East Notes: Monarchs, Pens on fire

Also see… West Notes 

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Adirondack was blanked in back-to-back games last weekend and has dropped eight straight contests (0-7-1-0) since earning a 4-3 overtime win over Norfolk on Nov. 12… Defenseman Erik Gustafsson leads continues to lead the Phantoms in scoring with 15 points (2-13-15) in 23 games and also paces AHL rookies with eight power play assists… Rookie winger Luke Pither scored his first two professional goals in back-to-back games on Nov. 24 vs. Hamilton and Nov. 26 vs. Norfolk… The Phantoms are off on Friday before traveling to Wilkes-Barre on Saturday and to Albany on Sunday.
 
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Albany is 6-4-0-0 on the road this season but just 3-8-0-0 at the Times Union Center… Patrick Davis tied the franchise record for career points when he scored in Albany’s 4-3 win over Binghamton on Saturday and then took over the top spot from Nicklas Bergfors with an assist on Wednesday vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton; Davis now shows 111 points for his Devils career… That win over the Senators was Albany’s first on home ice since a 2-1 triumph over Charlotte back on Oct. 20… Dave Caruso picked up the victory in net on Saturday, his first AHL win since Nov. 22, 2008… The Devils host Hershey and Adirondack this weekend, with a Saturday visit to Rochester in between.
 
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Binghamton has lost four of its last five games (1-3-1-0) to fall back to .500 on the season at 10-10-2-1… All four losses during this stretch have come by a one-goal margin… Defenseman Derek Smith recorded five points (1-4-5) in three games last week, including a season-high three-point effort (1-2-3) in the Senators’ 5-2 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Thanksgiving Day… Binghamton earned six victories during the month of November, and Reebok/AHL Rookie of the Month Bobby Butler scored the game-winning goal in four of them… The B-Sens hit the road this weekend for games in Wilkes-Barre on Friday and Hershey on Saturday.
 
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Bridgeport has put together a season-high five-game points streak (3-0-1-1) to climb from seventh place to a share of fifth in the tightly-packed Atlantic Division race… The Sound Tigers are 8-3-1-0 at home thus far but just 2-8-0-1 away from the Arena at Harbor Yard… Rookie goaltender Kevin Poulin shows two shutouts in his last three appearances, lowering his goals-against average for the season to 1.98… Rhett Rakhshani’s three-game scoring streak (2-2-4) ended on Sunday vs. Norfolk, but the rookie still leads the Sound Tigers with 16 points (7-9-16) in 23 games for the season… Bridgeport visits Springfield on Friday and hosts Providence on Saturday.
 
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Charlotte went 3-0-0-0 on a three-game road trip last week and will open a four-game homestand by welcoming Syracuse to Time Warner Cable Arena on Sunday and Monday… The Checkers are 11-2-0-2 since beginning the season with seven losses in nine games… Defenseman Bryan Rodney is riding a five-game scoring streak (4-2-6), while Drayson Bowman shows a point in his last four outings (1-3-4)… Rookie Zac Dalpe has found the scoresheet in nine of 14 AHL contests (9-5-14) since arriving from parent-club Carolina… Former first-round draft pick Zach Boychuk has a point in six straight contests (2-7-9)… Goaltender Justin Pogge is 7-1-0-0 in his last eight appearances.
 
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Connecticut on Wednesday suffered its first defeat since being rebranded as the Whale, a 2-1 shootout loss at Worcester… The Whale were trying to win three straight games for the first time this season… Connecticut has a point in six of its last seven games (4-1-0-2) after earning just one victory in its previous 13 outings (1-9-2-1)… Kris Newbury has recorded a point in three of his last four games (1-3-4) and shows 10 points (1-9-10) in his last nine contests… Mats Zuccarello is now tied for fifth among AHL rookies with 16 points (9-7-16) in 25 games… The Whale visit Providence on Friday before returning home to welcome Worcester on Saturday.
 
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Hershey’s three-game winning streak from Oct. 23-29 stands as the only occasion thus far on which the Bears have either won or lost three straight contests… The Bears outscored opponents 9-1 in a pair of victories last weekend before dropping a 5-2 decision to Charlotte on Sunday… Mathieu Perreault led all AHL scorers with 19 points (6-13-19) in 11 games during the month of November… Perreault has 24 points (8-16-24) through 16 tilts overall, nearly halfway to the 50 points he recorded for Hershey in each of his first two pro seasons… Andrew Gordon has a point in three straight (3-2-5) and five of his last six outings (5-3-8), and he now leads the league in both goals (15) and points (30) in 22 games for the year… Hershey visits Albany on Friday and hosts Binghamton on Saturday.
 
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Manchester has outscored opponents 21-6 during its current four-game winning streak, and the Monarchs have used an 8-1-0-0 run in their last nine games to surge atop the Atlantic Division at 15-7-1-1 (32 points) overall… Second-year pro Andrei Loktionov has put up multiple points in three straight games (1-7-8) has taken over the club lead with 17 points (3-14-17) in just 14 games since arriving from parent-club Los Angeles… Oscar Moller is riding an eight-game scoring run (5-6-11), the longest active streak in the AHL… Second-year pro Corey Elkins (2-4-6) and rookie defenseman Jake Muzzin (0-5-5) each have a point in three straight outings… The Monarchs host Norfolk and Springfield this weekend before a Sunday trip to Providence.
 
