The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins fell to the Providence Bruins 2-1 in overtime on Wednesday night at Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre.
Despite the loss the Penguins (16-0-2-0, 34 pts.) still made AHL history as they have now registered at least a point in the standings in 18 straight games to start the season. The 1994-95 Portland Pirates had previously held the mark when they started that season with 14 wins and three ties.
Jonathan Sigalet was the hero for the Bruins (6-7-1-0, 13 pts.) as he tallied his third goal of the season with just 38 seconds left in the overtime period. The win is the Bruins’ second in a row as they move out of a tie for last place with the Albany River Rats in the Atlantic Division.
Bruins goaltender Jordan Sigalet earns the victory as he stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced. Tyler Redenbach had the other Bruins goal in the second period.
Guillaume Lefebvre had the lone goal for the Penguins. The loss snaps a seven game winning streak for the Penguins, who still have a seven-point lead in the East Division.
CHICAGO 4, HAMILTON 2
Chicago’s Kevin Doell had a pair of assists to help lead the Chicago Wolves over the Hamilton Bulldogs by a score of 4-2 on Wednesday night.
Goaltender Tuomas Tarkki stopped 31 of 33 shots to gain the win, his third of the season.
Michael Lambert had a goal in the losing effort for Hamilton.
HARTFORD 7, ALBANY 2
Albany may have outshot Hartford, 50-33, but they still were downed easily at the Hartford Civic Center by a score of 7-2.
Nigel Dawes and Thomas Pock each had two goals on the night for Hartford. Dawes also added two assists, while Pock had one assist. The Wolf Pack put the game out of reach with four consecutive goals in the second period.
Robert Gherson put aside 48 of the 50 shots he faced to earn his first win as a member of the Hartford Wolf Pack this season.
HERSHEY 4, CLEVELAND 2
Hershey’s Dave Steckel led the way in scoring for the Bears as they handed the Cleveland Barons a 4-2 loss on Wednesday night.
Hershey came back from a two-goal deficit, scoring four unanswered goals starting in the second period with a power-play goal by rookie Chris Bourque
Tim Conboy and Patrick Rissmiller each had a goal in the losing effort for Cleveland.
MILWAUKEE 3, SAN ANTONIO 1
Milwaukee goaltender Brian Finley stopped 29 of 30 shots and carried a shut out well into the third period to help lead the Admirals over the Rampage, by a score of 3-1 at the SBC Center in San Antonio.
The shutout bid was killed by Layne Ulmer’s seventh goal of the season midway through the third period. Home ice has not been friendly of late for the Rampage as they have now lost seven consecutive games at home.
SPRINGFIELD 4, LOWELL 3
The Falcons were able to hold off a late-game rally by the Lock Monsters to get the 4-3 win on Wednesday night at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.
Springfield got off to a quick start when defenseman Doug O’Brien opened up the scoring just 1:17 into the first period. The Falcons would score four consecutive goals, helped by a goal and assist by David Spina.
Springfield and Lowell each have 21 points and are locked in a three-way tie for third place with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the Atlantic Division.
ROCHESTER 7, BINGHAMTON 4
Rochester came from behind in the third period, scoring four goals in the final frame to put away the Binghamton Senators by a score of 7-4 at the War Memorial in Rochester on Wednesday night.
Jason Pominville (2g, 2a) and Chris Thorburn (2g, 1a) led the way in scoring for Rochester.
Gregg Johnson had two goals in the losing effort for Binghamton.
PORTLAND 5, MANCHESTER 4 (SO)
Manchester rookie Jeff Tambellini tied the game with just 3:44 left in regulation to help send this game to overtime in one of two 1 vs. 2 divisional battles in the American Hockey League on Wednesday night. Portland would eventually prevail in the shootout to get the 5-4 win.
Ryan Getzlaf, in his AHL season debut, scored two goals and an assist to help lead the Pirates to the win. Getzlaf would also score one of the two Pirates goals in the shootout.
Tambellini’s late goal was his second of the evening and his team leading 13th goal of the season. He also registered an assist in the losing effort.
With the win the Pirates extend their lead in the Atlantic Division to five points. Ten of Manchester’s 16 games have been decided in overtime or by shootout so far this season.
GRAND RAPIDS 3, MANITOBA 2 (SO)
The AHL’s other 1 vs. 2 battle occured in the North Division, and was also decided with a shootout. The division leader was victorious in this battle also, with Grand Rapids registering the 3-2 victory.
Former CCM Vector/AHL Players of the Week Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler had the shootout goals for Grand Rapids to give the Griffins a 2-0 win in the shootout. Darryl Bootland and Matt Ellis had the regulation goals for the Griffins.
Manitoba’s Nathan Smith and Rick Rypien scored the goals for the Moose.
NORFOLK 4, PHILADELPHIA 2
Norfolk, led by 3 points by Nathan Barrett (2g, 1a), beat the Phantoms 4-2 at the Scope in Norfolk on Wednesday night.
With the win, Norfolk moves into a tie for fourth place in the East Division with the Phantoms, improving their record to 7-9-1-1 for 16 points. Meanwhile Philadelphia’s record drops to 7-11-0-2.
