PROVIDENCE 2, SPRINGFIELD 0
Providence second-year goaltender Tuukka Rask made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Bruins took a 2-0 road win over Springfield on Saturday at the MassMutual Center.
Vladimir Sobotka posted his ninth goal of the season and an assist for the Bruins, and Martins Karsums also tallied his ninth score of the campaign in the winning effort.
Providence scored both of its goals in the first period. Karsums put the B’s on top with a power play tally at 2:26, and Sobotka picked up the lone assist.
Sobotka then made it a 2-0 game at 19:07, with Martin St. Pierre earning the only helper.
The teams played scoreless hockey over the final 40 minutes, as Rask improved his season record to 8-5-0. Providence won for the third time in its last four games overall (3-1-0-0) and took over first place in the Atlantic Division at 13-7-1-0.
Devan Dubnyk made 26 saves in net for the Falcons, who lost their fourth straight game.
ALBANY 6, SYRACUSE 3
Michael Ryan netted a pair of goals and Dwight Helminen posted a game-high three points (1-2-3) as Albany took a 6-3 win over visiting Syracuse at the Times Union Center.
Helminen, Jakub Petruzalek, and Mike Angelidis all scored in the third period for the River Rats to snap a 3-3 deadlock heading into the stanza.
Joe Jensen also scored for the River Rats, and Brett Carson chipped in a pair of assists. Goaltender Daniel Manzato stopped 32 shots in the winning effort.
Alexandre Picard posted a goal and a helper for the Crunch, who also received markers from Nikita Filatov and Clay Wilson.
GRAND RAPIDS 3, ROCHESTER 1
Grand Rapids got out to a 3-0 lead and cruised to a 3-1 win over visiting Rochester at Van Andel Arena.
Aaron Downey tallied his first goal of the season and added an assist for the Griffins, who also received goals from Mattias Ritola and Justin Abdelkader.
Grand Rapids goaltender Jimmy Howard earned the victory with 20 saves on 21 shots.
Stefan Meyer got the Amerks on the board with his fifth goal of the season at 18:01 of the second period.
HARTFORD 2, MANCHESTER 1
Jordan Owens broke a 1-1 tie at 19:29 of the third period to give Hartford a 2-1 win over visiting Manchester at the XL Center.
Teddy Purcell gave the Monarchs a 1-0 lead with a power play marker 11:57 into the second period, but the Wolf Pack’s Greg Moore tied it with a man advantage marker of his own at 13:28 of the third.
Moore picked up an assist on Owens’ game-winner, and Hartford goaltender Matt Zaba picked up the victory with 26 saves.
Manchester’s six-game winning streak came to an end.
HERSHEY 9, PHILADELPHIA 0
Hershey scored four times in the game’s first 13:48 and never let up in a 9-0 win over visiting Philadelphia before 10,343 fans at the Giant Center.
Alexandre Giroux and defenseman Greg Amadio both scored a pair of goals for the Bears. Giroux (2-1-3), Andrew Joudrey (1-2-3), and Keith Aucoin (0-3-3) all finished with three-point efforts.
Graham Mink, Darren Reid, Quintin Laing, and Kyle Wilson added goals in the victory, while Josh Godfrey chipped in a pair of assists.
Bears goaltender Daren Machesney only had to make 13 saves to pick up his second shutout of the season. Hershey extended its winning streak to eight games.
LOWELL 5, PORTLAND 1
Nicklas Bergfors tallied two goals and added an assist as Lowell took a 5-1 road win over struggling Portland at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Chad Wiseman also tallied three points (1-2-3) for the Devils, while Alexander Vasyunov and Ryan Murphy added tallies in the win.
Michael Swift chipped in a pair of assists, and goaltender Jeff Frazee made 40 saves to pick up the victory, which was the Devils’ fifth in a row.
Colin Murphy netted the lone goal for the Pirates, who fell to 0-4-0-1 since an eight-game winning streak.
BINGHAMTON 3, HAMILTON 2
Three different players scored as Binghamton ended Hamilton’s three-game winning streak with a 3-2 win over the visiting Bulldogs at the Broome County Arena.
Denis Hamel, Peter Regin, and Danny Bois all netted goals for the Senators, and goaltender Brian Elliott earned the win with 26 saves.
Mathieu Aubin and Mike Glumac scored for the Bulldogs.
The teams will travel to Montreal for a game on Sunday at the Bell Centre, home of the NHL’s Canadiens.
