MANITOBA 5, ROCHESTER 1
Rookie winger Michael Grabner netted a pair of goals to lead Manitoba past visiting Rochester by a 5-1 final on Friday before 7,557 fans at the MTS Centre.
Grabner, who was selected 14th overall by Vancouver in the 2006 draft, extended his goal-scoring streak to five games (6-1-7). He leads the Moose with 13 tallies on the season (13-11-24.)
Grabner scored the eventual game-winner 39 seconds into the second period and tallied another goal 1:43 into the third. Milan Gajic assisted on both goals.
Luc Bourdon, Juraj Simek, and Brad Moran also netted goals for the Moose, while Rick Rypien chipped in with three assists.
Americans winger Mark Mancari put the visitors on the board with a power play goal at 7:47 of the third period.
The goal snapped Rochester’s scoring drought at 252:09, which spanned five games and fell just 6:40 short of a league record.
The Amerks still lost for the 14th time in their last 15 games (1-14-0-0).
Manitoba goaltender Drew MacIntyre stopped 26 of 27 shots, helping the Moose to their third straight win overall and ninth straight over Rochester dating back to last season.
HERSHEY 5, HARTFORD 4
Hershey exploded for four goals in the first period and held on for a 5-4 road win over Hartford at the XL Center.
Andrew Gordon, Joe Motzko, and Scott Barney each had a goal and an assist for the Bears, who also received goals from Grant Potulny and Ben Clymer.
The Wolf Pack clawed their way back into the game, outshooting Hershey 31-9 over the final two periods. Nigel Dawes scored twice, while Alex Bourret and Lauri Korpikoski netted one apiece.
But Hartford never was able to tie it, thanks largely to Bears goaltender Daren Machesney, who made 38 saves for his fourth straight twin.
SYRACUSE 6, ALBANY 1
Second-year pro Gilbert Brule tallied a hat trick in his second career AHL game to lead Syracuse to a 6-1 win over Albany at the Times Union Center.
Brule, selected sixth overall by Columbus in the 2005 draft, scored once in the first period and twice more in the third stanza for the Crunch, who have won three of their last four games.
Brule has spent most of his brief pro career with the parent Blue Jackets, posting 27 points (12-15-27) in 116 games, including four points this season.
Syracuse winger Adam Pineault scored a pair goals, and netminder Karl Goehring earned the win with 33 saves.
Defenseman Mark Flood tallied the River Rats’ lone marker.
MANCHESTER 5, WORCESTER 3
Manchester scored three goals in a 1:02 span during the first period on its way to a 5-3 win over host Worcester at the DCU Center.
Worcester’s Riley Armstrong initially gave his club a 1-0 advantage at the 8:51 mark of the opening period.
But then Monarchs center Trevor Lewis scored at 14:48, Lauri Tukonen followed at 15:03, and Matt Moulson netted a power play marker at 15:50.
Brian Boyle and Brady Murray notched third-period goals for the Monarchs, and goaltender Erik Ersberg picked up the win with 23 saves.
Rookie Nate Raduns tallied a pair of goals for the Sharks. He had scored just once in his previous 26 games.
PORTLAND 4, BINGHAMTON 2
Geoff Platt tallied his second straight two-goal game, and Portland doubled up visiting Binghamton by a 4-2 final at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Platt has scored in four of his last five games (7-0-7) and has a team-high 19 tallies on the season (19-15-34).
Brendan Mikkelson gave the Pirates a 3-0 lead midway through the game, but Binghamton battled back to within a goal on a pair of tallies by Ilya Zubov.
Portland’s Matt Christie scored an empty-netter late in the third stanza, giving the Pirates their third straight win, which matches a season high.
PHILADELPHIA 4, LOWELL 3
Pete Zingoni netted a pair of goals as Philadelphia edged visiting Lowell, 4-3, at the Wachovia Spectrum.
Zingoni and Darroll Powe scored to give the Phantoms a 1-0 lead after one period, but Ryan Murphy pulled Lowell within a goal heading into the final stanza.
Zingoni tallied the eventual game-winner on the power play at 4:32 of the third. The Devils’ Noah Clarke closed the game’s scoring at 10:16 with a man-advantage marker of his own.
Philadelphia goaltender Brian Boucher stopped 35 of 37 shots, helping the Phantoms move to 4-1-0-0 in their last five home games.
