HARTFORD 7, SPRINGFIELD 3
Hartford unloaded for seven goals in its home opener and took a 7-3 win over Springfield before 8,385 fans at the XL Center on Saturday. Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau tallied his first three goals of the season for the Wolf Pack, and Corey Locke stayed hot with two goals and an assist.
Locke, an offseason acquisition by the parent New York Rangers, shows five goals and six points in his first three games of the campaign.
Defenseman Nigel Williams and forward Brodie Dupont also scored for the Wolf Pack, who grabbed a 3-0 lead before the game was 11 minutes old. Hartford finished 4-for-11 on the power play, and Parenteau completed his hat trick with a penalty shot goal late in the third period.
Dale Weise chipped in two assists in the win, and goaltenders Matt Zaba and Chad Johnson combined to make 35 saves.
Geoff Paukovich and Ryan Potulny notched goals for the Falcons, who have been outscored 17-8 in dropping three straight since winning their season opener on Oct. 3.
ALBANY 6, ROCHESTER 1
Six different River Rats lit the lamp as Albany took a 6-1 win over visiting Rochester at the Times Union Center on Saturday.
It marked Albany’s largest offensive output since a 7-4 win at Hershey on Jan. 14, 2009.
Jerome Samson led the way with four points (1-3-4) on the night, and Stefan Chaput (1-2-3) and Drayson Bowman (1-2-3) each had three points. Captain Pat Dwyer posted a goal and an assist, while Nick Dodge and defenseman Zack FitzGerald rounded out the Albany offense.
The River Rats scored three times in the second period and added two more in the third, and finished 2-for-8 on the power play. Goaltender Mike Murphy stopped 28 of 29 shots in the winning effort.
David Brine registered the lone goal for the Americans, who dropped to 1-1-1-0 on the campaign.
WORCESTER 5, LOWELL 4
Worcester survived a late rally to capture a 5-4 road win over Lowell on Saturday before 5,135 fans at Tsongas Arena, spoiling the Devils’ home opener.
Rookie Brandon Mashinter tallied a pair of power play goals for the Sharks, with defenseman Derek Joslin assisting on each for two of his three assists on the night.
The Sharks also got goals from Dan DaSilva, Dwight Helminen, and rookie Logan Couture, who scored his first regular-season marker as a professional. Couture, drafted ninth overall by San Jose in 2007, notched two goals for Worcester in last spring’s playoffs.
Lowell made it interesting at the end. Defenseman Matt Taormina netted his second goal of the night at 18:05 of the third period to cut Worcester’s lead to 4-2, and after Couture scored into an empty net at 19:12, Stephen Gionta notched his second of the game at the 19:58 mark before time ran out on the Devils.
Worcester goaltender Tyson Sexsmith made 32 saves to pick up the win in his professional debut.
PORTLAND 4, PROVIDENCE 2
Portland rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit to take a 4-2 win over Providence on Saturday in its home opener at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
2008-09 AHL rookie of the year Nathan Gerbe began the Pirates’ comeback with a power play goal 1:19 of the second period, and he was followed in the stanza by Mark Mancari and rookie Paul Byron, who scored his first professional goal for the eventual game-winner.
Kyle Rank tacked on a third-period marker, and Portland goaltender Jhonas Enroth made it stand up with 28 saves in net. Mancari (1-2-3), Byron (1-1-2), and defenseman Mike Weber (0-2-2) all finished with multiple-point performances.
Vladimir Sobotka and Brad Marchand registered first-period goals for the Bruins, who suffered their first loss of the season (2-1-0-0).
HERSHEY 8, BINGHAMTON 1
Hershey’s offense struck for eight goals on 41 shots in an 8-1 rout of Binghamton at the Broome County Arena on Saturday.
2008-09 AHL MVP Alexandre Giroux tallied his first two goals of the new campaign for the Bears, who reached the eight-goal plateau four times by the end of November a season ago and led the league with an average of 3.70 goals per game.
Kyle Wilson also potted a pair of goals in the victory. Andrew Gordon posted a goal and two assists, while Steve Pinizzotto, Darren Reid, and Andrew Joudrey also found the back of the net.
Jay Beagle, John Carlson, and Sean Collins each chipped in two assists, and goaltender Jason Bacashihua made 32 saves for his first win in a Hershey uniform. The defending Calder Cup champions won their third straight game to begin the season.
Captain Denis Hamel netted Binghamton’s lone goal, which at the time gave the Senators a 1-0 lead just 2:51 into the contest.
BRIDGEPORT 2, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 1
Sean Bentivoglio scored at 19:50 of the third period to break a 1-1 tie and lift Bridgeport to a 2-1 road win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the Wachovia Arena.
Bentivoglio’s second goal of the young season was assisted by Tyler Haskins and Matt Martin.
Second-year pro Jesse Joensuu gave the Sound Tigers a 1-0 lead 3:45 into the second period, but the Penguins’ Luca Caputi answered on the power play at the 13:27 mark. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender John Curry picked up an assist on the play.
Bridgeport netminder Nathan Lawson, an AHL All-Rookie Team member last season, made 35 saves on 36 shots to pick up the win in his first action of 2009-10, helping the Sound Tigers to a 3-0-0-0 start overall.
NORFOLK 2, MANCHESTER 0
Norfolk broke through for a pair of third-period goals to earn its first victory of the season, a 2-0 decision over Manchester at the Scope on Saturday.