WORCESTER 4, BRIDGEPORT 1
Worcester scored three times in the third period to take a 4-1 win over visiting Bridgeport at the DCU Center.
Ryan Vesce netted a pair of goals and added an assist on the night, and the Sharks also received goals from Claude Lemieux and Tom Cavanagh.
Andrew Desjardins and Patrick Traverse chipped in a pair of assists apiece for Worcester, which improved to 6-1-0-0 in its last seven games. Sharks goaltender Thomas Greiss made 24 saves in the winning effort.
After a scoreless first period, Blake Comeau initially gave the Sound Tigers a 1-0 lead 17:18 into the middle stanza.
NORFOLK 4, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 3 (OT)
Defenseman Matt Smaby scored 2:13 into overtime to give Norfolk a 4-3 win over visiting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the Scope.
Smaby, Zenon Konopka, and Brandon Bochenski each finished with a goal and an assist for the Admirals, and Brandon Segal chipped in two assists.
It marked the Admirals’ first win in five games this season that have extended beyond regulation (1-0-1-3).
The Penguins received goals from Mark Letestu, Luca Caputi, and Joey Mormina in the losing effort.
LAKE ERIE 3, TORONTO 2
Marty Sertich’s power play goal at 9:24 of the third period lifted Lake Erie to a 3-2 win over visiting Toronto before 6,011 fans at Quicken Loans Arena.
After a scoreless first period, the teams combined for four goals in the second stanza. Codey Burki and Chris Durno scored to give the Monsters a 2-0 lead, but the Marlies responded with goals from Tim Stapleton and Jeremy Williams, who picked up his team-leading 10th of the season.
Monsters goaltender Tyler Weiman picked up the victory with 23 saves on 25 shots.
Toronto has now dropped consecutive tilts on the heels of a four-game winning streak.
CHICAGO 4, QUAD CITY 3 (OT)
Quad City staged a furious late rally to earn a standings point, but Brett Sterling scored 1:18 into overtime to give Chicago a 4-3 win over the Flames before 6,714 fans at Allstate Arena.
Sterling, Jeff Hamilton, and Riley Holzapfel all scored as the Wolves built a 3-0 lead by the 7:55 mark of the third period.
Dan Ryder got the Flames on the board, and then Kris Chucko and Kyle Greentree scored 51 seconds apart – at 16:00 and 16:51 – to tie the game. Chucko had a hand in all three goals, adding a pair of helpers.
Wolves goaltender Robert Gherson emerged with the victory, making 32 saves on 35 shots.
HOUSTON 3, SAN ANTONIO 1
Krys Kolanos netted a pair of goals as Houston cruised to a 3-1 road win over in-state rival San Antonio at the AT&T Center.
Peter Olvecky also scored for the Aeros, and goaltender Nolan Schaefer earned the victory with 32 saves.
The win snapped Houston’s four-game winless skid (0-2-1-1) and brought the Aeros back to .500 overall at 9-9-1-1.
Chad Kolarik netted the lone goal for the Rampage, who dropped their 17th straight game (0-16-0-1), including their 13th straight in regulation.
ROCKFORD 5, PEORIA 2
A four-goal second period lifted Rockford to a 5-2 win over visiting Peoria at Carver Arena.
Mike Radja tallied a pair of goals on the night for the IceHogs, Pascal Pelletier posted a goal and an assist, and Evan Brophey and Jack Skille also lit the lamp.
Tim Brent chipped in a pair of assists in the winning effort, and goaltender Antti Niemi earned the victory with 23 saves on 25 shots.
Josh Soares registered a goal and a helper for the Rivermen, and Ryan Reaves also lit the lamp.
IOWA 4, MANITOBA 3
Andrew Ebbett’s power play goal at 7:59 of the third period broke a 3-3 tie and lifted Iowa to a 4-3 win over Manitoba before 10,755 fans at the MTS Centre.
The Moose built a 3-2 lead on the strength of goals from Mario Bliznak, Michael Grabner, and Pierre-Cedric Labrie.
Ryan Dingle tied it for the Chops at 13:13 of the middle stanza, setting the stage for Ebbett’s game-winner in the third.
Dingle also scored in the first period and Joakim Lindstrom also tallied a goal for the Chops, while goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur picked up the victory with 26 saves on 29 shots.
The Moose saw their six-game winning streak come to an end.
