Fri. roundup: Rampage return in style

Friday’s AHL Boxscores

SAN ANTONIO 4, MANITOBA 0
San Antonio goaltender Justin Pogge made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Rampage – playing their first home game in more than a month – collected a 4-0 win over Manitoba before 6,725 fans at the AT&T Center on Friday.

San Antonio, which recently completed a season-high 14-game road trip, had been one of only two AHL teams yet to record a shutout on the season.

Pogge (11-7-3) stopped 10 shots in the first period, six in the second, and eight in the third as the Rampage improved to 2-0-0-1 against the Moose this season, with a rematch set for Saturday night.

Kevin Porter and Mikkel Boedker staked the Rampage to a 2-0 first-period lead, and Kyle Turris and Gavin Morgan tacked on goals to seal the victory. David Spina contributed a pair of assists for San Antonio.

The Moose were shut out for the second time in their last three games and for the fourth time on the campaign.

SPRINGFIELD 2, HARTFORD 1 (OT)
Rob Hisey beat Hartford goaltender Matt Zaba just 12 seconds into overtime to lift Springfield to a 2-1 road win over the Wolf Pack at the XL Center on Friday.

Hisey, who had registered just one goal in his previous 11 games, was assisted on the play by Charles Linglet and Chris Armstrong.

After a scoreless first period, the Wolf Pack grabbed a 1-0 lead 7:36 into the second frame when Ryan Garlock notched his fourth goal of the year. But Springfield’s Ryan O’Marra evened it up in the third period with 8:30 remaining in regulation.

Falcons goaltender Devan Dubnyk earned the win with 32 saves, as his club snapped a four-game losing skid (0-3-0-1).

ALBANY 4, PORTLAND 2
Albany struck for a pair of goals in the third period and doubled up host Portland by a 4-2 count at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

River Rats winger Brad Herauf broke a 2-2 deadlock at 10:23 of the third frame, and Chris Terry sealed Albany’s victory with an empty-netter in the closing minute.

Rookies Matthew Pistilli and Drayson Bowman also scored for the River Rats, and Jacob Micflikier chipped in a pair of assists.

Albany goaltender Justin Peters earned the victory with 26 saves on 28 shots, improving his season record to 21-16-2.

Marc-Andre Gragnani and Paul Byron netted goals for the Pirates, whose franchise record-tying eight-game home winning streak came to an end.

Portland, which dropped a 3-1 decision in Worcester on Wednesday, has now lost back-to-back games in regulation for the first time since Nov. 8-11.

ROCHESTER 5, GRAND RAPIDS 3
Five different Rochester skaters found the back of the net as the Americans collected a 5-3 win over visiting Grand Rapids at the Blue Cross Arena.

Evgeny Dadonov notched a goal and an assist for the Amerks, while Michael Duco, Victor Oreskovich, Max Gratchev, and defenseman Jordan Henry also recorded goals.

Gratchev’s marker at 2:32 of the third period proved to be the game-winner.

Mike York chipped in two assists and rookie goaltender Alexander Salak earned the victory with 32 saves for Rochester, which has secured consecutive wins for the first time since Jan. 30-31.

Mattias Ritola (1-1-2), John Vigilante, and Kris Newbury each lit the lamp for the Griffins, who fell to 1-4-2-0 in their last seven games.

ABBOTSFORD 5, WORCESTER 4 (SO)
David Van der Gulik, Jason Jaffray, and Radek Smolenak notched shootout goals as Abbotsford pulled out a 5-4 road win over Worcester at the DCU Center on Friday.

The Heat overcame deficits of 1-0 and 3-1 en route to securing their fourth straight win and eighth in their last nine contests (8-1-0-0).

Abbotsford trailed 3-1 midway through the game but tallied three goals in the second period to take a 4-3 advantage. Mikael Backlund, David Van der Gulik, and Brett Sutter notched goals for the Heat, after ex-Shark Riley Armstrong had scored in the first period.

Sharks forward T.J. Trevelyan netted the equalizer in the third frame, and both he and rookie Benn Ferriero scored in the shootout.

Heat goaltender David Shantz stopped Worcester’s other six shootout attempts after making 33 saves through the first 65 minutes.

Logan Couture, Ryan Vesce, and Ferriero also scored regulation goals for the Sharks, who will seek revenge when the teams collide in a rematch on Saturday.

ADIRONDACK 3, NORFOLK 2
2010 AHL All-Star Jon Matsumoto’s 21st goal of the season proved to be the game-winner as Adirondack eked out a 3-2 win over visiting Norfolk at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Matsumoto’s decisive tally, which came on the power play, was assisted by defenseman Joonas Lehtivuori and forward Jason Ward.

Ward also scored for the Phantoms, while David Laliberte rounded out Adirondack’s scoring. Goaltender Johan Backlund earned the victory with 36 saves on 38 shots, helping the Phantoms end a three-game winless skid.

