Thomas Greiss made a season-high 51 saves for his 10th win in his last 12 decisions, leading Worcester to a 4-1 win over Hartford at the DCU Center.
The Sharks are now four points ahead of fourth-place Lowell in the Atlantic Division playoff race.
Greiss stopped all 21 shots he faced in the first period and 15 each in the second and third as the Wolf Pack finished with a 52-30 edge for the game.
Riley Armstrong, Grant Stevenson, Mike Iggulden and Graham Mink scored for Worcester.
Despite the loss, Hartford still clinched a Calder Cup Playoff berth for the 10th straight season.
MANCHESTER 3, LOWELL 1
Jason LaBarbera made 27 saves, missing out on his eighth shutout of the season by less than a minute, as Manchester took command of the race for the Atlantic Division title with a 3-1 win over Lowell.
The Monarchs’ win puts them six points ahead of second-place Hartford. The Wolf Pack have four games remaining, while Manchester still has six.
Trevor Lewis, a first-round draft choice by the Los Angeles Kings (17th overall) in 2006, scored his first professional goal for the Monarchs. Marty Murray also scored and Matt Moulson added an empty-netter with one minute remaining.
Petr Vrana scored the Devils’ lone goal with 51 seconds to go. Lowell’s loss drops them four points behind fourth-place Worcester in the Atlantic.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, NORFOLK 3 (SO)
Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers was perfect one-on-one, stopping a first-period penalty shot and all five Norfolk shootout attempts to give Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 4-3 win over the Admirals at Scope.
The Penguins are now tied with Norfolk for second place in the East Division with one game in hand on the Ads. Wilkes-Barre also remains two points behind first-place Hershey.
Jonathan Filewich, Matt Carkner and Stephen Dixon staked the Pens to a 3-0 lead early in the second period, but Norfolk rallied to tie the score and earn a point in the standings.
Pierre Parenteau had a goal and an assist for the Admirals, extending his scoring streak to 14 games (6g, 16a).
HERSHEY 7, PHILADELPHIA 2
Hershey held on to first place in the East Division for another day with a 7-2 win in Philadelphia.
Alexandre Giroux scored two of the Bears’ four power-play goals on the night, giving him a career-high 41 goals on the season.
Chris Bourque recorded a goal and three assists and Joey Tenute had a goal and two assists for Hershey, while Maxime Daigneault made 32 saves to go to 22-6-0 for the year.
Ryan Parent, a first-round draft pick (18th overall) in 2005 acquired by the Flyers from Nashville in the Peter Forsberg trade, scored his first professional goal for the Phantoms.
The loss eliminates the Phantoms from playoff contention. Philadelphia will miss the postseason for the second year in a row after winning the Calder Cup in 2005.
ALBANY 7, BINGHAMTON 3
Keith Aucoin had three more points and Johnny Boychuk scored twice as Albany took a 7-3 decision from Binghamton at the Broome County Arena.
Aucoin scored his 26th goal of the season and added two assists, giving him 94 points on the season, tied for second in the AHL.
Jakub Petruzalek and Shane Willis picked up a goal and an assist each for the River Rats, who remain tied with Bridgeport for fourth place in the East Division.
Kirk MacDonald, who recently completed his senior season at RPI, netted his first professional goal for Albany.
BRIDGEPORT 4, PROVIDENCE 3 (SO)
Bridgeport kept pace with Albany in the East with a 4-3 shootout win over Providence at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Billy Thompson made 37 saves and stopped four of five Bruins attempts in the shootout as the Sound Tigers remained tied with the River Rats for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East Division. Bridgeport and Albany meet at the Times Union Center on Saturday night.
Mark Wotton scored twice in regulation and Jamie Johnson and Allan Rourke converted in the shootout for the Sound Tigers.
Sean Bentivoglio had a goal and two assists for the Bruins, who are now tied with Worcester for third place in the Atlantic Division, four points ahead of fifth-place Lowell.
ROCHESTER 2, HAMILTON 1
Rochester strengthened its hold on second place in the North Division and clinched a berth in the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs with a 2-1 win over visiting Hamilton.
Michael Ryan scored the tiebreaking goal with 6:13 left in regulation, his 10th goal in his last seven AHL contests.
Mark Mancari had a goal and an assist and Adam Dennis finished with 20 saves for the Americans, who move three points ahead of the third-place Bulldogs with five games remaining.
Corey Locke scored and Yann Danis made 28 stops for Hamilton.
Rochester will be in the AHL postseason for the 17th time in the last 18 seasons.
GRAND RAPIDS 4, TORONTO 0
Jimmy Howard made 29 saves for his sixth shutout of the season, backstopping Grand Rapids to a 4-0 win over visiting Toronto at a sold-out Van Andel Arena.
Matt Ellis scored twice and Kip Miller and Scott Parse each had two assists for the Griffins, who won in regulation for the first time since Mar. 14. Jonas Johansson and Ryan Oulahen also scored.
Howard’s six shutouts tie a Griffins single-season franchise record.
MANITOBA 3, IOWA 0
Manitoba took another step towards the franchise’s first division title with a 3-0 win over Iowa at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
Drew MacIntyre made 23 saves for his third shutout of the year to keep the Moose seven points ahead of second-place Rochester in the North Division.
Mason Raymond, Marc Chouinard and Brad Moran scored for Manitoba, which is 2-3-0-1 with one game remaining on its seven-game road trip.
With the loss, the Stars see their lead over fifth-place Peoria shrink to two points in the West Division.
PEORIA 4, HOUSTON 3 (OT)
Mike Glumac scored his second goal of the night with 1:24 left in regulation and Trent Whitfield won it 55 seconds into overtime as Peoria knocked off Houston, 4-3, to close to within two points of a playoff spot in the West.
Jon DiSalvatore also scored and Charles Linglet and Ryan Ramsay recorded two assists each for the Rivermen, who host North-leading Manitoba on Saturday night.
Mattias Weinhandl scored twice for the Aeros, who were outshot 35-15 in the game. Houston is 2-0-1-0 in its last three road games after going winless in its previous 15 away from home.
OMAHA 1, SAN ANTONIO 0
Omaha’s outstanding defense suffocated San Antonio all night, limiting the Rampage to 12 shots on goal and paving the way for a 1-0 win at the Civic Auditorium.
It was the third straight win for the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, who rank second in the AHL with 179 goals allowed on the year.
Carsen Germyn scored the game’s only goal on a power play late in the second period, and Curtis McElhinney earned his seventh shutout of the season, tied for the league lead.
Josh Tordjman made 32 saves in the loss for San Antonio.
CHICAGO 5, MILWAUKEE 4
Nathan Oystrick scored with 5:05 left in regulation as Chicago salvaged a 5-4 victory over Milwaukee at the Bradley Center.
The Wolves blew a 4-0 lead before Oystrick’s eventual game-winner, his fifth GWG of the season.
Former Admiral Darren Haydar had a goal and three assists for his sixth four-point game of the season for Chicago. The AHL’s leading scorer now has 115 points on the year.
Jason Krog added a goal and two assists for the Wolves, who remain two points behind first-place Omaha in the West Division.
Cal O’Reilly had a goal and two assists for Milwaukee, which fell six points behind the Wolves in third place.
