NORFOLK 3, HARTFORD 2 (OT)
Paul Szczechura deflected a shot by Matt Lashoff past Hartford goaltender Matt Zaba at 3:50 of overtime, lifting Norfolk to a 3-2 win over the Wolf Pack at the Scope on Friday.
Szczechura added an assist for the Admirals, who extended their points streak to nine games (7-0-1-1) with the victory. Norfolk moved over the .500 mark (24-23-3-1) for the first time since the morning of Nov. 21, when it was 10-9-1-0.
After a scoreless first period, Corey Locke tallied Hartford’s league-leading 14th shorthanded goal of the season 52 seconds into the second frame to put his club on top. But Norfolk’s Mitch Fadden notched a power play goal at 11:56 to make it a 1-1 game heading into the final 20 minutes.
Kenny Roche gave the Wolf pack a 2-1 edge 8:45 into the final stanza, only to watch Admirals forward Justin Keller tie it again with 3:05 to play in regulation.
Keller added an assist on Szczechura’s overtime game-winner. The goal made a winner of Norfolk rookie netminder Jaroslav Janus, who finished with 29 saves on the night.
Hartford, which will seek revenge when the teams battle again on Saturday, fell to 1-4-2-0 in its last seven contests.
HAMILTON 5, ROCHESTER 2
Tom Pyatt tallied a hat trick and added an assist as Hamilton rolled on with a 5-2 road win over Rochester at the Blue Cross Arena on Friday.
Pyatt opened the game’s scoring with a power play goal midway through the opening period, registered an even-strength marker in the middle frame, and added an empty-netter in the game’s closing seconds.
He assisted on a goal by J.T. Wyman and now shows 29 points (11-18-29) in 35 games for the Bulldogs this season, while also appearing in 19 NHL contests for Montreal.
Mike Glumac rounded out Hamilton’s scoring, and defensemen Alex Henry and P.K. Subban each chipped in two assists.
Goaltender Cedrick Desjardins picked up the victory with 22 saves for the Bulldogs, who increased their season-high winning streak to six games.
Graham Mink and Evgeny Dadonov scored for the Americans in the losing effort.
WORCESTER 3, LOWELL 0
Rookie goaltender Tyson Sexsmith made 21 saves for his first professional shutout as Worcester moved into first place in the Atlantic Division with a 3-0 win over visiting Lowell at the DCU Center on Friday.
The Sharks, who extended their points streak to eight games (7-0-1-0), are 31-14-2-2 overall and moved one point ahead of Manchester and three up on Lowell for the top spot.
Sexsmith, making his first appearance since Jan. 13 behind All-Star Alex Stalock, improved to 4-5-1 on the campaign.
Andrew Desjardins tallied the eventual game-winner just 1:37 into the second period, with John McCarthy and Dennis McCauley picking up assists. McCauley, coming off a hat trick on Wednesday in Springfield, scored into an empty net in the game’s closing minute, and defenseman Danny Groulx added another empty-netter 11 seconds before the buzzer.
The goal allowed Groulx to extend his points streak to eight games (4-10-14).
The Devils’ franchise-record seven-game road winning streak came to an end.
SYRACUSE 4, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 1
A trio of second-period goals proved to be the difference as Syracuse captured a 4-1 road win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday before 6,113 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Crunch forward Maksim Mayorov broke a 1-1 tie at 2:24 of the second frame, and Derek MacKenzie provided insurance on the power play at 11:32. Mike Radja added another goal for Syracuse at the 14:52 mark.
Defenseman Grant Clitsome also scored in the win, while MacKenzie finished with a goal and an assist to run his scoring streak to 10 games (8-8-16).
Syracuse goaltender Kevin Lalande earned the victory with 21 saves in net, helping the Crunch win their fifth straight game and move to 10-4-0-1 in their last 15 contests.
Nick Johnson scored the Penguins’ lone goal of the night, initially giving his club a 1-0 lead with a power play strike early in the first period.
BINGHAMTON 4, ALBANY 3
2010 AHL All-Star Ryan Keller recorded a goal and two assists as Binghamton edged intra-state rival Albany by a 4-3 count on Friday at the Broome County Arena.
Keller now shows 15 points (9-6-15) in his last 10 outings for the Senators, who halted their losing skid at four games.
