MILWAUKEE 4, CHICAGO 0
Milwaukee used goals from four different skaters and 22 saves from goaltender Pekka Rinne on its way to a 4-0 shutout of host Chicago on Wednesday at the Allstate Arena.
It marked the second blanking of the season for Rinne and the Admirals over the Wolves, who entered the contest averaging an AHL-high 4.05 goals per game.
Andreas Thuresson had a goal and an assist for Milwaukee, while Janne Niskala, Kelsey Wilson, and Josh Langfeld also scored.
Admirals defenseman Alex Henry assisted on all four of his club’s goals after posting seven points (2-5-7) in his first 39 games combined.
Milwaukee held a final shots advantage of 45-22, including 18-4 in the third period alone.
Rinne’s other blanking of the Wolves came on Oct. 27, when he made 28 saves in a 1-0 overtime victory at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
Chicago’s four-game winning streak came to an end with the loss. The Wolves had notched a total of 23 goals over the four-game run, outscoring opponents 23-13.
BINGHAMTON 2, PORTLAND 1 (SO)
Playing in his first game since Dec. 15, Binghamton’s Denis Hamel scored in the seventh round of a shootout to push the Senators past visiting Portland by a 2-1 final at the Broome County Arena.
Hamel, who will captain the 2008 Canadian AHL All-Star team, missed the Senators’ last 13 games due to injury.
Nick Foligno also scored in the shootout for the B-Sens, and goaltender Brian Elliott stopped six of seven shots after making 46 saves through regulation and overtime.
Bobby Ryan notched a regulation and shootout goal for the Pirates, whose winning streak came to an end at four games.
Binghamton’s Josh Hennessy scored in regulation. He and Ryan both scored in the second period.
With the victory, the Senators moved to 4-0-1-1 in their last six games.
HARTFORD 5, WORCESTER 2
Alex Bourret scored a goal and added two assists as Hartford defeated Worcester by a 5-2 count at the XL Center.
Michael Sauer, Dane Byers, Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, and Hugh Jessiman also notched goals for the Wolf Pack, who moved to 5-0-0-0 against the Sharks this season.
Hartford goaltender Miika Wiikman picked up the win with 33 saves on 35 shots.
Lukas Kaspar and Tom Cavanagh scored for the Sharks.
SYRACUSE 5, PHILADELPHIA 3
Syracuse used a four-goal second period to post a 5-3 win over Philadelphia at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Derek MacKenzie paced the Crunch’s offense with a goal and two helpers.
Gilbert Brule, Zenon Konopka, and Adam Pineault tallied a goal and an assist apiece for the Crunch, and Joakim Lindstrom scored in his first game after being reassigned from parent-club Columbus.
Syracuse goaltender Adam Munro made 21 saves in the victory.
Phantoms leading goal-scorer Pete Zingoni lit the lamp, as did Kyle Greentree and Triston Grant.
GRAND RAPIDS 4, ROCHESTER 3 (SO)
Mark Cullen scored the lone shootout goal for either side as Grand Rapids took a 4-3 win over visiting Rochester at Van Andel Arena.
Griffins goaltender Jimmy Howard denied all four Rochester tries in the shootout after stopping 27 of 30 shots through the first 65 minutes of play.
After Mark Hartigan gave Grand Rapids a 1-0 lead in the first period, Rochester’s Stefan Meyer scored consecutive goals to make it 2-1 Americans.
Carl Corazzini and Jakub Kindl tallied third-period goals to regain the Griffins’ lead, but Amerks winger Mark Mancari notched his 12th of the campaign with just 30 seconds remaining to force overtime.
BRIDGEPORT 3, NORFOLK 2
Jeff Tambellini notched a pair of goals as Bridgeport rallied past host Norfolk by a 3-2 final at the Scope.
After a scoreless first stanza, the Admirals took a quick 2-0 lead when Rob Klinkhammer and Paul Szczechura scored 1:36 apart in the second period.
Szczechura’s goal came in his first game for Norfolk since being acquired from the Iowa Stars on Tuesday.
Tambellini cut the Sound Tigers’ deficit in half at 14:10 of the second, and Ben Walter tallied the equalizer on the power play in the stanza’s last second.
Tambellini notched the game-winner at 3:31 of the third period, giving him 22 goals on the season (24-23-47), which is tied with Providence’s Pascal Pelletier for tops in the AHL.
Bridgeport goaltender Mike Morrison earned the win with 33 saves on 35 shots.
ROCKFORD 4, MANCHESTER 1
Rockford scored three times in the first period and cruised to a 4-1 win over visiting Manchester at the MetroCentre.
After allowing the game’s first tally, the IceHogs received first-period goals from Petri Kontiola, Bryan Bickell, and Troy Brouwer within a span of 2:38.
Evan Brophey added a third-period marker for Rockford, and goaltender Corey Crawford picked up the win with 33 saves.
Trevor Lewis notched the Monarchs’ lone goal, but Manchester lost for the first time on a six-game non-divisional road swing (3-1-0-0), which continues on Friday in Milwaukee.
TORONTO 3, QUAD CITY 2
John Mitchell broke a 2-2 tie in the third period to give Toronto a 3-2 victory over host Quad City at the I Wireless Center.
David Ling and Michel Leveille also netted goals for the Marlies, who won for the second time in as many days.
Toronto goaltender Justin Pogge made 28 saves and improved to 13-3-4 on the season.
Grant Stevenson and Warren Peters lit the lamp for the Flames, who dropped to 0-1-1-0 on a four-game homestand.
