BRIDGEPORT 4, SPRINGFIELD 2
Rookie forward Kyle Okposo scored his first professional goal and added two assists to help Bridgeport double up visiting Springfield by a 4-2 final on Saturday at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Okposo, selected seventh overall in the 2006 draft by the New York Islanders, now has five points (1-4-5) in his first two games for the Sound Tigers.
Bridgeport jumped to a 4-0 lead by the game’s mid-point. Kip Brennan scored in the first period, followed by Frans Nielsen, Okposo, and Scott Ford in the second stanza.
Okposo’s goal would turn out to be the game-winner, as Springfield’s Liam Reddox and T.J. Kemp lit the lamp in the third period to cut the Falcons’ deficit in half.
Bridgeport goaltender Mike Morrison picked up the win, stopping 26 of 28 shots.
CHICAGO 5, TORONTO 4
Bryan Little tallied a game-high four points (1-3-4) to lead Chicago past visiting Toronto, 5-4, in a battle of division leaders before 9,118 fans at the Allstate Arena.
Jesse Schultz and Alexandre Giroux had a goal and an assist apiece for the Wolves, who also received goals from Brian Fahey and Steve Martins.
Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec made 29 saves as West-leading Chicago won its third straight game and ninth in its last 11 outings (9-2-0-0).
Kris Newbury, John Mitchell, Darryl Boyce, and Jay Harrison netted goals for Toronto in the losing effort.
The North-leading Marlies have now lost three straight games for the first time this season.
ALBANY 4, WORCESTER 3
Nicolas Blanchard broke a 3-3 tie at the 14:29 mark of the third period to give Albany a 4-3 win over visiting Worcester at the Times Union Center.
Joey Mormina, Dave Gove, and Jordan Fox also netted goals for the River Rats, and goaltender John Grahame earned the win with 27 saves on 30 shots.
The Sharks received goals from T.J. Fox, Lukas Kaspar, and Riley Armstrong in the losing effort.
It marked Albany’s first-ever win against the Sharks, as the River Rats dropped a pair of games to Worcester last season.
PORTLAND 4, PROVIDENCE 0
Goaltender Mike McKenna posted a 25-save shutout to lead Portland to a 4-0 home-ice win over Providence at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
It marked the second shutout-against in as many nights for the league-leading Bruins, who fell to Worcester, 3-0, on Friday. Providence is winless in three straight games (0-2-0-1) for the first time this season.
Rookie Bobby Ryan, the second overall pick in the 2005 draft, had a pair of goals for the Pirates.
Brendan Mikkelson and Drew Miller also netted goals, helping Portland win its third straight game and sixth of its last seven (6-1-0-0).
HERSHEY 6, LAKE ERIE 4
Andrew Gordon netted a hat trick as Hershey outlasted visiting Lake Erie by a 6-4 final before 10,004 fans at the Giant Center.
Jason Morgan, Stephen Werner, and Sami Lepisto each had a goal and an assist for the Bears, while Joe Motzko and Josef Boumedienne chipped in a pair of helpers apiece.
Bears goaltender Daren Machesney picked up the win with 32 saves, as Hershey avoided losing consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 8-9.
Brad Richardson and David Jones each had a goal and a helper for the Monsters.
PHILADELPHIA 2, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 1 (SO)
Stefan Ruzicka’s goal in the sixth round of a shootout gave Philadelphia a 2-1 win over host Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in front of 8,357 fans at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza.
Both regulation goals came in the second period. Philadelphia’s Pete Zingoni scored at 9:12, but the Penguins’ Mark Letestu answered with a power play goal at 19:24.
Ruzicka scored in the shootout’s first round in addition to his decisive tally, and teammate Kyle Greentree also converted an attempt.
Phantoms goaltender Brian Boucher secured the win with 32 saves, and he denied four of six tries in the shootout.
MANCHESTER 3, BINGHAMTON 2 (SO)
Manchester converted on three of five shootout attempts to take a 3-2 win over host Binghamton at the Broome County Arena.
Monarchs rookie Teddy Purcell scored in regulation and added a shootout goal. David Meckler and Trevor Lewis also scored in the shootout for the visitors.
