GRAND RAPIDS 6, ROCKFORD 5 (SO)
Grand Rapids got out to a 5-2 lead after the first period and eventually took a 6-5 shootout win over visiting Rockford in a wild game on Wednesday at Van Andel Arena.
Ville Leino, who was one of five Griffins to score in the opening period, finished with a goal and an assist in regulation and a pair of successful tries in the shootout.
Justin Abdelkader and Francis Pare staked Grand Rapids to a 2-0 lead just 2:39 into the game, but the IceHogs tied it by the 8:47 mark on goals by Jack Skille and Pascal Pelletier.
Aaron Gagnon regained the Griffins’ lead just eight seconds after Pelletier’s goal, and Logan Pyatt and Leino followed with tallies to make it 5-2 after 20 minutes.
Rockford’s Rob Klinkhammer scored the only goal of the middle frame. Jake Dowell brought the IceHogs within 5-4 with an unassisted shorthanded tally at 7:08 of the third, and Pete MacArthur tied it with 1:20 left in regulation.
Evan McGrath also scored in the shootout for the Griffins, and Leino’s second score ended it in the sixth round. Grand Rapids goaltender Daniel Larsson stopped 36 shots in regulation and denied four of six shootout attempts.
BRIDGEPORT 4, HOUSTON 3 (SO)
Bridgeport coughed up a late 3-0 lead but recovered to post a 4-3 shootout win over visiting Houston at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
The Sound Tigers scored once in each of the regulation periods, receiving a pair of goals from Kurtis McLean and one from Ben Walter.
But for the second time in an 11-day span, the Aeros rallied for three goals in the final three minutes of regulation to send a game to overtime.
All three goals came on the power play. Marco Rosa started it 17:07, Ryan Hamilton followed 40 seconds later, and Corey Locke tallied the equalizer at the 18:29 mark.
After a scoreless overtime, 2009 AHL All-Stars Andrew MacDonald and Mike Iggulden scored in the shootout for Bridgeport, and goaltender Yann Danis stopped all four Houston tries. Danis made 27 saves through regulation and overtime.
IOWA 3, PEORIA 1
All of the game’s goals were scored in the third period as Iowa took a 3-1 road win over Peoria on Wednesday at Carver Arena.
The win pushed the Chops (20-13-2-2) two points up on the Rivermen (20-17-1-1) for second place in the West Division race. Peoria dropped into a three-way tie for third with Rockford and Houston.
Eric Boguniecki, Matt Beleskey, and Josh Green netted goals for the Chops, and goaltender David LeNeveu picked up the victory with 22 saves on 23 shots.
Jeff Cowan scored the Rivermen’s lone goal.
LOWELL 3, PORTLAND 2
Lowell rallied for a pair of third-period goals and took a 3-2 win over visiting Portland at Tsongas Arena on Wednesday.
The Devils trailed 2-1 entering the frame but received markers from Nicklas Bergfors (7:11) and defenseman Tyler Eckford (11:30) to take the lead for good.
Alexander Vasyunov also scored for Lowell, and 2009 AHL All-Star goaltender Jeff Frazee stopped 34 of 36 shots in the win, which was the Devils’ fifth in their last six games (5-1-0-0).
Marek Zagrapan netted both goals for the Pirates, with Nathan Gerbe assisting on each.
MANCHESTER 3, PROVIDENCE 2 (OT)
Trevor Lewis lit the lamp 3:13 into overtime to lift Manchester over visiting Providence by a 3-2 count at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
Gabe Gauthier netted a pair of power play goals in regulation for the Monarchs, and Lewis assisted on both of those markers to finish with three points on the night.
Manchester goaltender Jeff Zatkoff earned the victory with 29 saves between the pipes.
Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist for the Bruins, whose three-game winning streak came to an end. Martins Karsums also scored in the loss.
SYRACUSE 2, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 1
Syracuse scored a pair of power play goals in the third period to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 road win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the Wachovia Arena.
Mike York scored for the Crunch at 2:20 of the final frame, and Tom Sestito followed at the 7:45 mark to record his second game-winning goal in as many nights.
The Crunch have now won two consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 15-16, which also included a victory over the Penguins in Wilkes-Barre.
Syracuse goaltender Sebastian Dahm stopped 20 of 21 shots in the win, surrendering only a goal to Penguins rookie Luca Caputi in the opening period.
HERSHEY 3, NORFOLK 2
Hershey scored a pair of goals in the latter half of the third period to rally past host Norfolk by a 3-2 count at the Scope.
Trailing 2-1, the Bears’ Kyle Wilson tied it with a power play tally at 10:51, and Andrew Joudrey netted the game-winner at 14:51. Hershey has now won seven straight visits to Norfolk.
Alexandre Giroux extended his goal-scoring streak to eight games with a first-period marker for the Bears, and goaltender Simeon Varlamov earned the victory with 35 saves on 37 shots.
Brandon Bochenski and Justin Keller had goals for the Admirals.
SAN ANTONIO 5, CHICAGO 3
Rookie Chad Kolarik registered three points (1-2-3) to lead San Antonio to a 5-3 road win over Chicago on Wednesday at Allstate Arena.
Jeff Hoggan scored twice for the Rampage, Wyatt Smith once, and Joel Perrault chipped in a pair of assists in the victory.
Rampage goaltender Josh Tordjman stopped 25 of 28 shots in the winning effort.
Jordan LaVallee scored twice for the Wolves, and Brett Sterling added a goal and an assist.
MANITOBA 3, HARTFORD 2 (OT)
Defenseman Nolan Baumgartner scored with 1.7 seconds left in overtime to give Manitoba a 3-2 win over Hartford and a split of the teams’ two-game set at the MTS Centre.
Jason Krog and Jannik Hansen (his first AHL goal of the season) also scored for the Moose, and Guillaume Desbiens chipped in a pair of assists.
Moose goaltender Cory Schneider earned the victory with 33 saves, improving to 11-0-0 in his last 11 AHL decisions.
Mike Ouellette and Brodie Dupont netted goals for the Wolf Pack.
