Rookie forward T.J. Fox netted the game-winner in the third period and second-year goaltender Thomas Greiss made 39 saves to lead Worcester over Providence by a 5-3 score on Sunday at the DCU Center. The win left the Sharks as the Eastern Conference’s only perfect team at 4-0-0-0, as the Bruins suffered their first defeat and fell to 4-1-0-0.
Nate Raduns potted a pair of goals for Worcester, including an empty-netter in the closing seconds. The Sharks, who built a 3-1 lead at one point, also received goals from Ashton Rome and Mike Iggulden.
The Bruins were led by Jeff Hoggan, who scored at 12:40 of the second period and 4:12 of the third to erase Worcester’s two-goal lead.
That set the stage for Fox’s decisive goal, it coming at 9:01 of the third from Dennis Packard and Graham Mink, both of whom finished with two helpers.
Petteri Nokelainen also scored for Providence, and Byron Bitz picked up a pair of assists.
QUAD CITY 3, GRAND RAPIDS 2
Grant Stevenson scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner, to lead Quad City to a 3-2 win over Grand Rapids at the Van Andel Arena.
The Flames got out to a quick lead when Tim Ramholt scored just 1:46 into the game, with Dan Ryder picking up the lone assist.
Grand Rapids then took a 2-1 lead by the 12:14 mark of the second period on goals by Garrett Stafford and Mark Cullen.
Stevenson tied the game for Quad City with 24 seconds remaining in the second period, and then potted the game-winner at 17:03 of the third. Brandon Prust earned an assist on both of Stevenson’s goals.
Kevin Lalande made 21 saves to secure the victory for the Flames, who won despite putting only 15 shots on goal in the contest.
MANITOBA 5, HAMILTON 1
The Moose received a goal and an assist each from Colby Genoway and Pierre-Cedric Labrie on their way to a 5-1 road win over Hamilton at Copps Coliseum.
Manitoba finished a five-games-in-six-nights stretch with a record of 4-1-0-0 and moved to 4-2-1-0 overall on the campaign.
Michael Grabner, Alexandre Bolduc, and Jozef Balej also scored for the Moose. Balej now has goals in three of his last four outings (3-3-6) and points in six of seven games overall (3-5-8).
Jonathan Ferland scored for the Bulldogs, who fell to 3-2-0-1 on the season.
Manitoba’s Drew MacIntyre secured the win in goal by stopping 33 of 34 shots, including all 17 sent his way in the third period.
PORTLAND 2, SPRINGFIELD 1 (SO)
Andrew Ebbett scored the lone shootout goal for either side as Portland took a 2-1 win from Springfield at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
It marked the second consecutive shootout win for the Pirates, who defeated Manchester a night earlier.
The game was a battle of goaltenders through the first 40 minutes, as Springfield’s Jeff Deslauriers and Portland’s Mike McKenna kept the game scoreless into the third stanza.
The Falcons’ Fredrik Johansson broke the deadlock with his first goal of the campaign at 8:02 of the third, from Colin McDonald and Tyler Spurgeon.
The Pirates answered at 12:54 on a goal from Petteri Wirtanen, his first of the season after spending time up with parent Anaheim Ducks.
Ebbett scored on Portland’s first shootout attempt, and McKenna, who made 27 saves through regulation and overtime, stopped all five Springfield shooters.
Deslauriers finished with 28 saves in the losing effort for the Falcons.
CHICAGO 4, PEORIA 2
Chicago scored the game’s first two goals and the last two on their way to a 4-2 victory over host Peoria at Carver Arena. The win kept the Wolves perfect on the season at 4-0-0-0.
Jesse Schultz paced the Wolves’ offense with a pair of goals, while Andre Deveaux and Colin Stuart each registered a goal and an assist.
Julian Talbot tallied both goals for the Rivermen, with the second one tying the game at 2-2 at the 10:47 mark of the third period.
Schultz answered just 30 seconds later with his second of the night, putting Chicago back on top to stay.
Stuart added an empty-netter with only eight seconds remaining.
Wolves goaltender Fred Brathwaite made 28 saves to secure the win, and Peoria’s Jason Bacashihua stopped 18 shots in the losing effort.
HARTFORD 4, TORONTO 3 (SO)
The Wolf Pack erased a pair of one-goal deficits in regulation and eventually took a 4-3 shootout decision from Toronto at Ricoh Coliseum. The shootout loss ended the Marlies’ season-opening winning streak at four games.
In the first-ever meeting between the teams, the Wolf Pack received regulation goals from recent acquisition Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, Ivan Baranka, and Greg Moore.
Moore’s goal knotted at 7:15 of the third period knotted the game, 3-3.
Ben Ondrus, Derrick Walser, and John Mitchell scored for the Marlies.
In the shootout, Hartford’s Alex Bourret and Toronto’s David Ling each converted their team’s first attempt, followed by three straight unsuccessful tries for each side.
The Wolf Pack’s Dane Byers then converted his club’s fifth attempt, which proved to be the decisive goal.
Hartford rookie goaltender Miika Wiikman earned his first victory with 27 saves on 29 shots.
MILWAUKEE 7, IOWA 3
Milwaukee erupted for five goals in the second period on their way to a 7-3 win over Iowa at the Wells Fargo Arena.
The win allowed the Admirals to sweep their weekend home-and-home with the Stars, as they had taken a 4-2 decision on Friday at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
Josh Langfeld led the Milwaukee offense on Sunday with a pair of goals, and Rich Peverley added a goal and two assists.
In all, 13 different Milwaukee skaters found the scoresheet in the victory, and six of those players registered multiple-point showings.
Vojtech Polak, Toby Petersen, and Tommy Wandell lit the lamp for the Stars, with Petersen adding an assist for a two-point effort.
Milwaukee goaltender Pekka Rinne made 24 saves in net to secure the victory.
