CHICAGO 4, TEXAS 1
Jason Krog tallied the eventual game-winning goal in Chicago’s 4-1 road win over Texas on Friday at the Cedar Park Center, the Wolves sixth win in eight games. In the process, he became the 79th player in league history to reach 500 points for his AHL career.
Krog’s goal at 16:56 of the second period broke a 1-1 tie and was assisted by Anthony Stewart and ex-Star Ivan Vishnevskiy, playing his first game for the Wolves after being traded to the parent Atlanta Thrashers earlier in the week.
Krog now shows 167 goals and 333 assists for 500 points in 427 career regular-season AHL games for Lowell, Providence, Springfield, Bridgeport, Cincinnati, Manitoba, and Chicago.
Krog was the AHL’s regular-season and playoffs MVP in 2007-08 as he led the Wolves to their second Calder Cup title, and he also reached the Calder Cup Finals with Bridgeport in 2002 and with Manitoba in 2009.
He joins Providence’s Trent Whitfield and Hershey’s Alexandre Giroux and Bryan Helmer as new members of the AHL’s 500-point club during the 2009-10 season.
Joey Crabb recorded a game-high three points (1-2-3) for the Wolves on Friday, while Stewart and Matt Anderson each chipped in a goal and an assist.
Goaltender Peter Mannino earned the victory with 15 saves for Chicago, which held a 35-16 advantage in shots. The Wolves improved to 6-0-0-2 in their last eight games and moved within one point of Rockford for first place in the tight West Division.
Rookie Travis Morin scored for the Stars, who will seek revenge when they host Chicago in a rematch on Saturday.
HERSHEY 5, ALBANY 2
Andrew Gordon tallied two goals and added an assist as Hershey rolled right along with a 5-23 road win over Albany on Friday at the Times Union Center.
The Bears collected their 11th consecutive win – just one short of the franchise record set earlier this season – and moved to an astounding 23-1-0-0 in their last 24 contests. Hershey now sits 22 points above the second-place River Rats in the East Division.
Alexandre Giroux posted a goal and an assist for the Bears, while Francois Bouchard and defenseman Patrick McNeill also found the back of the net. Mathieu Perreault chipped in two assists in the winning effort.
Hershey goaltender Jason Bacashihua earned the victory with 35 saves on 37 shots between the pipes.
Jiri Tlusty and Jerome Samson notched goals for the River Rats, who dropped to 1-4-0-1 in their last six outings.
WORCESTER 6, BRIDGEPORT 1
Matt Jones and rookie Cory Quirk each racked up two goals and an assist as Worcester cruised to a 6-1 road win over Bridgeport at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Jones entered the night with three points (2-1-3) in 15 games this season, and Quirk came in showing 10 points (3-7-10) in 41 contests. But the duo sparked the Sharks to their fifth win in six tries against Bridgeport this season (5-0-0-1).
Rookies Benn Ferriero and Brandon Mashinter also scored for the Sharks, who broke the game open with four goals in the third period.
Worcester goaltender Alex Stalock made 33 saves on 34 shots to earn his league-leading 28th victory of the season (28-12-1). The Sharks maintained a one-point lead on Manchester atop the Atlantic Division standings.
Defenseman Anton Klementyev scored for the Sound Tigers, who fell to 1-3-1-3 in their last eight outings.
PORLTAND 3, SYRACUSE 1
Jeff Cowan registered a goal and an assist as Portland took a 3-1 win over visiting Syracuse on Friday at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
In the first meeting between the teams since Mar. 9, 2001, the Pirates extended their winning streak to seven games and halted the Crunch’s win streak at six games.
Philip Gogulla and defenseman T.J. Brennan also scored for the Pirates, and goaltender Jhonas Enroth earned the victory with 26 saves on 27 shots between the pipes.
Portland improved to 23-6-5-2 since starting the season 5-10-0-0, and the Pirates moved within a point of third-place Lowell in the Atlantic Division race.
Jared Aulie scored for the Crunch, who will head to Manchester on Saturday for their first-ever clash with the Monarchs.
ABBOTSFORD 3, ROCHESTER 2
Abbotsford built a 3-0 lead by the 5:39 mark of the third period and held off a late Rochester rally to take a 3-2 road win over the Amerks at the Blue Cross Arena on Friday.
Cam Cunning, Evan Barlow, and Brett Sutter all scored for the Heat, and defenseman Gord Baldwin picked up a pair of assists.
