BINGHAMTON 3, SYRACUSE 2 (OT)
Binghamton captain Denis Hamel’s second goal of the night – both on the power play – came 1:22 into overtime to lift the Senators to a 3-2 win over visiting Syracuse on Friday at the Broome County Arena.
Hamel scored his sixth and seventh goals of the campaign for Binghamton, which won its third straight and moved to 5-0-1-0 in its last six outings.
The Crunch jumped out to 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the opening periods on goals by Tom Sestito and Grant Clitsome, with a Binghamton foal from Ryan Shannon mixed in between.
Hamel then knotted the game at 2-2 with his first of the night at 12:12 of the second period, and the teams played a scoreless third frame.
Hamel’s overtime winner was assisted by Mattias Karlsson and Matt Carkner, both of whom picked up helpers on all three Binghamton scores.
Senators goaltender Brian Elliott stopped 32 of 34 shots in net to pick up his league-leading 15th win of the campaign (15-7-1).
With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s victory, the Senators (16-9-3-3, 38 points) remain tied with the Penguins for fourth place in the AHL’s East Division.
Syracuse is now winless in 10 straight games (0-8-1-1).
PROVIDENCE 3, WORCESTER 2 (SO)
Providence handed Worcester its first shootout loss of the season, a 3-2 decision at the DCU Center. The Sharks (16-14-0-1) had been one of two AHL teams yet to lose in overtime or the shootout this season.
Martins Karsums had a hand in both Bruins goals in regulation (1-1-2) and scored the winning shootout goal in the third round. Mikko Lehtonen also had a shootout marker, and Wacey Rabbit netted Providence’s other regulation goal.
Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask made a season-high 46 saves in the winning effort, and he stopped four of Worcester’s five shootout tries.
Derek Joslin and Lukas Kaspar scored in regulation for the Sharks, and Ryan Vesce had Worcester’s lone shootout score.
BRIDGEPORT 3, HARTFORD 1
Bridgeport jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period and went on to post a 3-1 win over intra-state rival Hartford at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Jamie Fraser, Jesse Joensuu, and Michael Haley netted goals for the Sound Tigers, while Jeremy Colliton and Ben Walter each chipped in a pair of assists.
Bridgeport goaltender Nathan Lawson stopped 28 of 29 shots in the win, which allowed the Sound Tigers (21-8-1-2, 45 points) to move into a first-place tie in the East Division with idle Hershey.
Artem Anisimov netted his 12th goal of the season for the Wolf Pack, tying him for the team lead in that category.
PEORIA 4, GRAND RAPIDS 3 (OT)
Peoria defenseman Justin Fletcher netted his first goal of the season at 2:51 of overtime to give the Rivermen a 4-3 road win over Grand Rapids before 6,497 fans at Van Andel Arena.
Recent acquisition Jonathan Filewich had a game-high three points (1-2-3) for the Rivermen, Julian Talbot posted a goal and a helper, and defenseman Jonas Junland also scored in the win.
Chris Conner and Josh Soares each contributed two assists on the night, and Peoria goaltender Chris Holt earned the win with 28 saves on 31 shots. The Rivermen converted on two of their three power play opportunities.
Evan McGrath scored twice and Ville Leino once for Grand Rapids in the losing effort.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, PHILADELPHIA 0
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender John Curry made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Penguins took a 4-0 road win over Philadelphia before 6,441 fans at the Wachovia Spectrum.
Curry, an AHL All-Rookie Team member in 2007-08, moved above .500 for the season at 6-5-0.
Chris Minard scored his league-leading 21st and 22nd goals of the season for the Penguins, while Luca Caputi and Ryan Stone also found the back of the net. Jeff Taffe assisted on all four tallies, and Jon D’Aversa chipped in a pair of helpers.
Minard now has six goals over his last four AHL games (6-1-7) and a point in six straight outings (6-3-9).
The Phantoms lost in regulation for the first time in December (7-1-0-1).
TORONTO 3, LAKE ERIE 1
Toronto used a pair of third-period goals to emerge with a 3-1 road win over Lake Erie in front of 9,668 fans at the Quicken Loans Arena.
Staffan Kronwall broke a 1-1 tie for the Marlies at 6:29 of the third period, and defenseman Todd Perry’s first career AHL goal provided insurance at the 11:15 mark.
Kyle Rogers initially gave Toronto a 1-0 lead in the opening period, but Monsters defenseman Kyle Cumiskey tied it in the second frame, extending his scoring streak to five games (3-4-7).
Marlies goaltender Adam Munro earned the victory with 31 saves on 32 shots.
MANCHESTER 3, SPRINGFIELD 1
Manchester snapped a four-game losing skid with a 3-1 road triumph over Springfield at the MassMutual Center.
Scott Parse, Bud Holloway, and David Meckler had the goals for the Monarchs. Parse’s score came on the power play, Holloway netted a shorthanded marker, and Meckler’s tally was at even strength.
Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier earned the victory with 24 saves on 25 shots.
Gilbert Brule netted a power play goal for the Falcons, who lost their fourth straight and fell to 3-11-1-0 in their last 15 contests.
ROCHESTER 2, HAMILTON 1
Rochester netted a pair of power play goals and held on for a 2-1 win over visiting Hamilton before 6,529 fans at the Blue Cross Arena.
Peter Aston had a goal and an assist for the Americans. He put his team on top 1-0 with 1:12 to play in the first period, and after a scoreless second, he assisted on David Brine’s man-advantage marker at 14:02 of the third.
The Bulldogs drew closer with a power play score of their own, as Mike Glumac converted with 3:22 left in regulation, but they could not get the equalizer.
Amerks netminder Mike Brodeur made 36 saves in the win, which moved Rochester to 4-1-0-0 in its last five outings.
MILWAUKEE 4, QUAD CITY 2
Milwaukee scored three times in the third period and doubled up visiting Quad City by a 4-2 count before 6,161 fans at the Bradley Center.
Alexander Sulzer, Nick Spaling, and Mark Matheson all scored in the third period for the Admirals, with Matheson picking up the first goal of his AHL career.
Triston Grant had a first-period goal for Milwaukee, and goaltender Drew MacIntyre made 17 saves on 19 shots to pick up the victory.
Kyle Greentree posted a goal and a helper for the Flames, and Kris Chucko also found the back of the net.
ROCKFORD 6, CHICAGO 2
Rockford avenged a 4-1 loss to Chicago last Sunday by posting a 6-2 win over the visiting Wolves on Friday at the MetroCentre.
Tim Brent and Danny Groulx posted a goal and an assist for the IceHogs, while Jimmy Sharrow, Evan Brophey, Nathan Davis, and Mike Radja also scored in the win.
Jack Skille and Andrew Archer each chipped in two assists, and goaltender Corey Crawford earned the win between the pipes with 30 saves on 32 shots.
Brett Sterling and Joe Motzko scored for the Wolves, who fell from first to third place in the tight West Division.
SAN ANTONIO 5, HOUSTON 3
Steven Goertzen netted a pair of goals to pace San Antonio to a 5-3 road win over Houston in front of 8,372 fans at the Toyota Center.
It marked the second straight 5-3 victory for a Rampage club that hadn’t scored more than four goals in any of its previous 25 games. San Antonio moved to 8-2-0-0 in its last 10 contests overall.
David Spina (1-1-2) and Joel Perrault (0-2-2) also had multiple points in the win, while Garth Murray and Wyatt Smith added goals.
Rampage goaltender Josh Tordjman made 22 saves on 25 shots in the winning effort.
Corey Locke had a hand in all three Aeros goals (1-2-3), and Jesse Schultz scored two of them.
