Friday roundup: Classic day for B’s

Friday’s AHL Boxscores

PROVIDENCE 4, BRIDGEPORT 2
On the same say that their NHL affiliate came back for an overtime victory in the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic about an hour north, the Providence Bruins rallied for a 4-2 win over Bridgeport at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Friday.

Trent Whitfield tallied the game-winning goal unassisted with just 3:52 to play in regulation for the Bruins, who secured their second consecutive triumph on the heels of three straight losses.

It capped a successful day for the organization, as earlier in the afternoon the Boston Bruins tied the Philadelphia Flyers at 1-1 late in the third period before capturing a 2-1 win in overtime at Fenway Park.

Providence initially grabbed a 1-0 lead over the Sound Tigers at 2:51 of the opening period when rookie defenseman Rob Kwiet tallied his first professional goal, with assists going to Jamie Arniel and Jordan Knackstedt.

It was all Sound Tigers for the remainder of the first frame, as Jesse Joensuu lit the lamp at 4:38 and Sean Bentivoglio’s team-leading 12th goal of the season put Bridgeport on top at the 9:56 mark.

The game remained 2-1 in favor of Bridgeport until 11:47 of the third period, when Providence forward Drew Larman beat Sound Tigers goaltender Rick DiPietro for his third goal of the campaign.

Whitfield’s game-winner was his eighth tally of the season, and Knackstedt finished off a three-point effort (1-2-3) with an empty-net goal in the closing seconds.

Bruins goaltender Dany Sabourin earned the victory with 17 saves between the pipes.

HOUSTON 6, MILWAUKEE 2
Houston scored three goals in the first period and three more in the second en route to a 6-2 road win over Milwaukee on Friday at the Bradley Center.

Six different Aeros found the back of the net, led by Cody Almond, Jon DiSalvatore, and Nathan Smith, who each registered a goal and an assist on the night.

Almond, a 33-goal scorer in juniors last season for Kelowna (WHL), tallied his first goal as a professional.

Defenseman Jaime Sifers tallied his first goal of the year for the Aeros, who also received markers from Danny Irmen and rookie Chad Rau. Jean-Michel Daoust chipped in a pair of assists, and Houston goaltender Barry Brust earned the victory with 28 saves in net.

Mark Santorelli and Triston Grant scored for the Admirals, and Hugh Jessiman and Ben Guite assisted on both tallies. Milwaukee’s modest two-game winning streak came to an end.

HERSHEY 3, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 2
Chris Bourque tallied a pair of goals as Hershey edged rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by a 3-2 count on Friday at the Wachovia Arena.

Bourque, who began the season with Wilkes-Barre’s NHL affiliate in Pittsburgh, scored a power play goal midway through the second period before registering the eventual game-winning marker at even strength 1:41 into the third frame.

Andrew Joudrey also scored for the Bears, and Hershey goaltender Braden Holtby made 26 saves to improve his season record to 8-1-1.

The Bears have now won eight straight games and are 17-3-0-2 since suffering a 5-0 loss at Portland on Nov. 6.

Mark Letestu and Joe Vitale netted goals for the Penguins, whose season-high four-game winning streak came to an end.

SAN ANTONIO 3, ABBOTSFORD 1
San Antonio converted three of its six power play opportunities on its way to a 3-1 win over visiting Abbotsford on Friday at the AT&T Center.

Former AHL All-Star Brett MacLean notched a pair of goals for the Rampage, scoring the game’s first goal 9:45 into the contest and capping off the win with an empty-netter in the closing seconds.

In between, San Antonio’s Chad Kolarik registered the eventual game-winner at 14:28 of the first period and Jamie Lundmark tallied the Heat’s lone goal three minutes into the second frame.

Defenseman Shaun Heshka chipped in two assists for the Rampage, and goaltender Josh Tordjman earned the victory with 22 saves in net.

San Antonio, which suffered an 11-game winless skid in November, has now won four straight games to climb back to the .500 mark overall at 15-15-2-1 (33 points). The Rampage currently sit seven points out of a playoff spot in the West Division.