Manchester goaltender Daniel Taylor made 26 saves for his first victory since Dec. 8.
Brian Lee and Justin Mapletoft tallied regulation goals for the Senators, and Ilya Zubov netted his club’s lone shootout marker.
HARTFORD 3, NORFOLK 2
Hartford built a 3-0 lead and held on for a 3-2 win over host Norfolk and a sweep of the teams’ two-game weekend set at the Scope.
Lauri Korpikoski, Ryan Callahan, and Tommy Pyatt netted goals for the Wolf Pack, who had a three-goal advantage with 18:32 to play in the game.
But the Admirals scored a pair of power play goals, with Norm Milley converting at 6:53 and David Schneider pulling his club within a goal at 15:46.
Norfolk was unable to get the equalizer, as Wolf Pack goaltender Al Montoya earned the win with 27 saves.
PEORIA 2, GRAND RAPIDS 1 (SO)
Jean-Guy Trudel, Nikolay Lemtyugov, and Micki DuPont scored shootout goals to lead visiting Peoria past Grand Rapids by a 2-1 final before 8,912 fans at Van Andel Arena.
The Rivermen took a 1-0 lead when Martin Kariya netted his seventh goal of the season at 12:16 of the first period.
Garrett Stafford tallied the equalizer for Grand Rapids on the power play at 16:00 of the second period, and neither team scored in the final stanza.
Peoria controlled the shootout and extended its season-high winning streak to five games.
Rivermen goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu stopped 23 of 24 shots through the first 65 minutes and denied three of four in the shootout.
ROCHESTER 7, HAMILTON 3
Rochester ended a six-game losing skid with a 7-3 road win over Hamilton at the Copps Coliseum.
The seven-goal outburst was more than the Amerks had scored in their previous six games combined.
Marc-Andre Gragnani tallied a game-high four points (1-3-4) for the Amerks, while Mark Mancari notched a pair of goals and an assist. Dylan Hunter had a goal and a helper.
Americans goaltender Tyler Plante picked up the win with 26 saves on 29 shots.
Kyle Chipchura led the Bulldogs with a goal and an assist, his first AHL points of the season.
QUAD CITY 3, IOWA 2 (SO)
Quad City rallied for a pair of third-period goals and then scored twice in the shootout to take a 3-2 win over host Iowa at the Wells Fargo Arena.
Iowa center Marty Sertich gave his club a 1-0 lead at 11:18 of the opening period, and teammate Konstantin Pushkarev made it 2-0 with a power play marker at 14:02 of the second.
The Flames’ Brandon Prust cut the lead in half in the third period with a penalty-shot goal at 5:03. Grant Stevenson then tallied the equalizer at 14:25, his team-leading 16th goal of the season.
Tomi Maki and Carsen Germyn netted shootout goals for the Flames, and goaltender Brent Krahn stopped all four Iowa tries to preserve the win.
HOUSTON 4, MANITOBA 1
Houston scored three first-period goals and cruised to a 4-1 win over visiting Manitoba at the Toyota Center.
Aeros forwards Peter Olvecky, Ryan Hamilton, and Steve Kelly scored in the opening stanza, and Benoit Pouliot added a third-period marker.
Goaltender Barry Brust made 39 saves, ending a personal six-game winless skid (0-4-2). His last win came on Nov. 23, a 4-1 decision over Milwaukee.
The Aeros secured their fourth straight victory and their second in three nights against the Moose.
Manitoba received its lone goal from Jason Jaffray in the second period.
ROCKFORD 3, MILWAUKEE 2 (SO)
Troy Brouwer tallied a regulation goal and scored in the shootout to lead Rockford past host Milwaukee at the Bradley Center.
The Admirals brought a 2-0 lead into the third period on goals by Antti Pihlstrom and John Laliberte.
But Brouwer scored at 11:26 of the final stanza, and Derek Nesbitt netted a goal with just 55 seconds left to force overtime.
Rockford’s Danny Richmond joined Brouwer in converting a shootout attempt, and IceHogs goaltender Corey Crawford denied all four Milwaukee tries.
Crawford made 36 saves on 38 shots through the first 65 minutes.
