WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 8, PHILADELPHIA 5
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton kicked off its five-game road swing with an 8-5 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday at the Wachovia Spectrum.
Janne Pesonen registered a game-high and personal season-high five points (1-4-5) for the Penguins, who tallied four goals in the first period alone.
Mark Letestu recorded four points (1-3-4) for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Chris Minard put up a three-point effort (2-1-3). Nick Johnson also scored twice, while Paul Bissonnette and Jeff Taffe added goals in the win.
Pesonen’s effort gave him seven points (7-7-14) in his last eight games, and Letestu extended his scoring streak to five games (3-6-9), matching a season high.
Connor James and defenseman Alex Goligoski each chipped in two assists for the Penguins, and goaltender John Curry made 18 saves to pick up the win in net.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had not scored eight goals in a regular-season game since an 8-1 win at Albany on Dec. 15, 2007.
Boyd Kane (2-1-3) and David Laliberte (2-0-2) each scored twice for the Phantoms, and defenseman Danny Syvret broke out of a seven-game scoreless slump with a goal and a helper.
SYRACUSE 3, TORONTO 1
Syracuse inched closer to Toronto for a playoff spot by posting a 3-1 win over the Marlies at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Maksim Mayorov, Nikita Filatov, and Alexandre Picard all scored for the Crunch, who netted a goal in each period.
Goaltender Kevin Lalande stopped 32 of 33 shots to earn his first victory in a Syracuse uniform (1-1-0).
With the victory, the Crunch (31-28-4-2, 68 points) moved within three points of Toronto for fourth place and a potential playoff spot in the North Division. Both teams have played 65 games, and they have one head-to-head meeting left on the schedule.
Tim Stapleton notched his 20th goal of the season for the Marlies.
BINGHAMTON 5, WORCESTER 2
Binghamton parlayed a four-goal second period into a 5-2 road win over Worcester at the DCU Center.
Jarrett Konkle and Matt Pope each scored his first career AHL goal as part of the second-period onslaught, marking the second straight day that two members of the B-Sens scored their first AHL markers.
Zack Smith, Marc Cavosie, and Greg Mauldin also netted goals for the Senators, and captain Denis Hamel chipped in two assists.
Senators goaltender Jeff Glass stopped 37 of 39 shots to pick up the win, which allowed Binghamton to open a 10-point lead on Philadelphia for the East Division’s fourth and final playoff spot.
Ryan Vesce and Andrew Desjardins scored for the Sharks, who remain two points back of Portland for the Atlantic’s final postseason berth.
SPRINGFIELD 3, HERSHEY 2 (SO)
Springfield snapped out of a six-game losing skid with a 3-2 shootout victory over host Hershey before 8,429 fans at the Giant Center.
Falcons forward Gilbert Brule scored regulation and the shootout, while Shane Willis and Charles Linglet added shootout markers for Springfield. Ryan Potulny added his team-leading 27th goal for the Falcons.
Springfield goaltender Devan Dubnyk earned the victory, stopping 32 of 34 shots through regulation and overtime before denying three of Hershey’s four shootout tries. Dubnyk won for the first time since Jan. 19 at Lowell.
Alexandre Giroux and Andrew Gordon netted regulation goals for the Bears, and rookie Francois Bouchard scored in the shootout
ALBANY 5, NORFOLK 3
Albany erased a 2-0 deficit with a five-goal third period and took a 5-3 win over Norfolk at the Times Union Center.
River Rats captain Pat Dwyer scored twice in the third frame, and Jerome Samson, Aaron Clarke, and Mathieu Roy added single goals apiece.
Mike Angelidis, defenseman Brett Carson, and rookie Nick Dodge all contributed two assists in the win, and River Rats goaltender Daniel Manzato made 33 saves in net.
Brandon Segal and Justin Keller staked the Admirals to a 2-0 lead in the first period, and captain Zenon Konopka scored in the third period.
MILWAUKEE 3, ROCKFORD 2
Milwaukee scored once in each period en route to a 3-2 road win over Rockford on Wednesday at the MetroCentre.
AHL All-Star Cal O’Reilly scored twice and added an assist for the Admirals. Patric Hornqvist assisted on both of those goals and then netted a third-period power play marker to extend his goal-scoring streak to eight games (8-1-9).
Admirals rookie goaltender Mark Dekanich earned the victory with a season-high 46 saves on 48 shots. With the win, Milwaukee improved its points streak to five games (4-0-0-1).
Tyler Mosienko and Bryan Bickell lit the lamp for the IceHogs, and Jack Skille assisted on both markers. Rockford is now winless in four straight games (0-3-0-1).
IOWA 2, CHICAGO 1
Ryan Dingle broke a 1-1 tie with 9:16 left in regulation and Iowa held on for a 2-1 road win over Chicago at Allstate Arena.
Brendan Mikkelson netted his first goal for the Chops since Nov. 28, and Iowa captain Ajay Baines earned two assists on the night.
Chops goaltender David LeNeveu secured the victory with 23 saves on 24 shots, helping Iowa to just its second win in the last 14 games (2-7-2-3).
Rookie forward Riley Holzapfel netted the lone goal for the Wolves, who have lost four straight in regulation.
