MANITOBA 6, GRAND RAPIDS 4
Manitoba staked itself to a 4-0 lead after the first period and held on for a key 6-4 road win over Grand Rapids on Friday in front of 8,589 fans at Van Andel Arena.
AHL All-Star Jason Krog registered a hat trick and an assist for the Moose, who are 6-1-0-0 in their last seven games and moved two points up on the Griffins for first place in the North Division.
Jason Jaffray put up a three-point effort (1-2-3) for Manitoba, while Guillaume Desbiens and Michael Grabner rounded out the Moose’s scoring.
Jaffray and Krog were each plus-4 in the contest, while Raymond Sawada contributed a pair of assists for Manitoba.
The Moose built a 6-1 advantage before Grand Rapids scored three times in the third period to make it closer. Francis Pare paced the Griffins with three points (2-1-3), Ville Leino had a goal and an assist, and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson also lit the lamp.
AHL All-Star goaltender Cory Schneider made 26 saves for Manitoba, improving his season record to 15-2-0.
HERSHEY 5, BRIDGEPORT 3
Alexandre Giroux continued his march toward AHL history and Francois Bouchard recorded three points (1-2-3) as Hershey took a 5-3 road win over Bridgeport in a match-up of the East Division’s top two teams.
Giroux scored twice for the Bears and now has a goal in 13 straight outings (19-7-26), moving within one game of the AHL record of 14 set by Brett Hull in the 1986-87 season.
Rookies Oskar Osala and Mathieu Perreault each had a goal and an assist for the Bears, who snapped a season-high three-game losing skid. Hershey goaltender Daren Machesney picked up the win with 36 saves.
Ben Walter netted a pair of goals for the Sound Tigers, and AHL All-Star Mike Iggulden had a goal and a helper. Bridgeport has now dropped consecutive games in regulation for the first time all season.
BINGHAMTON 6, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4
Shawn Weller broke a 4-4 deadlock with 3:54 left in regulation, sending Binghamton on its way to a 6-4 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a back-and-forth game at the Broome County Arena.
Peter Regin scored twice and Ilya Zubov put up a game-high three points (1-2-3) for the Senators, who squandered leads of 1-0, 3-2, and 4-3 before finally prevailing in the end.
Weller and Denis Hamel each finished with a goal and an assist in the game, while Josh Hennessy also found the back of the net. Danny Bois and rookie Zack Smith each posted two assists, and goaltender Martin Gerber made 43 saves in the first game of his conditioning assignment from parent-club Ottawa.
The B-Sens captured their third straight win and moved within a point of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for third place in the East Division.
Jeff Taffe, Luca Caputi, Tommy Goebel, and Ryan Stone all netted goals for the Penguins.
PHILADELPHIA 5, LOWELL 4
Jeffrey Szwez’s goal at 12:01 of the third period snapped a 4-4 tie and lifted Philadelphia to a 5-4 win over visiting Lowell before 6,948 fans at the Wachovia Spectrum.
The Phantoms raced to a 4-1 lead on the strength of an even strength goal by Andreas Nodl and power play markers off the sticks of Jared Ross, David Laliberte, and AHL All-Star Danny Syvret.
But the Devils battled back to a draw, as rookies Michael Swift (two) and Matt Halischuk (one) combined for three goals.
That set the stage for Szwez, who registered his ninth goal of the season and fifth game-winner. Phantoms goaltender Scott Munroe stopped 37 of 41 shots to pick up the victory.
PORTLAND 5, PROVIDENCE 3
Portland rallied for three goals in the third period, turning a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 road win over Providence before 9,179 fans at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
AHL All-Star Nathan Gerbe, who also scored in the opening stanza, began the Pirates’ rally with the tying goal 7:38 into the third, and Marek Zagrapan tallied the eventual game-winner at 11:41. Felix Schutz provided an insurance marker at the 15:13 mark.
Defenseman Zach Tarkir rounded out the Pirates’ offense, and goaltender Jhonas Enroth stopped 37 shots between the pipes. Portland moved within two points of the B’s for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Mikko Lehtonen, Jeremy Reich, and AHL All-Star Martins Karsums scored for the Bruins.
Prior to Friday, Providence had won 86 consecutive games in which it took a lead into the third period since a 3-2 shootout loss to Hartford on March 26, 2006.
WORCESTER 3, NORFOLK 2 (SO)
Worcester rookie Matt Fornataro tallied the game-tying goal six minutes into the third period and then potted the winning shootout marker in the seventh round to lift the Sharks over Norfolk by a 3-2 count at the Scope.
Fornataro’s tying tally was assisted by AHL All-Star Ryan Vesce, who upped his scoring streak to nine games (4-8-12). Vesce also scored in the shootout, as did Jamie McGinn.
Torrey Mitchell, on a conditioning stint from San Jose and playing his first game of the season, scored a second-period goal for the Sharks. Worcester goaltender Thomas Greiss earned the win, making 31 saves through the first 65 minutes and stopping five of seven in the shootout.
Bracken Kearns and Brandon Bochenski scored in regulation for the Admirals, who will host Worcester for a rematch on Saturday.