But Amerks defenseman Clay Wilson put his club on the board with a power play marker at 10:06 of the third period, and Jamie Johnson’s team-leading 20th goal of the season brought Rochester within a goal with a minute to play. Chris Taylor assisted on both goals.
But Rochester was unable to get the equalizer and fell to 1-4-0-0 in its last five contests.
Heat goaltender David Shantz earned the win with 28 saves on 30 shots in net, as Abbotsford extended its points streak to four games (3-0-0-1).
PROVIDENCE 7, HARTFORD 1
Providence’s offense continued its resurgence on Friday as the Bruins collected a 7-1 win over visiting Hartford before 7,503 fans at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
2010 AHL All-Star Mikko Lehtonen tallied a pair of goals for the Bruins, and Jordan Knackstedt put up a game-high four points (1-3-4) in the winning effort.
Lehtonen extended his goal-scoring streak to three games (5-2-7) and has posted 7-4-11 in his last six outings.
Forwards John Lammers and Levi Nelson also scored for the Bruins, while defensemen Jeff Penner and Andrew Bodnarchuk rounded out the offense.
Brad Marchand, Trent Whitfield, and Zach Hamill each contributed a pair of assists, and defenseman Andy Wozniewski was plus-4 on the night.
Goaltender Dany Sabourin took the victory with 25 saves for the Bruins, who earned their third straight win and have outscored opponents 18-6 over that span.
Providence, which is 5-1-0-0 in its last six outings, moved within two points of Hartford for what would currently be the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Rookie Evgeny Grachev notched the lone goal for the Wolf Pack, whose three-game points streak (2-0-1-0) came to an end.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 3, BINGHAMTON 2 (SO)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coughed up a 2-0 lead in regulation but converted on four of its five shootout tries to escape with a 3-2 win over visiting Binghamton at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday.
Wyatt Smith, Konstantin Pushkarev, Nick Johnson, and Dustin Jeffrey all notched shootout goals for the Penguins, who snapped a three-game losing skid.
Pens goaltender Brad Thiessen stopped two of Binghamton’s four shootout tries after making 25 saves on 27 shots through the first 65 minutes.
Chris Conner’s power play goal gave Wilkes-Barre a 1-0 lead at 17:54 of the first period, and Tim Wallace made it a 2-0 game midway through the second period.
But Binghamton’s Jim O’Brien tallied a power play goal of his own with 39 seconds to play in the second frame, cutting the deficit to 2-1, and Kaspars Daugavins tied it 3:38 into the third period, eventually earning the Senators a point.
NORFOLK 3, LOWELL 0
Rookie goaltender Jaroslav Janus made 24 saves for his first professional shutout, and Norfolk continued to stay hot with a 3-0 win over visiting Lowell on Friday at the Scope.
Janus stopped 19 of the 24 shots over the second and third periods for the Admirals, who improved to 9-1-1-1 since the All-Star break and opened up a four-point lead on Adirondack for the East Division’s third and final guaranteed playoff spot.
Norfolk is now just four points back of Albany for second place in the division race.
Mark Parrish, Juraj Simek, and Dana Tyrell all notched goals for the Admirals. Simek scored on the power play, while Tyrell’s goal came shorthanded.
The Devils, who will seek revenge in a rematch on Saturday, saw their winless skid extend to a season-high four games (0-2-1-1).
LAKE ERIE 5, HAMILTON 4 (SO)
Rookie Brock Bradford scored in the fifth round of a shootout to give Lake Erie a 5-4 win over visiting Hamilton on Friday before 7,576 fans at Quicken Loans Arena.
T.J. Hensick tallied a goal and an assist in regulation and added a shootout marker for the Monsters, who captured their third straight victory and improved to 17-7-0-1 in their last 25 contests.
Brian Willsie paced the Monsters in regulation with two goals and an assist, and Philippe Dupuis also scored. Randy Rowe chipped in three assists and now shows eight points (3-5-8) in his last four games for Lake Erie.
Lake Erie goaltender Tyler Weiman earned the win with 34 saves on 38 shots in net.
Brock Trotter posted a goal and an assist for the North Division-leading Bulldogs, whose seven-game winning streak came to an end. Ben Maxwell, Shawn Belle, and Ryan Russell also scored in regulation, and Trotter notched Hamilton’s lone shootout goal.
MANCHESTER 4, SPRINGFIELD 1
Justin Azevedo scored twice in a 54-second span during the first period, and Manchester was well on its way to a 4-1 road win over Springfield at the MassMutual Center on Friday.
