TORONTO 4, LAKE ERIE 1
Rookie forward Viktor Stalberg netted a pair of goals as Toronto took a 4-1 win over Lake Erie on Wednesday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. Troy Bodie scored the game-winner for the Marlies, who beat the Monsters for the third time in six days and improved to 4-0-0-0 against Lake Erie on the season.
Stalberg gave Toronto a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 10:16 of the opening period, and Bodie made it 2-0 at even strength just 3:42 later.
The Marlies padded their lead on a second-period marker by Alex Berry – his first professional goal – and a third-period power play strike off the stick of Matt Beleskey.
Lake Erie finally got on the board when Chris Durno potted his team-leading ninth goal of the year 7:10 into the third stanza, but the Monsters fell to 1-6-0-1 in their last eight outings.
Darryl Boyce chipped in a pair of assists for the Marlies, and rookie goaltender James Reimer (6-1-1) made 25 saves to earn the victory. Reimer was the winning goaltender in all three Toronto wins over the Monsters during this recent stretch.
ALBANY 4, SYRACUSE 2
Albany scored twice in the first period and twice more in the second to double up visiting Syracuse by a 4-2 count at the Times Union Center.
Jerome Samson notched his team-leading eighth goal of the year for the River Rats, who also received markers from rookie Matthew Pistilli, Chris Terry, and Jamie McBain.
Rob Hennigar chipped in two assists in his Albany debut, and Rats goaltender Mike Murphy earned the victory with 30 saves in net as his club beat the Crunch for the second time in a week.
Bates Battaglia netted his first goal of the season for the Crunch, and second-year pro Maksim Mayorov also found the back of the net. Syracuse dropped to 1-4-0-1 in its last six contests.
MANCHESTER 3, BRIDGEPORT 1
A three-goal first period sent Manchester on its way to a 3-1 road win over Bridgeport at the Arena at Harbor Yard. The Monarchs improved to 2-0-0-0 against the Sound Tigers this year and have outscored them 5-1 in the two contests.
Manchester’s Geoff Walker scored his first career AHL goal just 39 seconds into the contest to put his club on top. Jesse Joensuu responded for the Sound Tigers at 5:50, but Corey Elkins quickly restored the Monarchs’ lead 1:08 later.
Kevin Westgarth registered his first goal of the year for the Monarchs at 13:39, and neither team scored in the second or third period.
Gabe Gauthier chipped in two assists for Manchester, and goaltender Jonathan Bernier (9-5-2) earned the victory with 29 saves in net.
The Monarchs (13-6-1-2) halted their brief two-game losing skid and reclaimed sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division, two points better than Lowell.
WORCESTER 3, SPRINGFIELD 2
Rookie forward Logan Couture broke a 2-2 tie with a power play goal at 3:40 of the third period, sending Worcester to a 3-2 road win over Springfield at the MassMutual Center.
Couture, drafted ninth overall by San Jose in 2007, netted his sixth AHL goal of the season and extended his scoring streak to eight consecutive games (6-8-14).
Ryan Vesce netted a power play goal of his own and assisted on Couture’s game-winner for the Sharks, who also received a marker from Trent Campbell.
Sharks defenseman Mike Moore registered a pair of assists, and rookie goaltender Alex Stalock secured the victory with 25 saves. Worcester has now won three straight games – all by scores of 3-2 – on the heels of a seven-game losing skid.
Colton Fretter notched a pair of power play goals for the Falcons, who suffered their first regulation loss on home ice this season (6-1-2-1).
PROVIDENCE 4, HERSHEY 1
Providence continued its better play of late with a 4-1 road win over East Division-leading Hershey on Wednesday before 9,419 fans at the Giant Center.
The Bruins fell into an early 1-0 hole but then got goals from Kirk MacDonald, Drew Larman, Jamie Arniel, and an empty-netter by Brad Marchand en route to the victory. Providence goaltender Dany Sabourin earned the win with 24 saves in net.
Arniel extended his goal-scoring streak to an AHL season-high six games (6-5-11), while MacDonald now has a goal in four straight contests (4-0-4).
Providence moved to 4-1-0-0 in its last five games and climbed back to the .500 mark overall at 10-10-1-0.
Boyd Kane lit the lamp for the Bears, who are now winless in consecutive contests (0-1-0-1) for the first time since Oct. 23-24.
HARTFORD 4, LOWELL 1
Second-year pro Dale Weise notched a pair of goals as Hartford skated off with a 4-1 road win over Lowell on Wednesday at Tsongas Arena.
Rookie Evgeny Grachev and Jordan Owens also scored for the Wolf Pack, who registered four straight goals after falling into a 1-0 first-period hole.
Defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti and AHL scoring leader Corey Locke each posted two assists in the victory, and Hartford rookie goaltender Chad Johnson earned the win with 22 saves in net.
Patrick Davis originally gave the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power play strike at 9:30 of the opening period.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 3, NORFOLK 1
Tim Wallace scored twice and was plus-3 on the night as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton dropped visiting Norfolk by a 3-1 count before 6,082 fans at the Wachovia Arena.
Wallace scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season just 1:47 apart in the opening period, with ex-Admiral Wyatt Smith picked up an assist on both.
Juraj Simek brought the Admirals within 2-1 with just 16 seconds to play in the first frame, and it remained a 2-1 contest until Smith extended the Pens’ lead 33 seconds into the third period, capping off a three-point night.
Luca Caputi registered two assists for the Penguins, and goaltender John Curry stopped 20 of 21 shots in the winning effort.
Norfolk dropped its fourth straight game and wrapped up a season-high eight-game road trip at 2-5-1-0.
HOUSTON 1, HAMILTON 0
Jean-Michel Daoust broke a scoreless deadlock at 1:09 of the third period, and Houston went on to a 1-0 road win over Hamilton at Copps Coliseum.
Maxim Noreau and Nathan Smith earned assists on Daoust’s fourth goal of the season, which came on the power play.
Aeros goaltender Anton Khudobin stopped all 26 shots he faced to earn his ninth victory of the campaign (9-4-0) and league-leading fourth shutout.
The Bulldogs, who visit Lake Erie for a pair of games this weekend, suffered their first shutout loss of the year.
CHICAGO 3, GRAND RAPIDS 2
Chicago rallied for a pair of late second-period goals and held on through a scoreless third to post a 3-2 win over visiting Grand Rapids at Allstate Arena on Wednesday.
With the Wolves trailing 2-1 late in the second frame, Jason Krog tallied the equalizer at 17:56 and Brett Sterling put them on top to stay at the 19:34 mark.
Chicago’s Tim Stapleton and Grand Rapids rookie Tomas Tatar traded first-period goals. Stapleton registered his 12th goal of the campaign, moving him into a tie for second in the league.
Goaltender Peter Mannino (3-0-0) stopped 25 of 27 shots in net for the Wolves, who won their third straight game and improved to 10-3-0-0 in their last 13 contests.
The Griffins lost for just the second time in their last 13 outings (11-2-0-0).
ABBOTSFORD 6, PEORIA 2
Abbotsford kicked off a four-game road trip with a 6-2 win over Peoria on Wednesday at Carver Arena. The Heat reached the six-goal plateau for the third time this season and snapped their three-game winless skid (0-2-0-1).
Riley Armstrong netted a pair of goals for the Heat, Carsen Germyn and Garth Murray each posted a goal and a helper, and Abbotsford also received scores from Kris Chucko and defenseman Keith Aulie.
Cam Cunning racked up three assists in the winning effort, and Abbotsford goaltender Leland Irving stopped 38 of 40 shots between the pipes.
Yan Stastny and Cam Paddock scored for the Rivermen, who fell to 2-4-0-0 in their last six contests.
MANITOBA 2, ROCKFORD 1
Matt Pettinger scored twice in the third period as Manitoba rallied for a 2-1 road win over Rockford on Wednesday at the MetroCentre.
The Moose entered the third period trailing by a goal, but Pettinger registered a power play marker to tie it at 8:01 and followed that up with the even-strength game-winner at 11:43.
Dan Sexton and Brian Salcico each picked up single assists on Pettinger’s goals, which helped Manitoba snap a four-game road winless skid (0-3-1-0). The Moose have now earned a point in five straight games overall (4-0-1-0).
Manitoba goaltender Cory Schneider, who has been in net for each of the last five games, earned the win with 39 saves on 40 shots in net.
Kyle Greentree gave the IceHogs a 1-0 second-period lead with his second goal of the season and first since scoring on Oct. 21 at Peoria.
TEXAS 2, MILWAUKEE 1 (SO)
Defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy and forward Warren Peters each scored shootout goals as Texas eked out a 2-1 win over visiting Milwaukee before 5,698 fans at the Cedar Park Center.
Vishnevskiy converted in the third round and Peters in the fourth round for the Stars, who returned from a five-game road swing and improved to 8-1-1-1 on home ice this season.
Texas goaltender Matt Climie earned the victory, stopping 32 of 33 shots through the first 65 minutes before denying Mark Santorelli, Robert Dietrich, Wacey Rabbit, and Jonathan Blum in the shootout.
Raymond Sawada’s first goal of the season gave Texas a 1-0 lead at 8:29 of the second period, but Dave Scatchard secured at least a point for the Admirals with the equalizer 18:52 into the third frame. Scatchard has now registered a single goal in seven of 11 AHL games this year.