Senators captain Denis Hamel tallied a pair of goals in the victory, and defenseman Craig Schira also found the back of the net. Martin St. Pierre chipped in two assists on the night.
Binghamton goaltender Mike Brodeur stopped 27 of 30 shots in the winning effort.
Jiri Tlusty and Nicolas Blanchard tallied goals for the River Rats, who have matched a season high by dropping three straight games in regulation.
PORTLAND 3, PROVIDENCE 0
Goaltender Jhonas Enroth continued his sparkling play of late by posting a 38-save shutout as Portland collected a 3-0 road win over Providence before 8,074 fans at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
Enroth earned his fourth shutout of the season and secured his 20th victory (20-14-1). The second-year pro has been in net for all five games of the Pirates’ current winning streak and has stopped 95 of 97 shots (.979) in his last three contests.
Felix Schutz provided all the offense Portland would need at 8:45 of the opening period. Rookie Tyler Ennis extended the lead to 2-0 midway through the second frame and then assisted on a power play goal by Derek Whitmore late in the third.
Schutz also finished with a goal and a helper for the Pirates, and defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani chipped in two assists.
The Bruins were shut out for the second time in their last four games. In between, Providence outscored Springfield 14-2 in sweeping a home-and-home last weekend.
ROCKFORD 5, LAKE ERIE 3
Rockford rallied from a pair of one-goal deficits and eventually prevailed over Lake Erie by a 5-3 count on Friday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Defenseman Richard Petiot led the way with a goal and two assists for the IceHogs, who also received tallies from Bryan Bickell (1-1-2), Kyle Greentree (1-1-2), Matt Keith, and Danny Bois, who scored into an empty net.
Petiot extended his scoring streak to four games (1-5-6), while Bickell now shows six points (2-4-6) in his last three contests.
IceHogs goaltender Corey Crawford earned the win with 23 saves in net, helping his club improve to 14-4-0-2 in its last 20 games.
Randy Rowe scored twice and defenseman Wes O’Neill once for the Monsters, while Darren Haydar and Brian Willsie each chipped in two assists. Lake Erie fell to 3-5-0-0 in its last eight games.
The teams will square off for a rematch on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 ET.
GRAND RAPIDS 6, TORONTO 3
Grand Rapids erupted for four goals in the first period – just one fewer than the Griffins had scored in their last three games combined – and doubled up visiting Toronto by a 6-3 count on Friday before 6,771 fans at Van Andel Arena.
The Griffins halted their seven-game losing skid and won for just the fourth time in their last 20 outings (4-16-0-0).
John Vigilante, Mattias Ritola, Doug Janik, and 2010 AHL All-Star Patrick Rissmiller all tallied first-period goals for the Griffins, with Ritola and Rissmiller scoring on the power play.
After a scoreless second period, the Marlies climbed back into the game on third-period strikes by Ashton Rome, Ben Simon, and Greg Scott.
But Rissmiller registered another power play goal for Grand Rapids at the 14:45 mark, and Cory Emmerton iced the victory with a late empty-netter.
Griffins goaltender Daniel Larsson earned the win with 19 saves between the pipes.
SPRINGFIELD 3, BRIDGEPORT 2 (OT)
Ryan O’Marra scored 3:49 into overtime to lift Springfield to a 3-2 win over visiting Bridgeport on Friday at the MassMutual Center.
Springfield jumped to a 2-0 lead before the game was seven minutes old on goals by Viacheslav Trukhno and Colton Fretter, who scored on the power play for his team-leading 21st marker of the season.
Sound Tigers forward Tyler Haskins cut the deficit in half midway through the opening frame, and it remained a 2-1 game until Trevor Smith tallied the equalizer with 3:37 to play in regulation.
Despite the comeback, Bridgeport’s winless streak extended to six games, though the Sound Tigers have points in four of the six contests (0-2-1-3).
Making his first AHL appearance since the 2000-01 season, ‘Tigers netminder Martin Biron made 38 saves on 41 shots in the losing effort.
Springfield goaltender Devan Dubnyk earned the win with 36 saves on 38 shots between the pipes.
The Falcons snapped a three-game losing skid, and each of their last three victories have now come in overtime, all at home. Springfield previously took a 3-2 win over Norfolk on Jan. 29 and a 2-1 decision from Hartford on Jan. 23.
