Saturday’s Boxscores
ROCHESTER 3, BINGHAMTON 2 (OT)
Rookie defenseman Jason Garrison (pictured) completed a three-point performance with the game-winning goal 2:24 into overtime to give Rochester a 3-2 win over intra-state rival Binghamton on Saturday afternoon at the Blue Cross Arena.
It marked the Amerks’ first overtime triumph of the season and snapped a brief two-game losing skid.
All four goals in regulation were scored on the power play. Rochester jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period on markers by Karl Stewart (8:07) and Michal Repik (18:35), with Garrison assisting on both.
Binghamton’s Peter Regin cut the deficit in half at 5:44 of the middle frame, and the Senators tied it on Josh Hennessy’s 14th goal of the season 7:31 into the third period. Tomas Kudelka and AHL All-Star Mattias Karlsson assisted on both goals.
That set the stage for Garrison’s decisive goal, which was assisted by Drew Larman and Jordan Henry. It marked Garrison’s first game-winner of the season and Rochester’s first overtime decision overall. Each of its previous eight trips to the extra session resulted in a shootout.
Americans goaltender Tyler Plante earned his first AHL victory of the campaign with 26 saves on 28 shots.
The Senators (26-16-5-3, 60 points) earned a point with the shootout loss and remain one point back of Bridgeport for third place in the East Division race.
ALBANY 3, PORTLAND 2 (SO)
Albany edged Portland by a 3-2 count in a shootout before a capacity crowd of 5,462 at the Glens Falls Civic Center on Saturday afternoon. The River Rats are now 2-0-0-0 in Glens Falls this season with two more games to play.
Pat Dwyer and Jonathan Paiement netted shootout goals for the River Rats, and goaltender Justin Peters denied all four of Portland’s attempts. Peters made 27 saves through regulation and overtime to earn his 10th victory of the season (10-17-2).
The River Rats initially took a 1-0 lead when Casey Borer scored 15:59 into the contest. But the Pirates’ Colton Fretter tied it 1:48 into the second period, and AHL All-Star Mark Mancari gave Portland the lead with a power play score at 17:15.
The 2-1 advantage held until Albany’s Mark Flood responded with a power play score of his own at 5:01 of the third frame, and neither side would score the rest of the way.
The Pirates and River Rats will square off for a rematch on Tuesday at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, home of the NHL’s Sabres.
LAKE ERIE 4, GRAND RAPIDS 1
An unlikely combination of special teams play resulted in Lake Erie scoring three power play goals en route to a 4-1 road win over Grand Rapids on Saturday at Van Andel Arena.
The Monsters entered Saturday’s action ranked last in the AHL with a power play converting just 11.1 percent of the time, while the Griffins brought the league’s top-ranked penalty kill (89.5 percent) to the table.
But Lake Erie received power play scores from T.J. Galiardi and Chris Durno in the second period and from Matt Hendricks in the third frame. Philippe Dupuis also scored for the Monsters, and Mike Vernace chipped in two assists.
Monsters goaltender Tyler Weiman made 28 saves in the win, which was Lake Erie’s fourth in its last six games (4-2-0-0).
Darren Haydar initially gave the Griffins a 1-0 lead with a power play score in the final minute of the opening period. It marked the 500th point of Haydar’s illustrious AHL career, as the two-time Calder Cup champion now shows 188 goals and 312 assists for 500 points in 467 career regular-season games.
HERSHEY 3, SAN ANTONIO 2 (SO)
Kyle Wilson netted a pair of shootout goals – including the winner in the seventh round – to give Hershey a 3-2 win over visiting San Antonio before 9,525 fans at the Giant Center. The win allowed the Bears to avenge a 3-0 loss in San Antonio on Dec. 11.
Graham Mink and Bryan Helmer netted regulation goals for the Bears, Helmer scoring his first regular-season marker since Mar. 20, 2008.
The Bears appeared headed for a regulation triumph before Rampage forward Viktor Tikhonov tied it at 2-2 at 19:12 of the third period. David Spina also scored in regulation for San Antonio.
Bears goaltender Daren Machesney picked up the win with 20 saves through the first 65 minutes. He allowed shootout goals to Alexander Nikulin and Wyatt Smith but made three straight saves at the end to secure the victory. Hershey is now 7-0-0-3 in its last 10 games.
