TORONTO 4, ROCHESTER 2
Robbie Earl tallied a hat trick, including two shorthanded goals and a power play marker, as Toronto defeated host Rochester by a 4-2 final on Friday at the Blue Cross Arena.
It marked the Marlies’ third consecutive victory and moved them to 3-0-0-0 on the season against Rochester. The Americans have now dropped eight straight games overall.
Toronto scored three shorthanded goals in all, and all three were unassisted. Simon Gamache’s tally at 14:09 of the third period was the eventual game-winner.
Earl notched his first career hat trick and the third multiple-goal game of his career. The second-year pro’s last such effort also came against the Amerks, when he scored twice in a 4-3 shootout win on Apr. 10 of last season.
Marlies goaltender Scott Clemmensen picked up the win with 27 saves on 29 shots.
Clarke MacArthur and Mark Mancari each tallied a goal and an assist for Rochester, and both goals came on the power play.
BRIDGEPORT 2, HARTFORD 1 (SO)
Jeff Tambellini tied the game late in the third and netted a goal in the shootout as Bridgeport took a 2-1 victory from Hartford at the XL Center, extending its season-high winning streak to four games.
With Hartford holding a 1-0 lead on a first-period goal by Hugh Jessiman, Tambellini tallied an unassisted marker at 18:05 of the third period to tie the score.
The goal was Tambellini’s 13th of the season and extended his goal-scoring streak to four games (6-1-7).
Sound Tigers goaltender Joey MacDonald stopped 33 of 34 shots through regulation and overtime and went 3-for-4 in the shootout.
Bridgeport scored on three of its four shootout attempts and has now gone 8-for-13 in three shootouts this season, all victories.
GRAND RAPIDS 2, ROCKFORD 1 (SO)
Evan McGrath and Mark Hartigan netted shootout goals to give Grand Rapids a 2-1 victory over Rockford at the Van Andel Arena.
Brad Ference tallied his first goal of the season in regulation for the Griffins, who moved to 6-2-0-1 in their last nine home games since an 0-7-0-0 start.
Goaltender Jimmy Howard earned the win with 34 saves.
Rockford’s Kris Versteeg scored in regulation and netted his club’s only shootout goal. The IceHogs still picked up a point for a 12th consecutive game (8-0-0-4).
PORTLAND 3, WORCESTER 2
Portland built a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes and held on for a 3-2 win over visiting Worcester in the first of a two-game set at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Brendan Mikkelson, Michal Birner, and Geoff Platt scored for the Pirates, who improved to 12-4-0-0 on home ice this season.
Portland’s Andrew Ebbett chipped in with two assists, and goaltender Gerald Coleman picked up the win with 24 saves.
Tomas Plihal and Riley Armstrong netted goals for the Sharks, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Worcester dropped to 0-5-1-1 in its last seven visits to the Cumberland County Civic Center, where the two teams will square off again on Saturday night.
PROVIDENCE 6, LOWELL 1
Martins Karsums scored two of Providence’s four second-period goals as the Bruins defeated visiting Lowell by a 6-1 final at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
David Krejci and T.J. Trevelyan tallied a goal and an assist each, and defenseman Nathan Saunders picked up his first marker of the season.
Rookie goaltender Tuukka Rask improved to 9-2-0 with 32 saves, as the league-leading Bruins moved to 24-4-2-0 on the campaign.
Rosario Ruggeri tallied the lone goal for Lowell, which is now winless in eight straight outings (0-6-1-1).
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 2, MANCHESTER 1
A pair of power play goals in the second period gave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 2-1 victory over visiting Manchester at the Wachovia Arena.
Tim Brent scored at 11:35 of the second, and Ryan Stone followed with the eventual game-winner at 13:36.
The Penguins held a 34-16 advantage in shots on their way to a third straight win, matching their season high. Rookie goaltender John Curry stopped 15 of 16 shots.
First-year defenseman Brian Boyle scored Manchester’s lone goal of the night, which gave the Monarchs a 1-0 lead in the opening period.
BINGHAMTON 4, NORFOLK 3
Four different players netted goals as Binghamton edged Norfolk, 4-3, at the Broome County Arena.
Matt Kinch, Ilya Zubov, Josh Hennessy, and Tyler Donati all scored for the Senators, and Niko Dimitrakos contributed a pair of helpers.
Goaltender Brian Elliott made 39 saves on 42 shots, improving his season record to 5-6-0.
