LOOKING BACK:
On Thursday, Bryan Helmer notched three points (2-1-3) to become the AHL’s all-time leading scoring defenseman as Oklahoma City routed Peoria, 7-2… Adam Keefe scored twice to lead Grand Rapids past San Antonio, 5-2… Corey Elkins and Dwight King each had a pair of goals in Manchester’s 6-4 win at Charlotte… Rookie Eddie Lack posted a 27-save shutout as Manitoba tok the opener of its two-game set with Milwaukee, 3-0.
Wed 1/12
Texas 4, CHICAGO 2
HAMILTON 3, Lake Erie 2
Houston 4, ROCKFORD 2
Thu 1/13
Manchester 6, CHARLOTTE 4
Grand Rapids 5, SAN ANTONIO 2
Oklahoma City 7, PEORIA 2
MANITOBA 3, Milwaukee 0
LOOKING AHEAD:
Tied for second place in the Atlantic Division at 47 points apiece, Connecticut and Portland go head-to-head for the third time this season tonight at the Cumberland County Civic Center… The Whale emerged with an overtime victory in each of the first two clashes, on Dec. 29 in Hartford and two days later in Portland, with ex-Pirate Tim Kennedy notching the game-winner on both occasions… Brodie Dupont shows a point in three straight games (2-1-3) and five of six (3-2-5) for the Whale, who are coming off a two-game split at Norfolk last weekend… Connecticut’s Jeremy Williams is part of a four-way tie for the AHL lead with 20 goals (20-12-32) in 41 outings… Portland is 12-3-3-1 on home ice this year but dropped a 5-2 decision to Binghamton on Tuesday in its most recent action… Pirates rookie Maxime Legault (4-1-5) and veteran Mark Mancari (3-2-5) are each riding four-game scoring streaks, while Dennis McCauley shows a point in his last three outings (2-2-4)… Paul Byron has recorded a team-high three points (2-1-3) against Connecticut this year… The Whale come in sporting nearly identical records this season at home (10-7-2-1) and on the road (10-7-0-4).
Bridgeport visits Norfolk for a two-game set this weekend in an Eastern Conference battle of teams looking to halt recent slides… The Sound Tigers are on a five-game winless skid (0-3-0-2) since an 8-2-0-1 run, while the Admirals remain third in the East Division despite earning just one win in their last eight contests (1-3-2-1)… Bridgeport collected a pair of home-ice victories over Norfolk in November… Rookie David Ullstrom racked up 1-4-5 in those two contests for Bridgeport, and his 20 points overall (6-14-20) rank second on the club behind 2011 AHL All-Star Rhett Rakhshani (10-22-32)… Rakhshani has just 0-3-3 in his last nine games… Sound Tigers defenseman Mark Katic has registered a point in three of his last four outings (2-1-3)… Marc-Antoine Pouliot shows a point in four of his last five games (2-5-7) for the Admirals, who continue to boast the AHL’s top-rated offense (3.63 goals per game)… Norfolk leading goal-scorer Johan Harju (15-11-26), a 2011 AHL All-Star, shows just one goal in his last nine contests… The Admirals are 8-3-3-1 against the Atlantic Division this season.
A North Division battle pits Toronto against Abbotsford in British Columbia tonight and Sunday, the latter of which will be televised live on CBC (Canada) and NHL Network (U.S.)… The Marlies (19-15-0-7) enter the weekend four points up on the Heat (18-17-2-3) for third place in the division race… Toronto, which has already hosted Abbotsford three times this year (2-1-0-0), is 2-1-0-2 thus far on a nine-game road swing… Mike Zigomanis paces the Marlies with 22 points (5-17-22) in 33 games, and Christian Hanson leads the active roster with 10 goals (10-10-20)… Rookie Marcel Mueller has gone without a point in the two games since his six-game scoring run (1-7-8) came to an end… Abbotsford, which is 2-3-1-0 so far on a season-high 10-game homestand, is coming off back-to-back shootout wins over Adirondack last weekend… Matt Keith has a team-high 13 goals (13-5-18) for the Heat, and his 18 points are one shy of rookie Greg Nemisz (11-8-19) for the club lead… Keith shows 2-1-3 in three match-ups with Toronto… Seven of Abbotsford’s 18 victories have come via the shootout. (all times Eastern)
Fri 1/14
Binghamton @ Albany, 7:00
Manchester @ Charlotte, 7:00
Connecticut @ Portland, 7:00
Syracuse @ Hamilton, 7:00
Worcester @ Providence, 7:05 
Worcester @ Springfield, 7:30
Bridgeport @ Norfolk, 7:30
Hershey @ Adirondack, 7:30
Lake Erie @ Rochester, 7:35
Oklahoma City @ Peoria, 8:05
Texas @ Rockford, 7:05
Houston @ Chicago, 8:30
Toronto @ Abbotsford, 10:00
Sat 1/15
W-B/Scranton @ Adirondack, 7:00
Springfield @ Albany, 7:00
Worcester @ Portland, 7:00
Providence @ Connecticut, 7:00
Lake Erie @ Hershey, 7:00
Manchester @ Binghamton, 7:05
Bridgeport @ Norfolk, 7:15
Rochester @ Syracuse, 7:30
Rockford @ Chicago, 8:00
Oklahoma City @ San Antonio, 8:00
Texas @ Peoria, 8:05
Milwaukee @ Manitoba, 8:30
Grand Rapids @ Houston, 8:35
Sun 1/16
Toronto @ Abbotsford, 2:00
Portland @ Springfield, 2:00
W-B/Scranton @ Connecticut, 3:00
Adirondack @ Syracuse, 4:00
Worcester @ Providence, 4:05
Norfolk @ Charlotte, 5:00
San Antonio @ Chicago, 5:00
Grand Rapids @ Houston, 5:05
Lake Erie @ Rochester, 5:05
Hershey @ Binghamton, 5:05
Mon 1/17
San Antonio @ Rockford, 4:05
ALUMNI WATCH:
On Thursday, 2011 AHL All-Star Linus Omark netted a goal in Edmonton’s 5-2 victory at San Jose… Defenseman Steven Kampfer, named a 2011 AHL All-Star with 3-13-16 in 20 games for Providence, notched the game-winning goal late in the third period as Boston topped Philadelphia, 7-5.
BY THE NUMBERS:
999 — Regular-season AHL games coached by Worcester’s Roy Sommer, who has been in charge of the San Jose Sharks’ AHL affiliates since the 1998-99 season. Sommer is set to become the fourth man in league history to reach the 1,000 games coached plateau when his Sharks visit Springfield tonight.
AHL LIVE:
Watch live games, highlights and features, get video on demand and more all season long with AHL Live. Visit ahllive.com for more information.
