MANITOBA 3, LAKE ERIE 1
Milan Gajic had two goals and an assist to lead Manitoba to a 3-1 win over Lake Erie in front of 11,915 fans at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg on Monday evening.
Gajic, who had three goals in his previous 33 career AHL games, helped the Moose to a 3-for-6 effort on the power play.
Michael Grabner added a goal and an assist and Drew MacIntyre made 20 saves for Manitoba, which has won three straight from the Monsters. The teams meet again on Tuesday evening.
Jamie Lundmark had the only goal for Lake Erie.
MILWAUKEE 5, ROCKFORD 3
Milwaukee brought Rockford’s 16-game points streak to an end with a 5-3 win over the IceHogs at the MetroCentre on New Year’s Eve.
Pekka Rinne made 26 saves on the night as the IceHogs’ rally from a 4-1 deficit fell just short.
John Vigilante led the Admirals with two goals and two assists, and Mike Santorelli and Alexander Sulzer broke open a close game with goals 43 seconds apart late in the second period.
Rockford had been 11-0-1-4 since its previous regulation loss, an 8-3 loss in Chicago on Nov. 24.
Colin Fraser scored twice for the IceHogs, and Martin St. Pierre had an assist to extend his scoring streak to 13 games.
PROVIDENCE 3, SPRINGFIELD 2 (OT)
Sean Curry’s goal 1:44 into overtime gave Providence a 3-2 win over host Springfield on Monday afternoon.
It was the fourth straight win for the Bruins, who finished with a league-best record of 56-20-3-2 (.722) during calendar year 2007.
Vladimir Sobotka and Jeff Hoggan scored in the first period for Providence, but Marc Pouliot and Rob Schremp answered for the Falcons.
Pascal Pelletier assisted on Curry’s game-winning goal to finish December with 22 points in 15 games. Tuukka Rask (13-3-0) made 23 saves in the victory.
Springfield has lost seven in a row.
HERSHEY 2, PHILADELPHIA 1
Grant Potulny and Kyle Wilson scored early and Daren Machesney made it hold up as Hershey edged Philadelphia, 2-1, before 10,009 fans at the Giant Center.
Potulny’s goal, his ninth in his last 12 games, came just eight seconds into the contest, and Wilson made it 2-0 at the 4:20 mark.
Machesney stopped 22 of 23 shots to improve to 9-2-1 on the season.
Steve Downie had the only goal for the Phantoms.
PORTLAND 3, LOWELL 0
Brandon Segal scored twice and Mike McKenna made 16 saves as Portland shut out Lowell, 3-0, in front of 6,023 fans at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
The Pirates moved to 3-0-1-1 in their last five games and 7-2-1-1 in their last 11.
It was the second two-goal game of the season for Segal, who has just five goals total on the year. Matt Christie had two assists, and Simon Ferguson also scored.
McKenna earned his first career AHL shutout and his fourth consecutive win for Portland.
The Devils’ four-game winning streak ended in the loss.
IOWA 5, HOUSTON 4
Marty Sertich and Toby Petersen each scored two goals as Iowa outlasted Houston, 5-4, at the Wells Fargo Arena.
Sertich and B.J. Crombeen scored 40 seconds apart early in the third period to break open a 2-2 tie, and Tobias Stephan finished with 32 saves as the Stars won for the third time in four outings.
Adrian Foster, Troy Riddle, Serge Payer and Jon Awe scored for the Aeros, who conclude a four-game road trip in Peoria on Tuesday.
Nolan Schaefer stopped 33 shots but still lost for just the second time in his last 12 decisions (10-2-0).
With the win, Iowa pulled to within one point of fourth-place Houston in the West Division.
BRIDGEPORT 3, BINGHAMTON 2
After being named Rbk/AHL Player of the Week earlier in the day, Jeff Tambellini scored the winning goal with 11:53 left in regulation as Bridgeport defeated Binghamton, 3-2, at a sold-out Broome County Arena.
Tambellini now has 12 goals in his last nine games and 19 on the season, two shy of the AHL lead.
Frans Nielsen had a goal and an assist and Trevor Smith also scored for the Sound Tigers, who have seven of their last nine to hit the .500 mark (16-16-1-0) for the first time since mid-November.
Mike Morrison made 33 saves for his 10th win of the season.
Geoff Waugh and Tyler Donati scored for the Senators, who are winless in their last four (0-3-0-1).
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 6, NORFOLK 3
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ran its winning streak to eight games with a 6-3 win over Norfolk at the Wachovia Arena.
Chris Minard scored twice, Alex Goligoski recorded four assists and Tim Brent (1g, 2a) and Nathan Smith (1g) both extended their scoring streaks to eight games.
Connor James chipped in with a goal and an assist and Jonathan Filewich also scored for the Penguins, who have outscored their opponents 35-13 over the last eight games.
Norm Milley, Rob Klinkhammer and Dan Jancevski scored for Norfolk, which has lost nine in a row.
Marc Denis stopped 20 of 26 shots in his first AHL action since the 1999 Calder Cup Playoffs.
WORCESTER 3, MANCHESTER 2
Lukas Kaspar scored with three seconds left in regulation to give Worcester a 3-2 win over Manchester at Verizon Wireless Arena.
Graham Mink scored two power-play goals, both assisted by Mike Iggulden and Devin Setoguchi, then set up Kaspar’s winner to snap the Sharks’ three-game losing skid.
Thomas Greiss stopped 21 of 23 shots for the victory as Worcester moved into a tie with the Monarchs for fifth place in the Atlantic Division.
Gabe Gauthier and Brian Boyle scored for Manchester, which has lost four straight at home.
HAMILTON 1, GRAND RAPIDS 0
Janne Lahti scored 6:35 into the third period and Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves for his 11th career AHL shutout as Hamilton blanked Grand Rapids, 1-0, at Van Andel Arena.
It was just the second win in the last eight road games for the Bulldogs (2-3-1-2), who head to Rockford to take on the IceHogs on Wednesday.
Lahti’s goal was his third in eight games and fifth of the season, and his second game-winner in the last 11 days.
Jimmy Howard stopped 32 of 33 shots in the hard-luck loss.