BRIDGEPORT 4, NORFOLK 3 (SO)
Bridgeport rallied for two goals in the third period and eventually defeated host Norfolk in a shootout, 4-3, at the Scope.
Facing a 3-1 deficit, the Sound Tigers received goals from Frans Nielsen and Andy Sertich at 7:45 and 11:31 of the third period, respectively.
Bridgeport then scored on three of four tries in the shootout and moved to 8-2-0-0 in its last 10 games. The Sound Tigers are over .500 (17-16-1-0) for the first time since Oct. 20.
Sound Tigers winger Jeff Tambellini tallied a goal in the first period and has scored in five straight games (7-4-11).
Defenseman Dan Jancevski had a goal and an assist for the Admirals, who fell to 0-9-0-1 in their last 10 outings.
PROVIDENCE 4, SPRINGFIELD 3
Vladimir Sobotka and Pascal Pelletier tallied power play goals in the third period to lift Providence over host Springfield final by a 4-3 final at the MassMutual Center.
Sobotka also scored a man-advantage goal in the second period for Providence, and Chris Collins rounded out the Bruins’ scoring.
Providence goaltender Tuukka Rask turned aside 24 of 27 shots, helping the Bruins match a season high with their fifth straight win, all on the road.
Viacheslav Trukhno and Marc Pouliot each notched a goal and an assist for the Falcons.
TORONTO 4, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 1
Toronto ended Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s winning streak at nine games with a 4-1 home-ice win over the Penguins before 6,733 fans at Ricoh Coliseum.
John Mitchell, Chris Harrington, Bates Battaglia, and Ben Ondrus tallied goals for the Marlies, who have won eight of their last nine games (8-1-0-0).
Marlies goaltender Justin Pogge improved to 13-2-4 with 22 saves on the night.
Chris Minard scored for the Penguins, giving him four goals in his last two games.
HAMILTON 4, GRAND RAPIDS 1
Corey Locke scored twice in a 2:04 span in the first period as Hamilton downed visiting Grand Rapids by a 4-1 count at Copps Coliseum.
The Bulldogs matched a season high with their third straight victory.
Greg Stewart and Ajay Baines also scored for Hamilton, with Baines’ goal going into an empty net
Bulldogs goaltender Jaroslav Halak stopped 24 of 25 shots in the victory. He has been between the pipes for all three games of Hamilton’s winning streak and hasn’t allowed more than one goal in any of the contests.
Griffins rookie Darren Helm broke up the shutout bid at 15:12 of the third period.
PEORIA 3, MILWAUKEE 2
Peoria rookie Julian Talbot broke a 2-2 tie at 13:56 of the third period, and the Rivermen held on for a 3-2 road win over visiting Milwaukee at Carver Arena.
Charles Linglet scored Peoria’s other two goals, giving him a team-high 15 markers on the season (15-22-37).
Rivermen goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu earned the win with 22 saves on the night.
The Admirals received goals from Andreas Thuresson and Matt Ellison, the latter giving Milwaukee a temporary 2-1 lead early in the final stanza.
ROCKFORD 5, CHICAGO 4
Rockford scored a pair of third-period goals to knock off intra-state rival Chicago by a 5-4 final at the MetroCentre and hold onto first place in the West Division.
The IceHogs took a 2-0 first-period lead as Niklas Hjalmarsson and Gavin Morgan each scored their first goals of the season.
But the Wolves erased the deficit and took a 3-2 lead after the opening period. Nathan Oystrick scored to start a three-point night (1-2-3), and he was followed by Jesse Schultz and Jason Krog.
Rockford’s Sergei Samsonov, playing in his first career AHL game, evened the score in the second period, and the IceHogs received third period goals from Troy Brouwer and Michael Blunden.
Krog brought the Wolves within a goal late in the third stanza, but Chicago couldn’t get the equalizer.
IceHogs goaltender Corey Crawford earned the win with 26 saves on 30 shots.
IOWA 3, HOUSTON 1
Konstantin Pushkarev tallied a pair of goals to lead visiting Iowa to a 3-1 win over Houston at the Toyota Center.
Pushkarev scored a power play marker in the first period and capped the game’s scoring late in the third.
Iowa defenseman Nolan Baumgartner also scored, and his power play goal at 13:07 of the final stanza turned out to be the game-winner.
Stars goaltender Tobias Stephan improved to 13-10-1 on the season with 31 saves.
Houston received its lone goal from Peter Olvecky in the third period.
