PHILADELPHIA 5, SPRINGFIELD 2
Philadelphia jumped to a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes and cruised to a 5-2 road win over Springfield on Friday at the MassMutual Center.
Jared Ross netted a pair of goals in the victory and now has five goals and nine points over his last four games for the Phantoms. Rookie Claude Giroux added a goal and an assist in the win, which was Philadelphia’s fourth in a row.
Ross scored at 10:03 and 19:57 of the first period, with a John Laliberte goal wedged in between for the Phantoms. Nate Raduns extended the lead to 4-0 at 4:23 of the middle frame.
The Falcons attempted a comeback in the third, receiving scores from ex-Phantom Ryan Potulny and Sebastien Bisaillon to cut their deficit in half.
But Giroux netted a power play goal for the Phantoms with 6:40 to play, and neither side scored again.
Philadelphia goaltender Scott Munroe earned the win with 21 saves, improving to 6-1-0 in his last seven games.
The win allowed the Phantoms to remain tied with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for third place in the East Division. Both clubs show 32 points through 27 games played.
GRAND RAPIDS 6, MANITOBA 5
Jamie Tardif and Darren Helm scored 1:29 apart in the third period, erasing a 5-4 deficit and giving Grand Rapids a 6-5 road win over Manitoba at the MTS Centre.
Tardif tallied the equalizer at the 13:34 mark, and Helm followed with the eventual game-winner at 15:03.
The teams combined for seven goals in the first period alone, with seven different players lighting the lamp and Manitoba emerging with a 4-3 lead at the time.
Cory Emmerton, Aaron Gagnon, Ryan Oulahen, and Garrett Stafford joined Tardif and Helm in the goal column for Grand Rapids, while Logan Pyatt and Sergei Kolosov each posted two assists.
Jason Krog, Nolan Baumgartner, Dirk Southern, Mark Derlago, and Darryl Bootland all lit the lamp for the Moose, who have lost three in a row.
The Griffins moved into a second-place tie with Hamilton in the North Division at 32 points apiece, two points back of the first-place Moose heading into the teams’ rematch on Saturday.
ALBANY 7, MANCHESTER 1
Michael Ryan netted a hat trick and a season-high five points as Albany rolled to a 7-1 road win over Manchester at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
Ryan scored once in the second and twice more in the third after assisting on two of Albany’s first four goals of the night. It marked the River Rats’ first hat trick since Cody McLeod scored three against Philadelphia on Jan. 20, 2007.
Jakub Petruzalek (1-3-4) and Pat Dwyer (1-2-3) also had big nights for the River Rats, while Jerome Samson and Mark Flood added goals.
Daniel Manzato made 25 saves in net for Albany, which has outscored opponents 15-2 in its last two victories.
David Meckler netted the only goal for the Monarchs, who are winless in three straight (0-2-0-1).
HARTFORD 4, WORCESTER 1
Hartford scored twice in the first period and went on to post a 4-1 win over visiting Worcester at the XL Center.
Tommy Pyatt and Greg Moore netted first-period goals just 1:57 apart for the Wolf Pack, while Bobby Sanguinetti and David Urquhart added scores later in the game.
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (0-3-3) and Artem Anisimov (0-2-2) chipped in multiple assists, and goaltender Miika Wiikman earned the win with 28 saves. Hartford finished 3-for-6 on the power play.
It marked the Wolf Pack’s first victory in four tries against the Sharks this season (1-2-0-1) and gave them their first two-game winning streak since winning three in a row from Oct. 24-29.
Riley Armstrong netted a shorthanded unassisted goal for Worcester, which saw its brief two-game winning streak come to an end.
LAKE ERIE 3, TORONTO 1
Lake Erie scored three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 road win over Toronto at Ricoh Coliseum on Friday.
Mark McCutcheon, Darcy Campbell, and Tom Fritsche netted goals for the Monsters, who secured back-to-back wins for the first time since starting the season with a pair of wins.
Lake Erie goaltender Tyler Weiman made 34 saves in the winning effort.
Robbie Earl’s first goal of the season initially gave the Marlies a 1-0 lead just 2:44 into the contest. Toronto fell back to .500 on the season at 11-11-0-2.
BINGHAMTON 2, PORTLAND 1
Binghamton captain Denis Hamel snapped a 1-1 deadlock at 3:15 of the third period, and the Senators held on for a 2-1 win over visiting Portland at the Broome County Arena.
Hamel tallied his fifth goal of the season and second game-winner, with Peter Regin and Greg Mauldin picking up the assists.
