TORONTO 10, GRAND RAPIDS 5
Toronto set an AHL season high with 10 goals on Sunday afternoon in a 10-5 win over visiting Grand Rapids at Ricoh Coliseum. Reigning Reebok/AHL Player of the Week Tim Stapleton registered the league’s fourth four-goal effort of the season for the Marlies, while Andre Deveaux tallied a hat trick and added an assist.
Stapleton had only scored nine goals all season before Sunday’s contest but leads the Marlies with 46 points (13-33-46) in 44 games.
Alex Foster recorded two goals and an assist for the Marlies, and defenseman Anton Stralman (1-1-2) rounded out the offense.
Jiri Tlusty (0-4-4), AHL All-Star Jaime Sifers (0-3-3), Joe Ryan (0-2-2), and Ryan Hamilton (0-2-2) each posted multiple assists in the victory, which halted Toronto’s losing skid at two games.
The Marlies scored five times in the opening period, three in the second frame, and two in the third period to rack up the most goals in an AHL game since Syracuse also scored 10 on Apr. 6, 2008.
Toronto goaltender Justin Pogge earned the victory with 28 saves, improving his season record to 17-14-4.
Francis Lemieux tallied two goals and an assist for the Griffins, who received a goal and a helper apiece from Justin Abdelkader and Darren Haydar. Grand Rapids has now lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time since Nov. 16-18.
MANITOBA 3, MANCHESTER 2
Manitoba scored twice in the third period to rally for a 3-2 road win over Manchester on Sunday before 6,017 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
Pierre-Cedric Labrie tied the score for the Moose at 8:23 of the third frame, and Guilluame Desbiens netted the eventual game-winner on the power play at 12:31. The goal was assisted by Jason Jaffray and former University of New Hampshire standout Jason Krog.
Jaffray opened the game’s scoring with a shorthanded marker 9:14 into the second period, but the Monarchs grabbed a 2-1 lead on goals from Teddy Purcell and Trevor Lewis, who also scored shorthanded.
Moose goaltender Curtis Sanford earned the victory with 19 saves, as Manitoba moved two points up on Grand Rapids for first place in the North Division.
LOWELL 5, HARTFORD 3
Vladimir Zharkov and Patrick Davis scored just 47 seconds apart in the third period to break a 3-3 tie and give Lowell a 5-3 win over visiting Hartford at Tsongas Arena.
Zharkov tallied a power play marker at the 11:27 mark, and Davis followed with an even strength tally at 12:14.
The Devils originally took a 3-0 lead on first-period goals from Matthew Corrente, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, and Barry Tallackson.
But Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau and Brodie Dupont scored in the second frame for the Wolf Pack, and captain Greg Moore tied it with a shorthanded marker 10:19 into the third.
Zhakov’s game-winner came just 1:08 later, however. Lowell goaltender Jeff Frazee earned the victory with 22 saves on 25 shots.
PROVIDENCE 3, WORCESTER 2
Mikko Lehtonen scored a pair of power play goals in the third period to lift Providence to another win over Worcester, this time by a 3-2 final before 9,151 fans at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
The Bruins moved to 6-0-1-0 against Worcester this season and 21-6-1-1 overall since the Sharks joined the league in 2006-07.
Lehtonen made it a 2-2 game at 3:35 of the third frame and netted the game-winner with just 1:36 to play in regulation. Fellow rookie Brad Marchand scored in the opening period for Providence.
Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask secured the victory with 26 saves on 28 shots.
Rookie Jamie McGinn scored twice on the power play for the Sharks, the latter coming 45 seconds into the third period. Ryan Vesce assisted on that goal to extend his scoring streak to 16 games (8-17-25).
HAMILTON 1, LAKE ERIE 0
Rookie Brock Trotter’s goal at 15:07 of the opening period stood up as the game-winner as Hamilton took a 1-0 win over visiting Lake Erie on Sunday at Copps Coliseum.
Trotter registered his 10th tally of the campaign, with assists going to T.J. Kemp and Kyle Chipchura.
Bulldogs goaltender Marc Denis stopped all 25 shots he faced to earn his fourth shutout of the season and improve his record to 16-11-0.
The Monsters have now been shut out in each of their last three visits to Hamilton and fell to 2-5-0-0 overall against the Bulldogs this season.
PORTLAND 3, HERSHEY 2
Portland came back from a pair of one-goal deficits and eventually took a 3-2 road win over Hershey on Sunday before 8,226 fans at the Giant Center.
Defenseman Mike Kostka tallied the eventual game-winner for the Pirates at 8:17 of the second period, his fourth goal of the season.
Derek Whitmore and Aaron Slattengren also scored for Portland, which snapped a three-game winless skid (0-2-0-1) and moved into a third-place tie with Worcester in the Atlantic Division race.