ROCHESTER 5, MANCHESTER 3
Janis Sprukts tallied a hat trick and an assist as Rochester rallied for a 5-3 road win over Manchester at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
The Monarchs initially built a 3-1 advantage on the strength of goals from Matt Moulson, David Meckler, and Brad Richardson, who is with Manchester on a conditioning stint.
But Sprukts scored his second of the night at 17:14 of the second period to make it 3-2 and then tied it with a power play marker at 12:42, completing his hat trick.
Shawn Matthias netted the game-winner just 46 seconds later, and Kenndal McArdle added an empty-netter with 1:15 to play.
Defenseman Jason Garrison registered four assists on the night, and AHL All-Star goaltender Mike Brodeur stopped 33 of 36 shots in the winning effort.
HAMILTON 4, LAKE ERIE 0
Rookie goaltender Loic Lacasse registered a 28-save shutout to lift Hamilton over visiting Lake Erie by a 4-0 count at Copps Coliseum.
It marked Lacasse’s second whitewash of the Monsters in an eight-day span, following a 22-save effort in a 3-0 triumph on Jan. 9.
Ben Maxwell, Alex Henry, Yanick Lehoux, and Mathieu Aubin all potted goals for the Bulldogs, who ended a brief two-game losing skid.
T.J. Kemp and defenseman Ryan O’Byrne each chipped in a pair of assists in the winning effort.
HARTFORD 3, SPRINGFIELD 1
Hartford rallied from a 1-0 deficit to take a 3-1 win over visiting Springfield on Friday at the XL Center.
The Falcons’ Rob Schremp gave his team the early lead with a power play goal just 3:53 into the contest, but Hartford’s Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau tied it with a 5-on-3 marker at the 18:47 mark.
After a scoreless second stanza, the Wolf Pack took the lead for good when defenseman Corey Potter lit the lamp on the power play 1:23 into the third. Mike Ouellette added an insurance tally with 3:51 left in regulation.
Hartford goaltender Miika Wiikman stopped 22 of 23 shots in the win.
SYRACUSE 2, ALBANY 1
Syracuse tallied a pair of third-period goals to edge visiting Albany by a 2-1 count at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
After a scoreless opening stanza, AHL All-Star Michael Ryan gave the River Rats a 1-0 lead with a power play tally 3:09 into the second, and Albany took the slim lead into intermission.
The Crunch’s Derek MacKenzie then netted a power play goal of his own for the equalizer 5:19 into the third, and Maksim Mayorov’s unassisted marker at 15:27 proved to be the game-winner.
Syracuse goaltender Sebastian Dahm earned the victory with 30 saves on 31 shots, helping the Crunch to their fourth win in five games (4-1-0-0).
PEORIA 2, SAN ANTONIO 1
Justin Fletcher scored with 30.7 seconds left in regulation to lift Peoria over host San Antonio by a 2-1 count before 6,957 fans at the AT&T Center.
AHL All-Star defenseman Jonas Junland netted a first-period goal for the Rivermen, and rookie Ben Bishop made a season-high 48 saves to earn the win.
Chad Kolarik lit the lamp in the second period for the Rampage, who have Saturday off before hosting Peoria for a rematch on Sunday.
IOWA 3, QUAD CITY 2
Eric Boguniecki scored at 19:35 of the third period, breaking a 2-2 tie and giving Iowa a 3-2 win over visiting Quad City at the Wells Fargo Arena.
T.J. Trevelyan and defenseman Brian Salcido each posted a goal and an assist for the Chops, and Petteri Wirtanen contributed two assists on the night.
Chops goaltender David LeNeveu earned the victory with 28 saves, helping his team snap a three-game winless slide (0-2-0-1).
Kyle Greentree netted his team-leading 18th and 19th goals of the season for the Flames, who dropped to 0-2-0-0 on their nine-game road swing.
CHICAGO 3, ROCKFORD 2
Joe Motzko and Jeff Hamilton each racked up a goal and two assists to help Chicago edge intra-state rival Rockford by a 3-2 count on Friday at the MetroCentre.
Defenseman Brett Skinner also scored for the Wolves, who captured just their third win in nine games against the IceHogs this season (3-5-0-1). Chicago has now won back-to-back contests overall for the first time since Dec. 14-18.
Wolves goaltender Robert Gherson made 25 saves on 27 shots in the winning effort.
Rockford’s Pascal Pelletier clinched his third 20-goal season in the past four years, and defenseman Jimmy Sharrow also lit the lamp for the IceHogs.
HOUSTON 3, TORONTO 2 (SO)
Houston scored on its final three shootout tries to emerge with a 3-2 win over visiting Toronto before 7,732 fans at the Toyota Center.
Corey Locke, Morten Madsen, and Matt Beaudoin all lit the lamp in the shootout after Marlies goaltender Justin Pogge denied Jesse Schultz in the opening round.
Beaudoin and Ryan Hamilton tallied power play goals in regulation for the Aeros. Houston goaltender Nolan Schaefer made 35 saves through the first 65 minutes and stopped all three of Toronto’s shootout attempts.
Boyd Devereaux and Mark Bell scored in regulation for the Marlies, who suffered their second straight shootout loss and fell to 2-1-1-2 on their nine-game road swing, which continues on Monday in San Antonio.
