PHILADELPHIA 2, ALBANY 1
Philadelphia rookie Kyle Greentree scored the eventual game-winning goal on the power play at 5:20 of the second period as the Phantoms posted a 2-1 road win over Albany on Tuesday at the Times Union Center.
Greentree added an assist for Philadelphia, which evened the teams’ East Division semifinal series at two games apiece.
The River Rats struck first at 2:00 of the opening period on a power play goal by Jakub Petruzalek.
But just 20 seconds after that goal, Philadelphia’s Jonathan Matsumoto scored to tie it back up, with Greentree picking up the primary assist.
Greentree’s game-winner in the middle stanza was assisted by Denis Gauthier and Pete Zingoni.
Phantoms goaltender Scott Munroe picked up the victory with 30 saves on 31 shots.
The teams have alternated victories through the first four games of the series, and Game 5 is set for Thursday evening in Albany.
PORTLAND 3, HARTFORD 2
Brett Festerling netted the game-winning goal off a deflection at 5:01 of the third period as Portland eked out a 3-2 victory over Hartford on Tuesday at the XL Center.
The Pirates captured the Atlantic Division semifinal series, 4-1, winning four straight games after dropping the opener.
Jay Leach and Andy Schneider also scored for Portland, Schneider’s coming in his first career AHL playoff game.
Andrew Hutchinson and Lauri Korpikoski lit the lamp for the Wolf Pack, who were eliminated in the first round for the second consecutive season.
Pirates goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin earned the win with 30 saves on 32 shots. Portland advances to take on regular-season champion Providence in the division final.
ROCKFORD 2, HOUSTON 1
Derek Nesbitt scored with just 2:46 left in regulation to propel Rockford to a 2-1 road win over Houston at the Toyota Center in Game 3 of their West Division semifinal.
The IceHogs now lead the best-of-7 series, 2-1.
Houston’s Marco Rosa and Rockford’s Kris Versteeg traded first-period goals, and neither team scored in the middle stanza.
Martin St. Pierre and Petri Kontiola assisted on Nesbitt’s decisive marker, making a winner of goaltender Corey Crawford, who only had to stop 15 shots on the night.
The teams are back on the Toyota Center ice for Game 4 of the series on Thursday.
SYRACUSE 2, MANITOBA 1 (OT)
Tom Sestito lit the lamp exactly 11 minutes into overtime to give Syracuse a 2-1 road win over Manitoba at the MTS Centre, allowing the Crunch to take a 2-1 series lead in their North Division semifinal.
Each of the first three games of this series has required overtime. Syracuse captured the opener, and the Moose came back with a Game 2 victory.
Manitoba rookie Michael Grabner opened the scoring on Tuesday at 12:19 of the second period with his second goal of the playoffs.
Crunch captain Zenon Konopka responded with an unassisted tally at 16:37 of that stanza. Konopka then picked up an assist on Sestito’s game-winner.
Syracuse goaltender Karl Goehring earned the win with 35 saves on 36 shots.
After two days off, the teams will hit the ice for Game 4 on Friday, also in Winnipeg.
