Ritola, Leino lead Griffins to victory in home opener

Saturday’s Boxscores

GRAND RAPIDS 6, HAMILTON 4
Grand Rapids scored four times in the first period and cruised to a 6-4 win over Hamilton on Saturday before 10,834 fans in its home opener at Van Andel Arena.

Mattias Ritola scored a pair of goals and had a game-high three points for the Griffins, and Ville Leino also notched two goals.

Both of Ritola’s goals came in the opening period, a stanza that also saw Grand Rapids’ Garrett Stafford and Justin Abdelkader light the lamp.

Cory Emmerton, Darren Helm, and Landon Wilson all chipped in a pair of assists for Grand Rapids, which went 2-for-9 on the power play.

Griffins goaltender Jimmy Howard stopped 20 of 24 shots and moved to 2-0-0-0 on the season.

Matt D’Agostini tallied a pair of goals for the Bulldogs, while Ryan Russell and Shawn Belle also scored.

The Griffins are on a four-game winning streak and sport a 4-0-1-0 record overall.


HARTFORD 4, MANCHESTER 1
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau tallied a game-high three points (1-2-3) as Hartford downed Manchester, 4-1, in a physical battle at the XL Center.

Artem Anisimov gave the Wolf Pack a 1-0 advantage midway through the opening period, and Parenteau made it 2-0 on the power play in the second.

Manchester’s Trevor Lewis answered with a power play goal of his own just 1:58 into the final stanza, but the Wolf Pack regained their two-goal lead on another power play marker, this one off the stick of Dane Byers at 3:37.

Brodie Dupont’s first goal of the year came just 44 seconds later to make it 4-1.

Wolf Pack goaltender Miika Wiikman made 31 saves in the winning effort. The two teams combined for 100 penalty minutes in the game.


HERSHEY 3, BINGHAMTON 2
Hershey took a 3-0 lead by the 5:57 mark of the third period and held on for a 3-2 home-ice win over Binghamton before 6,514 fans at the Giant Center.

Keith Aucoin and Oskar Osala each tallied unassisted goals in the first period for the Bears, with Aucoin’s coming on the power play.

After a scoreless second, Alexandre Giroux extended Hershey’s lead at 5:57 of the third period. The Senators then received goals from Brendan Bell and Matt Carkner to pull close, but could not get the equalizer.

Bears goaltender Daren Machesney made 29 saves in the win.


PORTLAND 5, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4
Marek Zagrapan scored twice and added an assist, and Nathan Gerbe tallied a pair of goals as Portland edged Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by a 5-4 final at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Marc-Andre Gragnani also scored for the Pirates, and Mark Mancari contributed a trio of assists.

Gerbe is now tied for the AHL rookie goal-scoring lead with five, all of which have come in the last four games.

Jeff Taffe scored twice for the Penguins and now has five goals in his last three games, while Chris Minard posted a goal and two helpers in the loss.


LOWELL 4, SPRINGFIELD 2
Pascal Rheaume posted a goal and two assists as Lowell doubled up host Springfield by a 4-2 final at the MassMutual Center.

Nicklas Bergfors and rookie Matt Halischuk also netted goals for the Devils, and Vladimir Zharkov chipped in a pair of assists.

Devils goaltender Scott Clemmensen stopped 27 of 29 shots in the winning effort.

Geoff Paukovich and Liam Reddox scored for the Falcons.


BRIDGEPORT 2, WORCESTER 0
Bridgeport scored once each in the second and third periods, and Peter Mannino made 33 saves for his first professional shutout as Bridgeport took a 2-0 win at Worcester.

After a scoreless first period, Tim Jackman gave the Sound Tigers a 1-0 advantage 9:44 into the second, with Brett Skinner picking up the lone assist.

Bridgeport extended its lead midway through the third stanza, as Sean Bentivoglio scored at the 10:18 mark.

Mannino, who has stopped 30-plus shots in all three outings, increased his record to 2-0-1 on the young campaign.


SYRACUSE 6, ROCHESTER 1
Clay Wilson and Maksim Mayorov each posted two goals and an assist as Syracuse rolled to a 6-1 win over visiting Rochester before 5,863 fans at the Onondaga County War Memorial.

John Vigilante and Kirill Starkov added a goal and a helper apiece, while Jonathan Sigalet and Andrey Plekhanov each posted two assists.

Crunch goaltender Dan LaCosta stopped 23 shots in the win, which moved Syracuse into first place in the North Division at 5-1-0-0 (10 points).

Karl Stewart netted the Americans’ lone goal on the night.


PEORIA 5, LAKE ERIE 2
Five different players scored as Peoria took a 5-2 win over visiting Lake Erie at Carver Arena.

Chris Conner posted a goal and helper for the Rivermen, while Cam Paddock, Chris Porter, Julian Talbot, and Nicholas Drazenovic also lit the lamp. Andy Wozniewski chipped in a pair of assists.

Rivermen goaltender Chris Holt earned the victory with 23 saves on 25 shots.

T.J. Hensick and Chris Durno scored for the Monsters, who have dropped the first two of a six-game road swing. Lake Erie and Peoria will take the ice for a rematch on Sunday.


SAN ANTONIO 5, IOWA 1
A four-goal second period helped San Antonio run away with a 5-1 win over visiting Iowa at the AT&T Center.

In a game which featured a combined 169 penalty minutes, Brett MacLean gave the Rampage the lead for good at 11:41 of the first period.

David Spina and Jeff Hoggan would go on to post a goal and an assist apiece, while Matt Jones and Steven Goertzen also scored.

San Antonio goaltender Al Montoya stopped 21 of 22 shots in the winning effort, allowing only a third-period power play goal to the Chops’ T.J. Trevelyan.


ROCKFORD 4, NORFOLK 0
Tim Brent had a goal and two assists, and goaltender Antti Niemi posted a 26-save shutout as Rockford took a 4-0 win over Norfolk at the MetroCentre.

The IceHogs won both games of the teams’ two-game set and captured their fifth straight victory overall.

Evan Brophey, Jean-Claude Sawyer, and Petri Kontiola joined Brent in scoring for the IceHogs, and Tim Hambly posted two assists.

It marked the first North American shutout for Niemi, who moved to 3-1-0 on the season.


MANITOBA 5, HOUSTON 3
Darryl Bootland scored twice as Manitoba took a 5-3 win over Houston before 7,098 fans at the MTS Centre and a sweep of the teams’ two-game set in Winnipeg.

Dirk Southern, Daniel Rahimi, and Michael Grabner added goals for the Moose, and Mike Keane chipped in two assists.

Manitoba goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 21 of 24 shots in net, helping the Moose to their fourth consecutive win.

Marco Rosa led the Aeros with three points (1-2-3), while Krys Kolanos and Dane Crowley also scored goals.


CHICAGO 5, MILWAUKEE 3
Junior Lessard netted his first two goals of the season as Chicago outlasted host Milwaukee by a 5-3 final at the Bradley Center.

The Wolves secured their fourth consecutive victory and moved to 4-1-1-0 on the campaign.

Each team scored twice in the opening period. Lessard and Chad Denny tallied goals for the Wolves, while Nick Spaling and Josh Gratton did the honors for the Admirals.

Milwaukee then took a 3-2 lead at 5:28 of the middle stanza on a goal by Geoff Peters. Lessard tied it for the Wolves at 16:13, and Joe Motzko put Chicago on top to stay just 54 seconds into the third. Grant Stevenson iced the victory with a late empty-net goal.

Wolves goaltender Ondrej Pavelec picked up the win with 18 saves on 21 shots.