Jarkko Immonen set a franchise record with five goals to lead the Hartford Wolf Pack to a 6-0 victory over the first-place Portland Pirates at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Saturday night.
Immonen opened the scoring 8:18 into the game, scored twice more in the second period to cinch his first career hat trick, then scored two more goals 44 seconds apart in the third.
A native of Finland in his first North American season, Immonen now leads the Wolf Pack with 23 goals and 45 points on the season.
Al Montoya made 34 saves for his second shutout of the season.
Thomas Pock, Fedor Fedorov and Daniel Girardi registered two assists apiece for the Wolf Pack.
The 23-year-old Immonen, acquired by the N.Y. Rangers from Toronto in the Brian Leetch trade of 2004, became the first Wolf Pack player ever to score more than three goals in a regular-season game. He then topped Chris Kenady‘s four-goal effort in a 2000 playoff contest by netting his fifth goal on Saturday on a penalty shot.
Elsewhere on Saturday:
Ahren Nittel scored twice and Gregg Naumenko made 41 saves as Albany defeated Lowell, 5-3
Trent Whitfield‘s goal with 40 seconds left in regulation gave Peoria a 3-2 win over Cleveland
Karl Goehring suffered his first loss in nine career shootouts, as John Pohl and Colin Murphy scored to give Toronto a 2-1 win over San Antonio
Frederic Cassivi made 29 saves as Hershey beat Philadelphia, 3-0, before 10,007 fans at the Giant Center
Kent McDonell scored three times and Jiri Hudler, Bryan Helmer and Clay Wilson recorded three assists apiece as Grand Rapids soared past Syracuse, 7-1
Clarke MacArthur had a pair of goals as Rochester went into Wilkes-Barre and defeated the Penguins, 4-2
Rob Collins picked up a goal and an assist and Garth Snow made 29 saves in his first AHL appearance in five years as Bridgeport beat Providence, 4-1
Brandon Bochenski tallied a goal and an assist and Binghamton went 12-for-13 on the penalty kill in a 2-1 win over Norfolk
Brad Winchester scored 2:08 into overtime to give Hamilton a 2-1 win at Manchester
Brent Krahn made 37 saves and Omaha scored three power-play goals in a 4-0 win over Chicago
Manitoba scored three power-play goals and one shorthanded marker in a 5-2 victory over Iowa
Kirby Law and Patrick O’Sullivan scored two goals apiece for Houston, but Scottie Upshall registered a hat trick for Milwaukee and netted the final shootout goal in the Admirals’ 6-5 win over the Aeros.