BRIDGEPORT 3, NORFOLK 2
Bridgeport rallied from two goals down to post a 3-2 road win over Norfolk on Saturday, earning the Sound Tigers a split of their two-game weekend trip to the Scope.
After a scoreless opening stanza, the Admirals grabbed a 2-0 lead on second-period goals from Mike Lundin and Justin Keller.
The Sound Tigers pulled within a goal when Mike Iggulden netted his 19th of the season at 16:25 of the second, and Jeremy Colliton tied it 11:43 into the third.
That set the stage for the game-winning tally by rookie Jesse Joensuu at the 19:03 mark, which was assisted by Trevor Smith and defenseman Dustin Kohn.
Goaltender Tobias Stephan earned the victory in his Bridgeport debut, making 30 saves on 32 shots. The Sound Tigers jumped back into third place in the East Division, one point ahead of Binghamton.
HARTFORD 3, SPRINGFIELD 2
Brodie Dupont’s unassisted shorthanded goal at 3:58 of the third period lifted Hartford to a 3-2 road win over struggling Springfield on Saturday before 5,729 fans at the MassMutual Center.
Vladimir Denisov and AHL All-Star Artem Anisimov added goals for the Wolf Pack, and Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau chipped in two assists. Denisov’s marker also came shorthanded, allowing Hartford to tie a franchise record with two shorthanded tallies in the same game.
Wolf Pack rookie goaltender Matt Zaba made 35 saves in the winning effort and moved to 4-1-0-0 in his last five outings.
Colin McDonald and AHL All-Star Ryan Potulny netted goals for the Falcons, who are now winless in six straight outings (0-5-1-0).
SYRACUSE 4, TORONTO 1
Rookie Maksim Mayorov netted the game-winning goal and added an assist as Syracuse captured a key 4-1 road win over Toronto at Ricoh Coliseum.
Nikita Filatov, John Vigilante, and AHL All-Star Derek MacKenzie also scored for the Crunch, who moved into a tie with the Marlies for fourth place in the North Division with 53 points apiece.
Syracuse goaltender Sebastian Dahm made a season-high 42 saves on 43 shots to earn his seventh victory of the season (7-7-0).
Jiri Tlusty netted the Marlies’ lone goal on the power play early in the third period. Toronto has now dropped consecutive games after opening its 11-game homestand with a pair of victories.
CHICAGO 2, MILWAUKEE 1
Rookie Matt Anderson registered a goal and an assist as Chicago edged visiting Milwaukee by a 2-1 count on Saturday before 10,815 fans at Allstate Arena.
Anderson opened the game’s scoring with a shorthanded marker at 12:56 of the first period, and Jordan LaVallee made it 2-0 at 12:04 of the middle frame. LaValle now has a goal in three straight games (4-1-5) and shows 15 for the season.
The Admirals pulled within a goal when James Sixsmith scored just 19 seconds after LaValle’s marker, but Milwaukee was unable to get the equalizer and saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
Wolves goaltender Ondrej Pavelec earned the victory with 23 saves on 24 shots.
IOWA 4, ROCKFORD 1
A three-goal second period lifted Iowa to a 4-1 win over visiting Rockford on Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena.
Petteri Wirtanen netted a pair of goals for the Chops, while Adrian Veideman and AHL All-Star Brian Salcido registered a goal and an assist apiece.
Chops goaltender David LeNeveu earned the victory with 22 saves on 23 shots, helping Iowa to its third straight victory. The Chops are now just one point back of Rockford for second place in the West Division.
Petri Kontiola tallied a shorthanded goal in the second period for the IceHogs, who have now dropped two straight since opening their seven-game road swing with four straight wins.
QUAD CITY 3, HOUSTON 2 (SO)
Quad City halted a four-game losing skid with a 3-2 shootout win over visiting Houston on Saturday at the I Wireless Center.
Carsen Germyn and David Van der Gulik netted shootout goals for the Flames, and rookie goaltender Leland Irving stopped all four Houston attempts after making 20 saves through regulation and overtime.
John Armstrong and Kyle Greentree scored in regulation for the Flames, who took a 2-0 lead after Greentree’s power play tally at 10:29 of the second period.
But the Aeros battled back, receiving a second-period marker from ex-Flame Krys Kolanos and the tying score from Matt Beaudoin on the power play in the third frame. With the shootout loss, Houston fell to 1-4-0-1 in its last six games.
