MILWAUKEE 3, TEXAS 2
Milwaukee goaltender Mark Dekanich turned aside 35 of 37 shots as the Admirals strengthened their hold on a playoff spot in the West Division race with a 3-2 win over visiting Texas on Tuesday at the Bradley Center.
The fourth-place Admirals, who have now won three straight games for the first time since a four-game run from Jan. 5-10, moved within three points of Rockford for third and four points back of second-place Texas.
Milwaukee also extended its lead over fifth-place San Antonio to eight points and still holds a game in hand on the Rampage.
The Admirals started fast and furious in this one, outshooting Texas 20-7 in the first period and taking a 3-0 lead into the dressing room. Triston Grant, Dave Scatchard, and Mike Santorelli scored for Milwaukee, with Scatchard’s tally coming on the power play.
Texas clawed back into the contest on second-period goals by defenseman Dan Jancevski and forward Perttu Lindgren, but the Stars were unable to put another puck past Dekanich.
Santorelli finished with a goal and an assist for Milwaukee, and Dekanich stopped all 10 shots in the third period en route to his 24th victory of the season (24-14-4).
The Stars saw their winning streak come to an end at four games.
WORCESTER 3, SYRACUSE 1
Andrew Desjardins’ second goal of the game snapped a 1-1 tie just 11 seconds into the third period, and Worcester went on to a 3-1 win over visiting Syracuse on Tuesday at the DCU Center.
Sharks forward T.J. Trevelyan added an insurance goal at 9:05 of the third, registering his 25th goal of the season, three short of the career-high 28 he scored as a rookie with Providence in 2006-07.
Desjardins’ first goal also came in the opening minute of a period, as he put the Sharks on top 1-0 only 56 seconds into the contest. Dan DaSilva chipped in two assists, and rookie goaltender Alex Stalock made 24 saves to earn his league-leading – and AHL rookie-record – 36th win of the season (36-15-2).
Greg Moore scored shorthanded for Syracuse’s lone goal of the night, as the Crunch fell in their first visit to Worcester since Apr. 2, 2000.
The Atlantic Division-leading Sharks improved to 7-1-0-0 in their last eight games and moved within three points of clinching their third playoff berth in four seasons.
MANITOBA 3, HAMILTON 2
Manitoba rallied back from a pair of one-goal deficits and eventually claimed a 3-2 win over Hamilton on Tuesday in the opener of a two-game set at the MTS Centre.
Moose forward tallied the game-winner at 10:27 of the third period, breaking a 2-2 deadlock with his second goal of the season and first since scoring against Abbotsford on Dec. 27.
Oberg finished with a goal and an assist on the night and now shows five points (1-4-5) in five clashes with the Bulldogs this year.
Marco Rosa also posted a goal and a helper for the Moose, Guillaume Desbiens rounded out the offense, and Manitoba goaltender Cory Schneider earned his 30th victory of the season (30-21-1) with 24 saves on 26 shots.
With the win, Manitoba moved seven points up on idle Lake Erie and Toronto for the North Division’s fourth and final playoff spot. Both the Monsters and Marlies now hold a game in hand on the Moose.
The Bulldogs took leads of 1-0 and 2-1 on a pair of Mike Glumac goals, but Hamilton was unable to hold either margin and is now winless in consecutive games (0-1-0-1) for the first time since a three-game slide from Feb. 12-16.
The potential first-round playoff opponents will square off again on Wednesday night in Winnipeg.