Azevedo put the Monarchs on the board exactly five minutes into the contest at even strength and then made it a 2-0 game with a power play goal just 54 seconds later.
Bud Holloway helped out on both goals for Azevedo as part of a three-assist night. Azevedo added a helper of his own and now shows 4-4-8 in six games since returning to Manchester’s lineup.
Kevin Westgarth and David Kolomatis also scored to build a 4-0 lead for the Monarchs before Springfield’s Charles Linglet finally put his team on the board 15:40 into the second period. Neither side scored in the third frame.
Manchester goaltender Jonathan Bernier stopped 33 of 34 shots in net, helping the Monarchs end a season-high three-game regulation losing skid. The Monarchs remain a point back of Worcester for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Springfield is now just 1-4-1-0 in its last six games.
GRAND RAPIDS 7, HOUSTON 2
Grand Rapids’ greatest offensive output in nearly two months yielded a 7-2 road win over Houston on Friday before 6,036 fans at the Toyota Center.
Seven different Griffins found the back of the net, led by Mattias Ritola and Justin Abdelkader, who each posted a goal and an assist on the night.
Jamie Tardif, Tomas Tatar, Kris Newbury, Andy Delmore, and John Vigilante also scored for the Griffins, and a total of 15 Grand Rapids skaters earned at least one point on the night.
Grand Rapids, which is now 3-1-0-0 in its last four contests, had not scored as many as seven goals in a game since an identical 7-2 win at Toronto on Dec. 13.
Griffins goaltender Daniel Larsson earned the win with 26 saves on 28 shots in net.
Petr Kalus and Colton Gillies notched goals for the Aeros, who had not allowed as many as seven goals in a regular-season game since a 10-2 loss to Omaha on Mar. 24, 2007.
ROCKFORD 4, MILWAUKEE 2
Rockford doubled up host Milwaukee by a 4-2 count on Friday at the Bradley Center in the front end of a home-and-home between the West Division powers.
The victory allowed the IceHogs to maintain a slim one-point lead over Chicago for first place in the West Division. The Admirals now occupy fourth place, just three points back of Rockford for the top spot.
Evan Brophey, Kyle Greentree, Jake Dowell, and defenseman Richard Petiot all scored for the IceHogs. Petiot, who added an assist, sealed the victory with an empty-net marker in the closing minute.
Rob Klinkhammer chipped in two assists in the win, and Rockford goaltender Corey Crawford stopped 27 of 29 shots in the winning effort.
Triston Grant and Hugh Jessiman notched goals for the Admirals, who fell to 3-5-0-0 in their last eight games. Milwaukee will visit Rockford on Saturday in search of revenge.
SAN ANTONIO 3, PEORIA 1
A three-goal second period propelled San Antonio to a 3-1 road win over Peoria on Friday at Carver Arena.
After a scoreless first period, Brett MacLean tallied his team-leading 21st goal of the season for the Rampage at 1:10, and rookie Andrew Orpik made it a 2-0 game at 12:12 with his first career AHL goal.
MacLean assisted on that tally and then scored another of his own just 1:12 later, giving the 2009 AHL All-Star three points on the night.
Rampage goaltender Justin Pogge earned the win with 27 saves in net, his shutout bid snapped when Peoria rookie Lars Eller converted a power play at 19:33 of the third period.
San Antonio improved to 4-1-0-2 on its 14-game rodeo road trip, and the Rampage will square off with the Rivermen in a rematch on Saturday night.
MANITOBA 5, TORONTO 1
Manitoba opened a two-game set with divisional rival Toronto on Friday with a 5-1 win over the visiting Marlies before 7,736 fans at the MTS Centre.
Michael Grabner and Marco Rosa paced the Moose with two goals and an assist apiece, and defenseman Lawrence Nycholat chipped in a goal and an assist.
Nycholat’s goal at 2:55 of the second period turned out to be the game-winner for the Moose, who have put together consecutive wins for the first time since a two-game sweep at Abbotsford from Jan. 12-13.
Moose goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 25 saves on 26 shots on the night, improving his season record to 22-15-1.
Manitoba (26-22-5-1, 58 points) remained two points up on Lake Erie and Abbotsford for third place in the North Division and closed to within four points of Rochester for second place.
Alex Berry notched the lone goal for the Marlies, who will wrap up their four-game road trip with a rematch against the Moose on Saturday.
