Dubnyk stonewalls Sharks as Falcons take 2-0 win

Tuesday’s Boxscores

SPRINGFIELD 2, WORCESTER 0
Second-year goaltender Devan Dubnyk made 46 saves for his first career AHL shutout as Springfield dropped host Worcester by a 2-0 final on Tuesday afternoon at the DCU Center. Derek Bekar and Gilbert Brule netted goals for the Falcons, who won despite being outshot 46-15.

A former first-round draft pick by Edmonton (14th overall in 2004), Dubnyk upped his season record to 6-5-1 with the victory.

Bekar scored his third goal of the season 11:29 into the contest, with Tyler Spurgeon and Rob Bina – playing in his first career AHL game – picking up the assists. Spurgeon’s assist snapped his six-game scoreless skid.

After a scoreless second period, Brule sealed the Springfield victory with an empty-net marker in the closing minute of the third, his fifth tally of the campaign. Theo Peckham assisted on the goal.

The Sharks entered the game averaging a league-high 37.27 shots per game through their first 11 contests, and they have now accumulated 98 over just their last two games combined, both losses.

Dubnyk’s 46 saves were the most of his AHL career, bettering the 44 that he made in a 4-3 loss at Philadelphia on Oct. 27, 2007.

As a team, it marked Springfield’s first shutout in nearly two years. The Falcons’ last one also came in Worcester at the expense of the Sharks, a 3-0 victory on Dec. 9, 2006, in which Jonathan Boutin made 32 saves.


GRAND RAPIDS 1, HOUSTON 0
Second-year pro Darren Helm tallied the game’s lone goal at 2:55 of the second period as Grand Rapids took a 1-0 victory over visiting Houston on Tuesday afternoon before 7,352 fans at Van Andel Arena.

Griffins goaltender Daniel Larsson made 16 saves for his first North American professional shutout, which sent the Aeros to their third straight loss.

After a scoreless first period, Helm’s second-period tally was assisted by Landon Wilson and Jonathan Ericsson.

Helm (2-4-6) and Wilson (4-2-6) now each have a point in four of their last five games for the Griffins.

The victory upped Larsson’s season record to 3-2-0 in five appearances.

Houston, which is now 1-3-0-0 on its five-game road trip and back to .500 overall at 7-7-0-0, wraps the journey up at Lake Erie on Friday before returning home for 11 of its next 12 games.


BINGHAMTON 4, BRIDGEPORT 3 (SO)
Binghamton’s Brendan Bell netted the game-tying goal late in the third period and scored the only shootout marker for either side to give the Senators a 4-3 win over Bridgeport at the Credit Union Place in Summerside, P.E.I.

The league-leading Sound Tigers jumped to a 3-1 lead by the 39-second mark of the third period on a pair of goals by Rob Hennigar and one by Mike Iggulden.

But the B-Sens rallied on a pair of power play goals. Rookie Zack Smith tallied his ninth of the season at 6:20 of the third, and Bell netted the equalizer at the 16:48 mark. Defenseman Mattias Karlsson had scored for Binghamton in the first period.

Bell scored the winning shootout marker in the first round, and Senators goaltender Brian Elliott denied all five of Bridgeport’s tries after making 30 saves through regulation and overtime.

The teams will travel to St. John’s, N.L., for a rematch on Wednesday. 


NORFOLK 4, LOWELL 3
Norfolk captain Zenon Konopka broke a 3-3 tie with 1:19 left in regulation to give the Admirals a 4-3 win at Lowell in the opener of a seven-game New England road trip.

Defenseman Jamie Heward scored twice for the Admirals, Paul Szczechura also found the back of the net, while Steve Downie (0-3-3) and Andrew Hutchinson (0-2-2) each chipped in multiple assists.

Goaltender Karri Ramo made 31 saves on 34 shots for Norfolk, which extended its season-high winning streak to three games.

Jon DiSalvatore posted a goal and a helper for the Devils, while Chad Wiseman and Vladimir Zharkov also scored. Lowell has now lost six in a row (0-5-1-0).


IOWA 5, SAN ANTONIO 1
Iowa jumped to a 4-0 lead and cruised to a 5-1 win over visiting San Antonio at the Wells Fargo Arena on Tuesday night.

Andrew Ebbett posted a goal and an assist for the Chops, who also received goals from Adrian Veideman, Francis Wathier, Drew Miller, and Ryan Donally.

Bobby Ryan and Petteri Wirtanen each chipped in a pair of assists, and Iowa goaltender David LeNeveu made 26 saves in the winning effort.

Chad Kolarik scored the lone goal for the Rampage, who have dropped seven straight games (0-6-0-1).