Five-goal third period lifts Griffins past Amerks, 8-4


Saturday’s Boxscores

GRAND RAPIDS 8, ROCHESTER 4
Grand Rapids registered the seventh five-goal third period in the AHL this season en route to an 8-4 triumph over visiting Rochester on Saturday before 8,306 fans at Van Andel Arena.

Francis Lemieux tallied his second hat trick of the season for the Griffins, who set a season high with the eight goals.

Lemieux entered the game with five goals on the season, having posted a hat trick on Dec. 19 vs. Milwaukee and scoring single tallies on Dec. 27 and Dec. 31. He scored once in the second period and twice in the third on Saturday.

Ryan Oulahen and Sergei Kolosov each potted two goals for the Griffins, and Darren Helm added a goal and two assists on the night.

Evan McGrath (0-4-4) and Francis Pare (0-3-3) chipped in multiple assists in the victory, which improved Grand Rapids’ home record to 18-3-3-4.

The Griffins avenged a 3-2 shootout loss to Rochester on Friday and moved to 29-9-6-4 for 68 points overall, putting them one point up on idle Manitoba for first place in the North Division race.

Karl Stewart, Drew Larman, Ross Carlson, and Michal Repik each scored once apiece for the Americans, which fell to 1-3-0-0 against Grand Rapids this season.


ROCKFORD 6, TORONTO 3
Rockford jumped to a 3-0 lead after 20 minuets and cruised to a 6-3 road win over Toronto on Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum.

Judd Blackwater netted a pair of goals for the IceHogs, while Mike Radja and captain Tim Brent posted a goal and an assist apiece.

Evan Brophey (1-1-2) and Adam Pineault (0-3-3) also contributed multiple points in the victory, and defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson rounded out the Rockford offense.

IceHogs goaltender Corey Crawford made 28 saves for the victory, which was Rockford’s third on the road in as many days.

Tim Stapleton, Bates Battaglia, and Jiri Tlusty netted goals for the Marlies, who fell to 2-1-0-0 on their 11-game homestand.


BRIDGEPORT 2, PORTLAND 1
Ben Walter scored at 19:45 of the third period to break a 1-1 tie and send a crowd of 7,055 at the Arena at Harbor Yard home happy, as Bridgeport edged Portland by a 2-1 count on Saturday.

Vladimir Nikiforov’s first career AHL goal gave the Sound Tigers a 1-0 lead at 6:57 of the second period, but the Pirates’ Mathieu Darche tied it with a power play score 3:25 into the third.

Tyler Haskins assisted on both Bridgeport goals, and Sound Tigers netminder Nathan Lawson earned the win with 26 saves on 27 shots.

It marked Bridgeport’s first win in four tries against the Pirates this season (1-2-1-0), with all four games having been decided by one goal.


HERSHEY 4, NORFOLK 2
Andrew Gordon netted a pair of goals to help Hershey double up visiting Norfolk by a 4-2 count before 10,001 fans on Saturday at the Giant Center.

Mathieu Perreault posted a goal and an assist, and Jay Beagle also scored for the Bears, who moved to a perfect 7-0-0-0 against Norfolk this season.

Kyle Wilson contributed two assists in the win, and goaltender Michal Neuvirth made 25 saves between the pipes.

Blair Jones scored a power play goal and Bracken Kearns a shorthanded marker for the Admirals, whose brief two-game winning streak came to an end.


PROVIDENCE 5, LOWELL 1
Martin St. Pierre scored twice in the first 8:42, and Providence went on to post a 5-1 road win over Lowell before a capacity crowd of 6,497 at Tsongas Arena.

St. Pierre lit the lamp just 37 seconds after the opening face-off and followed up with a power play marker at 8:42.

Mikko Lehtonen, rookie Brad Marchand, and captain Jeremy Reich added goals for the Bruins, while Johnny Boychuk and Vladimir Sobotka each registered two assists.

Providence goaltender Kevin Regan stopped 34 of 35 shots in net, helping the Bruins halt a three-game losing skid to the Devils.

Pascal Rheaume netted Lowell’s lone goal on the power play midway through the opening period.


HARTFORD 4, MANCHESTER 3
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau racked up a goal and two assists to pace Hartford to a 4-3 win over Manchester before 8,314 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Dale Weise, Bobby Sanguinetti, and Tommy Pyatt also scored goals for the Wolf Pack, who were making their first visit of the season to Manchester and improved to 3-0-0-0 against the Monarchs overall.

AHL All-Star Artem Anisimov chipped in two assists, and Hartford goaltender Matt Zaba made 33 saves in the victory. The Wolf Pack maintained a share of first place with Providence at 55 points apiece, one ahead of Worcester and two up on Portland.

Monarchs captain Marty Murray scored twice in the loss, and Scott Parse posted a goal and an assist.


BINGHAMTON 4, SPRINGFIELD 2
Derek Couture netted his first two AHL goals of the season to help Binghamton to a 4-2 win over visiting Springfield before 4,710 fans at the Broome County Arena.