Mauldin scored to put the B-Sens on top 1-0 at 15:38 of the first period, with Regin and Hamel assisting on that marker.
Senators goaltender Brian Elliott made 41 saves in the victory, his second-highest total of the campaign.
Matt Ellis netted the Pirates’ lone goal in the closing minute of the first period.
PROVIDENCE 3, LOWELL 0
Second-year goaltender Tuukka Rask made 20 saves for his second shutout of the season as Providence took a 3-0 home-ice win over Lowell at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
The Bruins received a goal in each period, as Martin St. Pierre scored in the first, Ned Lukacevic in the second, and Mikko Lehtonen in the third. Lukacevic’s tally was his first in the AHL this season.
Providence pulled into a first-place tie with Portland in the Atlantic Division at 33 points apiece, while the Devils are now winless in three straight games (0-2-0-1).
NORFOLK 3, BRIDGEPORT 2
Norfolk snapped a brief two-game losing skid with a 3-2 win over Bridgeport on Friday in the opener of the teams’ two-game weekend set at the Scope.
The Admirals’ Blair Jones broke a 2-2 deadlock with a power play goal at 6:29 of the third period, and that score held up as the game-winner.
Brandon Segal and Grant Potulny netted first-period goals to put Norfolk on top 2-0, but the Sound Tigers’ Sean Bentivoglio closed the game to 2-1 with 1:09 left in the first.
After a scoreless second, Bridgeport’s Kurtis McLean tied it just 30 seconds into the third period.
Norfolk goaltender Mike McKenna made 31 saves to earn his second win in as many starts against Bridgeport this season. The teams will square off for a rematch on Saturday.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, SYRACUSE 3
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton emerged from a wild third period with a 4-3 road win over Syracuse at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
The Penguins’ Jon D’Aversa and the Crunch’s Derek MacKenzie exchanged goals over the first 40 minutes, making it a 1-1 game heading into the third.
Janne Pesonen, Mark Letestu, and Luca Caputi all scored in a span of 5:44 to give the Penguins a 4-1 advantage.
But the Crunch didn’t go easily, receiving scores from Mike York at the 18:04 mark and Craig MacDonald at 19:34 to pull within a goal.
Syracuse was unable to get the late equalizer and lost its fourth straight in regulation for the first time since Dec. 10-17, 2006.
Penguins goaltender Adam Berkhoel held on for the victory, finishing with 21 saves on 24 shots.
PEORIA 2, ROCHESTER 0
Peoria scored a pair of third-period goals and received its second straight strong performance from goaltender Chris Holt en route to a 2-0 road win over Rochester at the Blue Cross Arena.
The win propelled the Rivermen into a first-place tie with Iowa in the West Division at 33 points apiece.
The teams played scoreless hockey through the first 40-plus minutes before the Rivermen’s Tyson Stachan broke the deadlock at 6:02 of the third.
Defenseman Jonas Junland added a shorthanded score at 18:15 to seal the victory.
Holt, who made 24 saves in Peoria’s 2-1 win at Hamilton on Thursday, stopped all 17 Amerks shots he faced on Friday for his first career AHL shutout.
MILWAUKEE 4, ROCKFORD 2
Milwaukee scored a pair of late goals to double up visiting Rockford by a 4-2 count at the Bradley Center.
Defenseman Cody Franson broke a 2-2 tie with a power play goal at 15:40 of the third period, and fellow blueliner Alexander Sulzer added an empty-netter in the closing seconds.
Cal O’Reilly scored in the first period for the Admirals, and Mike Santorelli extended his scoring streak to 11 games (8-13-21) with a second-period tally.
Admirals rookie goaltender Mark Dekanich made 16 saves in the win, which was Milwaukee’s fourth in a row to tie a season high.
Bryan Bickell and Mike Radja scored for the IceHogs in the loss.
CHICAGO 3, IOWA 2 (SO)
Jeff Hamilton and Junior Lessard netted shootout goals to give Chicago a 3-2 road win over Iowa at Wells Fargo Arena.
All of the game’s scoring occurred in the first period. The Chops took a 2-0 lead on goals by Ryan Dingle and Drew Miller, but Chicago’s Joe Motzko and Riley Holzapfel scored to tie it.
Wolves goaltender Robert Gherson made 22 saves through regulation and overtime and denied for of Iowa’s five shootout tries, only allowing a goal to Andrew Ebbett in the fourth round.
With the victory, Chicago sits third in the West Division, one point back of co-leaders Iowa and Peoria and one up on fourth-place Milwaukee.