ADIRONDACK 3, MANCHESTER 1
Adirondack scored once in each period and collected a 3-1 win over visiting Manchester at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
Phantoms forward Mika Pyorala tallied his first career AHL goal at 3:43 of the first period. Manchester’s Dwight King tied it a little more than two minutes later, but Jonathon Kalinski restored Adirondack’s one-goal lead with 1:47 to play in the frame.
It remained a 2-1 game until Jon Matsumoto added an empty-netter in the game’s closing seconds.
Adirondack goaltender Johan Backlund picked up the win with 24 saves on 25 shots, helping his club snap a three-game winless skid (0-2-0-1).
Jonathan Bernier made 29 saves in the loss for the Monarchs, who fell one point back of Worcester for first place in the Atlantic Division race.
MILWAUKEE 5, HOUSTON 3
Brothers Mike Santorelli and Mark Santorelli combined for three goals and four points as Milwaukee took a 5-3 win over visiting Houston on Friday before 6,366 fans at the Bradley Center.
Mike Santorelli tallied a pair of goals in the victory, while younger brother Mark Santorelli registered a goal and an assist.
Reigning Reebok/AHL rookie of the month Colin Wilson tallied a goal for the Admirals, and defenseman Reid Cashman rounded out Milwaukee’s offense.
Admirals rookie Chet Pickard earned the victory in net with 18 saves on 21 shots.
Nathan Smith, Cody Almond, and Peter Zingoni tallied goals for the Aeros, whose three-game winning streak came to an end.
SAN ANTONIO 5, MANITOBA 4 (OT)
Kevin Porter lit the lamp just 45 seconds into overtime as San Antonio escaped with a 5-4 overtime win over Manitoba before 9,358 fans at the MTS Centre.
The Rampage, who improved to 3-1-0-1 on their 14-game road trip, appeared destined for 4-3 regulation victory before Moose forward Marty Murray tied it up at 19:39 of the third period.
Porter and Mikkel Boedker each finished with a goal and an assist for the Rampage, who also got goals from Francis Lessard (his first of the year), Matt Watkins, and captain Jeff Hoggan. Gavin Morgan chipped in a pair of assists.
San Antonio goaltender Josh Tordjman picked up the victory with 26 saves on 30 shots in net.
Moose forward Dan Sexton tallied a pair of goals in his first game since being reassigned by the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Matt Pettinger also scored for Manitoba, which fell to 1-7-1-0 in its last nine games.
PEORIA 6, TEXAS 3
Peoria, which had totaled only two goals in its previous two games, stuck four times in the first period and cruised to a 6-3 road win over Texas on Friday at the Cedar Park Center.
Rivermen forwards Yan Stastny, Brett Sonne, Nicholas Drazenovic, and Pascal Pelletier all notched first-period markers, with the quartet of goals coming in a span of 8:58.
Texas cut its deficit in half with a pair of second-period strikes, but Adam Cracknell and Barry Tallackson scored for Peoria in the third period to put the game away. Tallackson’s goal went into an empty net.
Goaltender Ben Bishop earned the victory with 28 saves on 31 shots for Peoria, which halted a four-game winless skid (0-2-0-2).
Travis Morin (1-1-2), Greg Rallo, and defenseman Garrett Stafford all scored for the Stars, who will host the Rivermen in a rematch on Saturday night.
ABBOTSFORD 3, CHICAGO 2 (SO)
Colin Stuart converted in the ninth shootout round to lift Abbotsford to a 3-2 win over Chicago in the back end of the teams’ two-game set at the Entertainment & Sports Centre on Friday.
Evan Barlow and Garth Murray also notched shootout goals for the Heat, who put a halt to their winless skid at six games (0-5-1-0).
Abbotsford goaltender David Shantz stopped 32 of 34 shots through regulation and overtime before denying seven of Chicago’s nine shootout tries, including its last five in succession.
Defenseman Gord Baldwin tallied both of Abbotsford’s regulation markers, while the Wolves received goals from Riley Holzapfel and Anthony Stewart.
Despite the shootout loss, Chicago extended its points streak to six games (4-0-0-2). The Wolves sit fourth in the West Division with 62 points but are just three points back of first-place Rockford.