Drew Fata tallied an unassisted goal for the Senators, and Greg Mauldin added an empty-net marker in the game’s closing minute.

B-Sens goaltender Jeff Glass earned the victory with 26 saves on 28 shots.

Theo Peckham and Bryan Lerg tallied goals for the Falcons, who are winless in four straight games (0-3-1-0).


ALBANY 2, PHILADELPHIA 1
Albany rallied for a pair of third-period goals and took a 2-1 road win over Philadelphia before 9,720 fans at the Wachovia Spectrum.

After a scoreless opening period, the Phantoms grabbed a 1-0 lead when Josh Beaulieu scored his first goal of the season at 11:05 of the middle frame.

That lead stood until Albany’s Brad Herauf netted his first career AHL marker at 11:05 of the third to tie it. Ryan Weston then tallied the game-winner for the River Rats at the 15:20 mark, with Joe Jensen picking up the lone assist.

River Rats goaltender Daniel Manzato made 26 saves in the win, helping his team end a two-game losing skid.


WORCESTER 5, SAN ANTONIO 1
Worcester jumped to a 3-0 first-period lead and took a 5-1 win over visiting San Antonio in front of 5,803 fans at the DCU Center.

Cory Larose scored twice for the Sharks, who also received markers from rookies Jamie McGinn, Andrew Desjardins, and Steven Zalewski in the victory.

Sharks goaltender Taylor Dakers stopped 26 shots to earn the win in net. Worcester finished January at 9-3-0-1 and one point out of first place in the Atlantic Division race.

Wyatt Smith registered a power play goal for the Rampage, who were playing their third game in as many nights.


LAKE ERIE 3, HAMILTON 1
Philippe Dupuis netted a pair of power play goals to lift Lake Erie over visiting Hamilton by a 3-1 count in front of 12,389 fans at Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday.

Dupuis opened the game’s scoring at 6:31 of the first period and added another man-advantage score 5:28 into the third, which eventually stood up as the game-winner.

Matt Hendricks and T.J. Galiardi assisted on both of Dupuis’s goals. Hendricks potted an empty-netter in the closing seconds, with Dupuis earning an assist.

Monsters goaltender Tyler Weiman made 22 saves in net to earn his third straight victory.

Mike Glumac tallied his team-leading 21st goal of the season for the Bulldogs.


WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, SYRACUSE 1
A three-goal second period sent Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on its way to a 4-1 road win over Syracuse before 6,281 fans at the Onondaga County War Memorial.

The Penguins’ Tim Wallace scored twice in the frame, and defenseman Deryk Engelland added his first goal of the campaign.

Luca Caputi, who assisted on Engelland’s marker, added a goal late in third period to seal the victory. Goaltender John Curry made 21 saves in the winning effort.

Steve Kelly initially gave the Crunch a 1-0 lead with a power play score at 17:30 of the first period.


CHICAGO 3, HOUSTON 0
Chicago scored once in each period en route to a 3-0 win over visiting Houston before a crowd of 8,025 on Saturday at Allstate Arena.

Wolves goaltender Brent Krahn denied all 30 shots sent his way to earn his first AHL shutout since Mar. 21, 2007.

Riley Holzapfel and Joey Crabb tallied power play goals for the Wolves, and Arturs Kulda added an empty-netter for his first career regular-season goal late in the third frame.

The win allowed Chicago to jump into sole possession of fifth-place in the West Division, one point back of the fourth-place Aeros.


IOWA 4, PEORIA 3
Iowa took a 4-1 lead into the third period but had to hold on to secure a 4-3 road win over Peoria at Carver Arena and earn a split of the teams’ weekend home-and-home set.

Petteri Wirtanen tallied a goal and an assist for the Chops, while Eric Boguniecki, Troy Bodie, and captain Ajay Baines also lit the lamp. T.J. Trevelyan chipped in two assists.

The Rivermen attempted a third-period rally, receiving goals from Steve Regier at 2:23 (his second of the night) and Justin Fletcher at 8:55, but they were unable to complete the comeback.

Chops goaltender David LeNeveu earned the victory with 22 saves on 25 shots. Iowa moved into sole possession of third place in the West Division, one point ahead of fourth-place Houston.


MILWAUKEE 2, QUAD CITY 1
Milwaukee goaltender Drew MacIntyre made 35 saves on 36 shots to backstop the Admirals to a 2-1 road win over Quad City on Saturday at the I Wireless Center.

MacIntyre faced 12 shots in each period and was within 11:21 of a shutout before the Flames’ Kris Chucko tallied a power play marker in the third period. MacIntyre held on to earn his league-leading 23rd win of the season (23-9-1).

Hugh Jessiman gave the Admirals a 1-0 lead at 8:45 of the opening period, scoring his 10th goal of the season. Patric Hornqvist assisted on that marker and then scored the eventual game-winner on the power play 7:55 into the second.

Milwaukee is now on a three-game winning streak and still holds a 10-point lead over Rockford for first place in the West Division.