender Leland Irving picked up the win with 19 saves.
Matt Beaudoin scored his first career AHL goal for the Aeros, who are winless in six straight games (0-4-0-2) heading into their road trip finale on Sunday at Chicago.
ROCKFORD 1, TORONTO 0
Evan Brophey’s goal at 5:20 of the first period held up as the only score of the night as Rockford took a 1-0 win over visiting Toronto on Saturday at the MetroCentre.
Pascal Pelletier and Jack Skille assists on Brophey’s goal, which was his ninth of the campaign.
IceHogs goaltender Corey Crawford earned his first shutout of the season and improved his record to 12-5-2 by stopping all 24 shots sent his way.
Rockford is now on a six-game points streak (5-0-0-1) and owns sole possession of second place in the West Division at 21-14-0-4 (46 points) overall.
