Pirates defeat Sharks 5-4 in shootout

Curtis Glencross scored one goal and added an assist as the Portland Pirates defeated the Worcester Sharks, 5-4, in a shootout in the Sharks’ debut at a sold-out DCU Center in Worcester.

The Sharks held a 3-2 lead in the third period when the Pirates got goals from Brett Skinner at 11:01 and Bjorn Melin at 13:46 to make it 4-3.

Then, for the third time in their first four games, the Sharks tied up the game in the last minute of regulation, this time on a goal by Doug Murray at 19:13 on the power play with an extra attacker.

After a scoreless overtime, the Pirates outscored the Sharks 2-0 in the shootout as Pierre Parenteau scored the game-winning goal.

Mathieu Darche recorded the first home goal for the Sharks, his fifth of the year at 1:27 of the second period. Mike Iggulden added two goals for Worcester.

Attendance was 7,230 for the first AHL game in Worcester since April 2005.


ALBANY 3, HAMILTON 2
Keith Aucoin had two goals and Justin Peters made 24 saves to lead the Albany River Rats to a 3-2 victory over the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday in front of 7,396 at Pepsi Arena, the second-largest crowd for a home opener in River Rats history.

Aucoin, who was selected as the 11th captain in River Rats history, notched his 100th career AHL goal 17:04 into the first period to give Albany a 2-0 lead and scored what proved to be the game-winning goal with a power-play tally 13:18 into the third.

Scott Kelman also scored for the River Rats, who won their second straight game and improved to 9-4-1-0 in home openers. Shane Willis chipped in with a pair of assists.

Matt D’Agostini and Duncan Milroy had shorthanded goals for the Bulldogs in the third period, who lost their second straight game.


ROCHESTER 3, BINGHAMTON 2
Adam Dennis made 40 saves in his professional debut, backstopping Rochester to a 3-2 win over Binghamton at the Broome County Arena.

Dennis, who signed with the Buffalo Sabres earlier in the week, helped the Amerks improve to 4-0-0-0 on the season. He was the goaltender of the year in the Ontario Hockey League last season, when he went 44-9-4 for London.

Drew Stafford and Michael Ryan scored in the third period for Rochester, who was outshot 42-24 for the game.

Senators rookie Andrew Ebbett had a goal and an assist for his first two professional points.


OMAHA 4, GRAND RAPIDS 3
Warren Peters scored a power-play goal with 2.2 seconds left in regulation to give Omaha a 4-3 win over Grand Rapids at a sold-out Van Andel Arena.

The Knights trailed by a goal on three occasions, but rallied each time and improved to 2-0-1-0 on the season. Justin Taylor, Kris Chucko and Cam Cunning also scored for Omaha.

Matt Hussey, Valtteri Filppula and Josh Langfeld had the goals for the Griffins, who dropped to 2-1-1-0.


LOWELL 3, HARTFORD 2
Justin Papineau scored the go-ahead goal with 12:03 left in regulation to lead Lowell to a 3-2 home win over Hartford, the first victory in Devils history.

Ivan Baranka scored just seconds after a 5-on-3 Wolf Pack power play expired to give Hartford a 1-0 lead, but rookie Patrick Davis scored for the second straight game for Lowell, on the man advantage, with just 16 seconds left in the stanza to tie it up.

Rod Pelley pushed Lowell in front in the opening minutes of the second period with his first career goal. Hartford tied it up again, however, as they pelted Devils goalie Frank Doyle with 14 second-period shots. Lauri Korpikoski beat Doyle for the equalizer at 11:43, and the clubs were tied heading into the third.

Papineau’s goal in the third came on a redirection of a blast by Alex Brooks. Doyle finished the game with 32 saves.

The Wolf Pack dropped to 0-3-0-0 for the first time in club history.


PROVIDENCE 1, MANCHESTER 0
Brian Finley made 27 saves for his 16th career AHL shutout, leading visiting Providence to a 1-0 win over Manchester.

Matt Lashoff scored his first goal of the year on a 5-on-3 power play late in the first period, providing the only offense of the game.