The Admirals, who lost their fourth straight game, received goals in the losing effort from Adam Henrich, Mario Scalzo, and Kyle Wanvig.
PHILADELPHIA 5, HERSHEY 2
Stefan Ruzicka netted two goals and added an assist as Philadelphia defeated intra-state rival Hershey by a 5-2 count at the Wachovia Spectrum.
Boyd Kane also scored twice for the Phantoms. His goals came at the 11:34 mark of both the first and second periods, and Jared Ross assisted on both.
Jonathan Matsumoto rounded out the Philadelphia scoring, and goaltender Brian Boucher improved to 12-7-0 with 27 saves.
Louis Robitaille and Jason Morgan potted goals for the Bears, who have lost three straight to Philadelphia since winning the teams’ first meeting this season on Nov. 23.
SYRACUSE 3, ALBANY 1
Adam Pineault tallied two points (1-1-2) and Andrew Murray netted the game-winning goal as Syracuse downed Albany, 3-1, at the War Memorial at Oncenter.
Murray’s decisive goal broke a 1-1 tie at 17:42 of the second period, and Pineault provided insurance with an unassisted marker 3:24 into the third.
Zenon Konopka also scored for the Crunch, and goaltender Karl Goehring earned the win with 26 saves.
Dave Gove netted a power play goal for the River Rats, who fell to 1-3-0-0 in their last four outings.
PEORIA 6, LAKE ERIE 2
Peoria scored three times in the second period and never looked back in a 6-2 road win over Lake Erie at the Quicken Loans Arena.
Mike Glumac paced the Rivermen with a pair of goals, and Trent Whitfield posted a goal and an assist.
Ryan Glenn, Chris Porter, and Charles Linglet also lit the lamp for Peoria, which won for the fourth time in its last five games (4-1-0-0).
Rivermen goaltender Marek Schwarz stopped 28 of 30 shots in the victory.
Defenseman Johnny Boychuk scored both goals for Lake Erie after netting a total of two in his first 18 games this season.
SAN ANTONIO 3, SPRINGFIELD 1
San Antonio netted three third-period goals to rally past Springfield by a 3-1 final at the AT&T Center in the first-ever meeting between the teams.
The first period and most of the second were scoreless until Springfield rookie Liam Reddox gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead at 18:13 of the middle stanza.
Matt Murley tied it for the Rampage on the power play just 1:39 into the third, and Joey Tenute tallied the eventual game-winner at 13:09. Travis Roche added insurance at 17:07.
Rampage goaltender Josh Tordjman made 21 saves, upping his record to 9-4-1 on the campaign.
San Antonio concluded its season-high 11-game homestand at 6-4-1-0.
MILWAUKEE 4, QUAD CITY 2
Milwaukee extended its winning streak to four games with a 4-2 road win over Quad City at the I Wireless Center.
Antti Pihlstrom scored twice for the Admirals. He now has four goals over his last two games (4-0-4) and six in his last five outings (6-1-7).
Josh Langfeld posted a goal and a helper for Milwaukee, and goaltender Pekka Rinne made 27 saves to win his league-leading 15th game of the season (15-8-1).
The Flames received goals from David Van der Gulik and Krys Kolanos in the losing effort.
HOUSTON 3, IOWA 1
Despite a 34-15 disadvantage in shots, Houston posted a 3-1 win over host Iowa at the Wells Fargo Arena.
Marc Pouliot, Steve Kelly, and Adrian Foster netted goals for the Aeros, who finished 4-2-0-1 on a seven-game road trip.
Houston goaltender Nolan Schaefer stopped 33 of 34 shots in the win. The Aeros were outshot 16-1 in the third period alone.
Iowa scored its lone goal in that third period, off the stick of Junior Lessard.
HAMILTON 4, MANITOBA 2
Hamilton doubled up Manitoba by a 4-2 count at the MTS Centre to snap a five-game winless skid (0-3-0-2).
Corey Locke, Joel Bouchard, Janne Lahti, and Duncan Milroy scored for the Bulldogs, with Milroy’s goal going into an empty net.
Goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 21 saves in the win and improved to 5-4-2 on the season.
Colby Genoway and Zack FitzGerald netted goals for the Moose, who dropped to 1-3-0-1 on a six-game homestand.
The homestand concludes when Manitoba and Hamilton square off for a rematch on Saturday night.