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Norfolk is 2-1-0-0 thus far on its season-high six-game road trip, which concludes this weekend with stops in Manchester, Portland, and Springfield… When the weekend is over, Norfolk will have played 18 of its first 25 games this season on the road… The Admirals, who have the AHL’s top-ranked offense (3.86 goals per game), suffered their first shutout of the year on Sunday in a 3-0 loss at Bridgeport… Johan Harju has recorded six goals and seven points in five games since returning from an NHL stint with Tampa Bay… The Ads had 12 two-goal performances on the season before Harju notched the team’s first hat trick on Friday at Adirondack.
 
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Portland halted a season-high three-game losing skid on Sunday with a 5-1 victory at Providence… The Pirates had totaled only four regulation goals in their previous four games prior to Sunday’s triumph, but the club still ranks third in the AHL in offense (3.57 goals per game)… Matt Ellis recorded his 100th career AHL assist on Sunday and now has a point in three straight games (0-4-4)… Mark Mancari notched his first hat trick of the season (3-1-4) and second four-point effort, following a one-goal, three-assist showing on opening night vs. Manchester on Oct. 9… Portland has outscored opponents 27-18 in the second period… The Pirates have Friday off, host Norfolk on Saturday, and visit Worcester on Sunday.
 
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Providence had earned a point in five straight games (4-0-1-0) prior to being outscored 9-2 in a pair of regulation losses last weekend… The Bruins, who have played a league-low 20 games thus far, rank seventh in the Atlantic Division despite holding a better-than-.500 record (9-8-2-1, 21 points)… P-Bruins leading scorer Jamie Arniel (9-7-16), who made his NHL debut for Boston on Sunday, is riding a six-game AHL points streak (3-4-7)… Veteran David Ling notched his first two goals in a Providence uniform last weekend… The Bruins are 7-1-1-0 on the road thus far but just 2-7-1-1 on home ice… Providence hosts Connecticut and Manchester this weekend, with a Saturday visit to Bridgeport in between.
 
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Springfield has lost four of its last five games (1-4-0-0) to fall back to .500 on the season at 11-11-0-1… The Falcons have yet to win or lose more than three consecutive games this year… Rookie forward Tomas Kubalik has racked up seven goals and nine points in his last seven games, and fellow rookie Matt Calvert continues to lead the club with 17 points (9-8-17) in 23 games overall… Dane Byers has recorded 2-5-7 in 10 games since joining the Falcons after totaling 3-6-9 in 16 games for Connecticut to begin the season… The Falcons have scored 22 goals in the first, second, and third periods thus far… Springfield hosts Bridgeport and Norfolk this weekend sandwiched around a Saturday visit to Manchester.
 
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Syracuse halted a seven-game winless slide (0-6-0-1) on Sunday with a 3-2 win over North Division-leading Hamilton… Joffrey Lupul scored the game-winning goal in that contest in his second game of a conditioning stint with the Crunch… Syracuse scored a season-high three power play goals in Sunday’s victory and rank 14th overall on the man advantage (18.1 percent)… Matt Beleskey has recorded eight points (4-4-8) in nine games since first joining the Crunch lineup on Nov. 12 at Albany… Nathan Paetsch shows 4-2-6 in his last six games after going scoreless in his first six outings for Syracuse… The Crunch visit Rochester on Friday before heading to Charlotte for games on Sunday and Monday.
 
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Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has won three straight games, six of seven (6-1-0-0), and 18 of 22 overall (18-4-0-0)… Dustin Jeffrey has multiple points in all three games of the current win streak (4-3-7) and six such performances in his last nine games (7-7-14)… Jeffrey is now tied for second in the AHL with 27 points (11-16-27) in 22 games for the season… Jeffrey, Joe Vitale, and Ryan Craig are all tied for the team lead with three game-winning goals apiece… Brett Sterling has recorded 4-5-9 in his last eight contests… The Pens, who are 11-1-0-0 on the road, didn’t earn their 11th road win last season until Feb. 21 at Manchester… Wilkes-Barre hosts Binghamton and Adirondack this weekend.
 
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Worcester had been 0-3 in shootouts this season prior to taking a 2-1 shootout win over Connecticut on Wednesday… Goaltender Alex Stalock has started 11 of Worcester’s last 12 games and earned his 10th win of the season on Wednesday (10-8-1)… Leading scorer Jonathan Cheechoo (7-13-20) recorded his sixth multiple-point effort of the season in Sunday’s 5-2 loss to Manchester… The Sharks are an impressive 7-1-1-3 in one-goal games thus far and show a perfect 9-0-0-0 mark both when scoring the game’s first goal and when leading after the second period… Worcester, which is in a stretch of playing 18 of 19 games within the Atlantic Division, visits Connecticut on Friday and hosts Portland on Sunday afternoon.