Since giving up seven goals in the Bruins’ opening-night loss to Portland, Finley has stopped 51 of 52 shots in posting back-to-back wins.

Jason LaBarbera was the hard-luck loser for the Monarchs, finishing with 21 stops.


NORFOLK 8, SPRINGFIELD 1
Norfolk tied franchise records for goals in a period and goals in a game in an 8-1 win over visiting Springfield on Saturday night.

The Admirals scored five times in the opening frame, including four goals on seven shots against veteran goaltender Sean Burke.

Rookie Troy Brouwer finished the night with two goals and two assists, Jonas Nordqvist scored twice and Bryan Bickell had three assists.

Dustin Byfuglien and Carl Corazzini scored within the first 76 seconds of the game to set the rout in motion.


HERSHEY 6, SYRACUSE 3
Eric Fehr had two goals and an assist as Hershey moved to 3-0-0-0 with a 6-3 win at Syracuse.

The Bears scored three power-play goals on the night, and iced the victory when Chris Bourque and Matt Hendricks potted goals 13 seconds apart with under seven minutes to play in regulation.

Tomas Fleischmann added a goal and an assist for Hershey, and Maxime Daigneault and Frederic Cassivi combined for 38 saves in the Bears net.

Geoff Platt and Mark Flood had a goal and an assist each for the Crunch (0-4-0-0).


WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, BRIDGEPORT 1
Rob Schremp and Maxime Talbot staked Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to an early 2-0 lead and Jeff Deslauriers made it stand up with 22 saves as the Penguins downed Bridgeport, 4-1.

Stephen Dixon and Kyle Brodziak also scored for the Pens, and Connor James had two assists.

Peter Ferraro had the only goal for the Sound Tigers, who lost for the first time after opening the season with two wins.


MILWAUKEE 5, CHICAGO 1
A three-goal third period helped Milwaukee get in the win column for the first time this season, spoiling Chicago’s home opener with a 5-1 victory on Saturday night.

Alexander Radulov opened the scoring with his third goal and seventh point of the young season 7:35 into the second period. Brandon Segal made it 2-0 at 10:19, and Nolan Yonkman upped the Admirals’ lead to three with 5:11 left in the period.

Yonkman’s goal was his first since Feb. 16, 2003.

Former Chicago forward Ramzi Abid had a goal and an assist for Milwaukee, while ex-Admiral Darren Haydar had the lone goal for the Wolves.

Attendance at Allstate Arena was 12,128.


PEORIA 4, SAN ANTONIO 2
Michal Birner and Ryan Ramsay scored 46 seconds apart midway through the third period to complete a two-game weekend sweep of San Antonio, earning a 4-2 victory at Carver Arena.

Birner’s first career AHL tally gave the Rivermen the lead at 9:06 of the third, and Ramsay banked home his second goal of the season at 9:52.

Trent Whitfield and Mike Glumac also scored for Peoria, and Marek Schwarz made 23 saves for the win.

Jakub Koreis had a goal and an assist for the Rampage, who lost their third straight.


IOWA 4, HOUSTON 3
Joel Lundqvist scored the go-ahead goal with 10:51 to play in the third period, sending Iowa to a 4-3 victory over Houston at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

It was the Stars’ third win in seven days against the Aeros, and their fourth in a row to start the 2006-07 campaign.

Vojtech Polak and Mike Green put Iowa up 2-0 by the three-minute mark of the first period, and Loui Eriksson’s goal at 10:12 chased Houston goaltender Steve Shields from the crease.

The Aeros rallied to tie on goals by Benoit Pouliot and Curtis Murphy.

Swiss-born goaltender Tobias Stephan made 24 saves in his North American debut, earning the victory.


MANITOBA 2, PHILADELPHIA 1
Manitoba earned a split of its two-game series against visiting Philadelphia with a 2-1 victory at the MTS Centre on Saturday.

Nathan Smith scored the winning goal with 8:08 left in regulation.

Wade Flaherty needed just 12 saves to earn his first win of the season, as the Moose finished with a 29-13 edge in shots on goal.

Mike Keane also scored for Manitoba; Stefan Ruzicka picked up his fourth goal of the season for the Phantoms.