Dana Tyrell and Mitch Fadden netted goals for the Admirals, whose four-game winning streak came to an end. Norfolk fell two points back of Albany for second place in the East Division race.

PROVIDENCE 6, BINGHAMTON 4
Providence netted a trio of goals in the second period and scored three more times in the third frame en route to a 6-4 road win over struggling Binghamton at the Broome County Arena.

John Lammers led the way for the Bruins with a hat trick and a plus-4 showing, and Brad Marchand posted a goal and an assist.

Trent Whitfield and 2010 AHL All-Star Mikko Lehtonen also scored in the victory, former first-round draft pick Zach Hamill posted four assists and a plus-5 rating, and Jordan Knackstedt chipped in two helpers.

Goaltender Dany Sabourin earned the victory with 36 saves for the Bruins, who moved within two points of Bridgeport for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.

Josh Hennessy posted three points (1-2-3) for the Senators, Ryan Keller had a goal and an assist, and defenseman Geoff Kinrade also scored. Binghamton suffered its fifth straight regulation defeat.

SYRACUSE 3, LAKE ERIE 2
Syracuse forward Trevor Frischmon broke a 2-2 tie with 7:03 to play in regulation, and the Crunch went on to post a 3-2 road win over Lake Erie at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Tomas Kana earned his third assist of the night on Frischmon’s goal, and Grant Clitsome also assisted on the game-winner, which extended the Crunch’s winning streak to three games.

Syracuse forwards Derek MacKenzie and Alexandre Picard both scored and assisted on the other’s goal, and netminder Dan Taylor made 26 saves to pick up his first AHL victory of the season (1-1-0).

The Crunch moved within five points of Bridgeport for a playoff spot in the tightly packed Eastern Conference.

Josh Aspenlind and Justin Mercier netted goals for the Monsters, who are winless in three straight games (0-2-0-1) since taking a 6-4 win in Syracuse on Feb. 19.

LOWELL 3, MANCHESTER 2
Lowell rallied for two goals in the first 1:14 of the third period to erase a 2-1 deficit and stun host Manchester by a 3-2 final on Friday at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

The Devils entered the third period down 2-2, but Stephen Gionta notched the equalizer only 35 seconds into the final frame. Ben Walter then gave the Devils a 3-2 lead 39 seconds later, and Lowell held on for the victory.

Matt Taormina assisted on both third-period goals for the Devils, and goaltender Mike McKenna earned the victory with 40 saves on 42 shots between the pipes.

Matthew Corrente initially gave Lowell a 1-0 lead two minutes into the second period, but Manchester’s Scott Parse and John Zeiler scored 31 seconds apart later in the frame to make it a 2-1 contest.

With the victory, Lowell moved within four points of the Monarchs for third place in the Atlantic Division race.

PEORIA 3, CHICAGO 2
Peoria cooled off high-flying Chicago with a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the visiting Wolves on Friday before 5,328 fans at Carver Arena.

The Rivermen crawled out of a 2-0 second-period deficit and have collected back-to-back victories for the first time since defeating Grand Rapids and Rockford on Jan. 15-16.

Defenseman Jamie Hunt gave Chicago a 1-0 lead just 51 seconds after the opening face-off, and fellow rearguard Ivan Vishnevskiy extended the advantage to 2-0 on the power play at 14:11 of the second period.

But Rivermen forward Nicholas Drazenovic cut his team’s deficit in half with a power play strike of his won at 16:58 and then notched the equalizer unassisted 45 seconds into the third period.

That set the stage for Peoria’s Adam Cracknell to scored the eventual game-winner at 2:37, with Ryan Reaves and two-time AHL All-Star defenseman Jonas Junland picking up the assists.

Peoria goaltender Ben Bishop earned the win with 32 saves on 34 shots between the pipes.

Chicago’s eight-game winning streak and 14-game points streak (12-0-0-2) both came to an end. The Wolves suffered their first regulation loss since a 5-4 setback in Peoria on Jan. 23.

TEXAS 3, HOUSTON 2
Texas built a 3-0 lead by the game’s midpoint and held on for a 3-2 win over visiting Houston before 6,510 fans at the Cedar Park Center in the front end of a home-and-home set.

Mathieu Beaudoin and rookies Travis Morin and rookie Sergei Korostin all tallied goals for the Stars, while defensemen Garrett Stafford and Andrew Hutchinson each chipped in a pair of assists.

Houston cut its deficit to 3-2 by the end of the second period on goals by defenseman Jamie Fraser and forward Cody Almond, but the Aeros were unable to find the equalizer and fell to 1-5-0-0 in their last contests.

The Stars halted a three-game losing skid and moved one point up on Milwaukee for third place in the West Division race.

Houston, which will host Texas in a rematch on Saturday, is now seven points out of a playoff spot.