Pirates goaltender John DeCaro earned his first career AHL victory with 37 saves in net.
Graham Mink and Quintin Laing netted first-period goals for the Bears, who saw their 10-game points streak (7-0-0-3) come to an end.
BINGHAMTON 2, SPRINGFIELD 1
Josh Hennessy scored with 4:40 left in regulation to break a 1-1 tie and send Binghamton to a 2-1 road win over Springfield on Sunday at the MassMutual Center.
Hennessy’s 15th goal of the campaign was assisted by Tomas Kudelka and Ilya Zubov, and it lifted the Senators to 3-0-2-0 in their last five games.
All of the game’s scoring occurred in the third period. Ryan Potulny gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 2:07, but Kudelka responded for the Sens with a power play score of his own at 13:12.
Senators goaltender Martin Gerber earned the victory with 27 saves, as Binghamton (27-16-5-3, 62 points) moved one point ahead of Bridgeport for third place in the East Division race.
Springfield fell to 0-6-1-0 in its last seven contests.
MILWAUKEE 5, PEORIA 4
AHL All-Star Cal O’Reilly tallied his first professional hat trick and added an assist on Sunday to help Milwaukee edge Peoria by a 5-4 count before 6,148 fans at the Bradley Center.
O’Reilly is pacing Milwaukee with 52 points (10-42-52) in 50 games this season.
Hugh Jessiman chipped in with a pair of goals for the Admirals, and goaltender Mark Dekanich earned the win in net with 19 saves on 23 shots. Milwaukee moved 12 points up on second-place Rockford in the West Division.
Chris Porter, Julian Talbot, Chris Conner, and Trent Whitfield all scored for the Rivermen, and Justin Fletcher posted two assists.
PHILADELPHIA 2, BRIDGEPORT 1
John Laliberte scored with 3:22 left in regulation to snap a 1-1 tie and lift Philadelphia to a key 2-1 win over visiting Bridgeport on Sunday before 6,590 fans at the Wachovia Spectrum.
The win brought the Phantoms (27-22-1-1, 56 points) within five points of the Sound Tigers (28-17-3-2) for the East Division’s fourth and final playoff spot.
Defenseman Danny Syvret also scored for the Phantoms, and Jonathan Matsumoto assisted on both Philadelphia scores.
Phantoms goaltender Scott Munroe secured the win with 35 saves between the pipes, improving his season mark to 21-12-1.
Sound Tigers defenseman Jamie Fraser netted his team’s lone goal of the game with a minute to play in the second period.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 5, NORFOLK 0
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton kept rolling along with a 5-0 win over visiting Norfolk on Sunday before 6,656 fans at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza.
Jean-Michel Daoust netted a pair of goals for the Penguins, and Mark Letestu racked up a game-high three points (1-2-3) in the winning effort. Janne Pesonen posted a goal and a helper, and rookie Dustin Jeffrey also lit the lamp.
Jeff Taffe chipped in with a pair of assists, and goaltender John Curry turned aside 32 shots to earn his third shutout of the season.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has now matched its season high with a five-game winning streak and is within seven points of Hershey for first place in the East Division.
HOUSTON 6, CHICAGO 3
A four-goal third period sparked Houston to a 6-3 road win over Chicago on Sunday at Allstate Arena.
Jesse Schultz netted a pair of goals in the third for the Aeros, while Corey Locke and Matt Kassian (first career AHL goal) scored once apiece. The four goals came just 9:09 apart.
John Lammers and Marco Rosa also lit the lamp for Houston, and Krys Kolanos chipped in a trio of assists. Aeros goaltender Nolan Schaefer earned the win with 23 saves, as Houston pulled into a tie with Chicago for the fourth and final guaranteed playoff spot in the West Division.
Jeff Hamilton, Spencer Machacek, and Joey Crabb netted goals for the Wolves, who wrap up a three-game homestand on Wednesday against Rochester.
SAN ANTONIO 2, ROCHESTER 1
San Antonio edged Rochester by a 2-1 count on Sunday at the Blue Cross Arena to pick up its first win of a 13-game road trip (1-2-1-1).
Adam Perry scored his first career AHL goal unassisted at 2:58 of the third period, and it held up as the game-winner. David Spina also lit the lamp for the Rampage.
Americans rookie Michal Repik made it a 2-1 game with 2:25 to play in regulation, but Rochester was unable to get the equalizer.
Rampage goaltender Al Montoya made 25 saves on 26 shots to pick up his first victory since Jan. 1.
The win also lifted San Antonio out of last place in the West Division, as the Rampage (22-30-1-2, 47 points) are now one point up on Quad City and just eight points out of a playoff spot. San Antonio is 20-10-1-1 since beginning the season 2-20-0-1.