Brandon Bochenski, a four-time 20-goal scorer in the AHL, tallied his second goal in as many nights for the Admirals 5:54 into the third frame, breaking a scoreless deadlock. Juraj Simek and Paul Szczechura earned the assists.
Ryan Craig then sealed the win with an empty-net tally at the 19:20 mark.
Rookie Admirals goaltender Dustin Tokarski pitched a 26-save shutout for his first professional victory.
ROCKFORD 3, LAKE ERIE 0
Nathan Davis tallied a pair of power play goals as Rockford got into the victory column for the first time this season with a 3-0 road blanking of Lake Erie before 10,064 fans at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Davis, a native of nearby Rocky River, Ohio, scored once apiece in the first and third periods.
Newcomer Mark Cullen added an empty-net marker for the IceHogs (1-1-1-0), while Evan Brophey and defenseman Richard Petiot each garnered a pair of assists on the night.
IceHogs goaltender Corey Crawford stopped all 16 shots he faced to earn the shutout.
SYRACUSE 6, ADIRONDACK 1
Syracuse scored six unanswered goals to fly past visiting Adirondack by a 6-1 count on Saturday before 6,237 fans at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Pascal Pelletier, Stefan Legein, Tom Sestito, and Jared Aulin all scored for the Crunch in a four-goal second period, while captain Derek MacKenzie and Tom Fritsche added third-period scores.
Pelletier (1-2-3), Sestito (1-1-2), MacKenzie (1-1-2), Fritsche (1-1-2), and Alexandre Picard (0-2-2) all finished with multiple points on the night for Syracuse. Crunch goaltender Kevin Lalande made 25 saves as Syracuse picked up its first win of the season (1-2-0-0).
Offseason acquisition Lukas Kaspar initially gave the Phantoms a 1-0 lead with a goal just 1:34 after the opening face-off.
TORONTO 3, GRAND RAPIDS 2
Toronto scored three unanswered goals to rally from an early 2-0 deficit and emerge with a 3-2 win over Grand Rapids on Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. Jiri Tlusty notched a goal and then assisted on Andre Deveaux’s game-winner at 19:24 of the third period.
The Griffins grabbed their 2-0 advantage with a pair of first-period goals. Jeremy Williams, in his first year with Grand Rapids after spending his first five pro seasons in the Toronto organization, struck against his former team with an unassisted tally at 13:35. Defenseman Doug Janik then scored at the 19:59 mark.
Tlusty put Toronto on the board when he scored on the power play midway through the second frame, and Juraj Mikus netted the equalizer in the period’s closing minute.
It remained a 2-2 game until Deveaux’s dramatic goal in the waning seconds of regulation. Tlusty picked up the one assist on the score.
Marlies goaltender James Reimer stopped 27 of 29 shots in his first action of the season, helping Toronto improve to 2-0-0-0 on the young campaign.
MANITOBA 2, CHICAGO 1
A pair of second-period goals lifted Manitoba to a 2-1 win over Chicago at the MTS Centre, giving the Moose a sweep of the teams’ two-game set in Winnipeg this weekend.
Brett Sterling gave the Wolves an early 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 11:55 of the opening period. Jason Krog, who helped Manitoba to last spring’s Calder Cup Finals, picked up an assist on the play, as did John Pohl.
Moose captain Mike Keane tied it up with an unassisted tally 1:34 into the middle frame, his third goal of the young season. Michael Grabner then notched the eventual game-winner on the power play at 11:13, with assists going to Marco Rosa and Sergei Shirokov.
Goaltender Daren Machesney stopped 30 of 31 shots to earn his first win in a Moose uniform.
HOUSTON 2, TEXAS 1 (SO)
Jon DiSalvatore’s goal in the opening shootout round stood up as Houston eked out a 2-1 win over visiting Texas on Saturday at the Toyota Center.
The Aeros earned a split of the teams’ two-game weekend series, avenging a 3-2 loss to the Stars on Friday night.
Pete Zingoni netted Houston’s lone goal of regulation at 17:26 of the first period, and Carson McMillan picked up the lone assist. But two-time Stanley Cup champion Brad Lukowich knotted it up for Texas 5:11 into the second frame, scoring his first career AHL goal unassisted.
Aeros goaltender Anton Khudobin secured the victory, stopping 23 of 24 shots through regulation and overtime before going a perfect 5-for-5 in the shootout.
SAN ANTONIO 2, ABBOTSFORD 1 (OT)
Defenseman Sean Sullivan struck on the power play 2:01 into overtime to give San Antonio a 2-1 win over Abbotsford, its second overtime triumph in as many nights against the Calgary Flames’ new AHL affiliate.
The Rampage improved to 3-0-1-0 for an AHL-best seven points in the early going, including a 2-0-1-0 mark on the road.
Kevin Porter notched a power play goal of his own for the Rampage in the second period and then assisted on Sullivan’s game-winner in overtime. Sullivan, for his part, picked up a helper on Porter’s tally.
Jason Jaffray, assigned to Abbotsford earlier in the day by Calgary, netted the Heat’s lone goal shorthanded at 18:55 of the second period. David Van der Gulik and Brett Palin earned assists.
Rampage goaltender Josh Tordjman made 22 saves to secure the victory in his first appearance of the season.
