LOOKING BACK:
On Tuesday, Jerome Samson recorded a goal and two assists to lead Charlotte to its third straight win, 4-1 over Providence… Jon DiSalvatore chipped in three assists in Houston’s 4-1 triumph at Texas… Goaltender Leland Irving collected his AHL-best 21st win of the season as Abbotsford knocked off Hamilton, 4-3… Nick Johnson registered his 20th goal of the season as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton topped Manitoba, 4-1.
Mon 2/7
W-B/Scranton 4, ALBANY 0
Tue 2/8
CHARLOTTE 4, Providence 1
Abbotsford 4, HAMILTON 3
W-B/SCRANTON 4, Manitoba 1
Houston 4, TEXAS 1
LOOKING AHEAD:
Hershey visits Manchester tonight for the first time since rallying for an overtime win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals last May, en route to a six-game victory and ultimately the Calder Cup title… The Bears earned a 7-3 home-ice win over the Monarchs on Oct. 31 in the teams’ only previous meeting of 2010-11… Hershey enters on a nine-game points streak (8-0-0-1), while the Monarchs have a point in six straight (4-0-0-2)… Bears forward Keith Aucoin is riding an 11-game scoring streak (3-15-18), and the reigning AHL MVP now ranks 12th in league history with 477 career assists… Aucoin and Andrew Gordon each posted a goal and two helpers in Hershey’s Halloween night victory over Manchester… Brian Willsie has registered a point in nine straight games (9-5-14) for Hershey, and Boyd Kane has found the scoresheet in three in a row (2-3-5) and nine of 10 (4-8-12)… Manchester, which is opening a four-game homestand, sits two points up on Portland for first place in the Atlantic Division… Oscar Moller has tallied four goals in his last five games for the Monarchs, and Dwight King shows a goal in his last two outings (2-0-2)… Monarchs standout rookie goaltender Martin Jones (18-5-1, 2.11, .932) is coming off his fourth shutout of the year on Saturday at Albany.
A conference battle of teams looking to get back into their respective playoff races pits Grand Rapids at Chicago tonight… The Griffins (22-23-1-5) sit eight points back of Lake Erie for the North Division’s final postseason spot, while the Wolves (26-22-2-4) check in three points behind Oklahoma City for what would be a crossover berth in the Western Conference… Chicago has won three straight meetings between these teams since the Griffins’ wild 10-8 victory on Nov. 27, which featured a seven-point effort (2-5-7) by Grand Rapids forward Tomas Tatar… The 20-year-old Tatar enters tonight’s tilt with a point in three of his last four outings overall (2-2-4), and defenseman Doug Janik boasts a season-best five-game scoring streak (1-5-6)… 2011 AHL All-Star Ilari Filppula continues to pace the Griffins in both goals (16) and points (37) through 48 contests… Chicago, wrapping up a three-game homestand, is coming off a 4-2 victory over Peoria on Saturday… Veteran forwards Darren Haydar (5-4-9) and Jason Krog (0-8-8) have combined for 17 points in five games vs. Grand Rapids this season… Wolves forward Nigel Dawes is tied for fifth in the AHL with 23 goals thus far (23-16-39)… Chicago is 14-6-1-2 against North Division foes this year, compared with a 12-16-1-2 mark against its own West Division… The Wolves feature the AHL’s third-best power play (22.1 percent) but its 30th-ranked penalty kill (76.5 percent).
Milwaukee, locked in a three-way tie with San Antonio and Houston for first place in the West Division with 64 points, tonight hosts a Peoria club which sits just two points back of that trio… The Admirals bring a four-game winning streak into tonight’s action, one shy of their season-best five-game run achieved from Nov. 5-13… This is the opener of a four-game homestand for Milwaukee, which has played just 21 games at the Bradley Center and 28 on the road… Two-time defending Reebok/AHL player of the week Blake Geoffrion shows 13 points (5-8-13) in his last four games, and the rookie has registered 6-10-16 in his last six games after totaling 4-12-16 in his first 31 contests this season… Geoffrion’s linemate Ryan Thang is on a four-game scoring streak (2-6-8), and Linus Klasen – the third member of the trio – has a point in seven of his last eight outings (6-8-14)… Peoria stood at 25-10-2-1 after completing a five-game winning streak on Jan. 8 but is just 4-8-0-1 since… T.J. Hensick is riding a seven-game scoring run (4-6-10) for the Rivermen and has totaled 1-6-7 in five clashes with Milwaukee on the year… Rivermen defenseman Nathan Oystrick has recorded 4-4-8 in the season series… Peoria (22-4-1-2) and Milwaukee (16-2-2-3) both have impressive marks when scoring the game’s first goal.
(all times Eastern)
Wed 2/9
Connecticut @ Toronto, 11:00am
San Antonio @ Oklahoma City, 11:35am
Hershey @ Manchester, 7:00
Abbotsford @ Rochester, 7:05
Houston @ Rockford, 8:35
Grand Rapids @ Chicago, 8:00
Peoria @ Milwaukee, 8:00
Thu 2/10
No games scheduled
ALUMNI WATCH:
Rookie Mattias Tedenby scored twice, including the overtime winner, and second-year pro Nick Palmieri also scored as New Jersey edged Carolina, 3-2, on Tuesday… 2010 AHL All-Rookie forward Logan Couture scored and Antti Niemi made 25 saves for his second straight shutout as San Jose blanked Washington, 2-0.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1 — Regulation losses in the last 12 games for Houston (10-1-0-1), which has gone from 10 points back of first place to a share of the West Division’s top spot… In Rockford tonight, the Aeros will go for their first five-game win streak since taking six straight from Feb. 8-21, 2009..
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