PROVIDENCE 6, SPRINGFIELD 5
Rookie forward Maxime Sauve recorded a hat trick, and Providence held on for a 6-5 road win over Springfield on Saturday in the back end of the teams’ special throwback home-and-home set.
Sauve, a second-round draft pick by parent-club Boston in 2008, began the game’s scoring just 2:52 after the opening faceoff and added a goal in the second and third periods as well.
Rookie defenseman Steven Kampfer contributed to the Bruins’ four-goal first period with a goal and an assist, and Providence also got goals from Kirk MacDonald and Jordan Knackstedt on the night. Defenseman Jeff Penner chipped in two assists.
Providence held a 5-1 lead early in the second period but had to weather a Falcons offensive barrage in the second half of the tilt. Tom Sestito paced Springfield with two goals and two assists in the loss, and Michael Blunden also scored twice.
Rookie Matt Calvert notched his second goal in as many nights for the Falcons, and first-year defenseman David Savard added two more helpers after picking up a pair of assists in Friday’s season opener in Providence.
Bruins goaltender Michael Hutchinson earned the win with 31 saves in net.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, HERSHEY 3 (SO)
Before a crowd of 8,013 fans at Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scored on its final three shootout tries and knocked off visiting Hershey by a 4-3 count on opening night.
The two-time defending Calder Cup champion Bears lost their first season opener since dropping a 5-4 decision to the Penguins in Wilkes-Barre to kick off the 2007-08 season. That campaign ended with the Penguins in the Calder Cup Finals and was the only season in the last five in which Hershey failed to reach the championship series.
New defenseman Andrew Hutchinson, who opposed Hershey in last year’s Finals as a member of Texas, recorded a goal and an assist in regulation for Wilkes-Barre. Chris Collins and Nick Johnson also notched regulation goals for the Penguins.
The Pens brought a 3-2 lead into the third period, but reigning AHL MVP Keith Aucoin tied it for the Bears on the power play just 48 seconds into the frame. The game remained 3-3 until the shootout.
Hershey took a 1-0 lead in the first round when goaltender Braden Holtby denied Dustin Jeffrey and Francois Bouchard converted his attempt. But Johnson and Geoff Walker scored on Wilkes-Barre’s next two tries, and two-time AHL All-Star Brett Sterling provided the winning margin in the fourth round.
Penguins goaltender Brad Thiessen stopped 30 of 33 shots before denying three of the Bears’ four shootout attempts.
Kyle Greentree registered a goal and an assist in his Hershey debut.
MANITOBA 5, ROCKFORD 2
A night after rallying for a 4-3 win at Peoria, Manitoba jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two periods and cruised to a 5-2 victory in Rockford on Saturday at the MetroCentre.
Defenseman Lee Sweatt led the way with a goal and two assists for the Moose, and Victor Oreskovich recorded a goal and a helper to give himself three points (2-1-3) through the first two games of the season.
Jonas Andersson and Sergei Shirokov also recorded a goal and helper in the winning effort, and rookie defenseman Kevin Connauton rounded out the Moose’s offense with his second goal in as many nights.
Newcomer Joel Perrault chipped in a pair of assists, and Manitoba goaltender Eddie Lack earned the win with 23 saves on 25 shots in his AHL debut.
Rookie forwards Brandon Bollig and Kyle Beach notched goals for the IceHogs.
ADIRONDACK 5, ALBANY 3
Adirondack recovered from a dreadful first period to score five times over the final two frames and take a 5-3 road win over the Albany Devils on opening night at the Times Union Center.
The Phantoms, who dropped a 5-1 decision in Binghamton on Friday, were outshot 14-2 in the first period of this contest and outscored 1-0. Devils forward David McIntyre scored the first of his two goals 10:19 into the game.
But the Phantoms came alive in the second frame, outshooting Albany 11-6 and receiving tallies from Stefan Legein (2:15) and Jonathon Kalinski (3:02), though the Devils’ Stephen Gionta made it a 2-2 game heading into the third.
Adirondack outshot Albany 18-9 in the third period and outscored the Devils 3-1. Patrick Maroon, Ben Holmstrom, and Zac Rinaldo lit the lamp for the Phantoms, with McIntyre recording Albany’s lone goal of the stanza.
Phantoms forward David Laliberte finished with two assists, and goaltender Johan Backlund earned the win with 26 saves between the pipes.
PORTLAND 6, MANCHESTER 5
Portland used a three-goal third period to erase a 4-3 deficit and come away with a 6-5 win over visiting Manchester on opening night Saturday at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Veteran Mark Mancari (1-3-4) and rookie Luke Adam (2-2-4) led the way offensively for the Pirates, who were playing their first meaningful game since getting swept by Manchester in the first round of last spring’s Calder Cup Playoffs.
Mancari paced the Pirates last season with 28 goals and 74 points in 74 games, while Adam, a second-round draft pick by Buffalo in 2008, notched a team-best 90 points in 56 junior games for Cape Breton (QMJHL).
Pirates forward Derek Whitmore also scored twice in this one, and Matt Ellis added a goal and an assist. Colin Stuart and rookie defenseman Alex Biega each contributed a pair of helpers.
Fourth-year pro David Meckler recorded two goals and an assist for the Monarchs, who also got goals from Dwight King (1-1-2), Richard Clune, and 2009-10 goal-scoring leader Corey Elkins. John Zeiler had two assists.
Pirates goaltender Jhonas Enroth made 23 saves to pick up the win.
HARTFORD 4, CHARLOTTE 2
Four different Hartford skaters found the back of the net as the Wolf Pack doubled up Charlotte in their home opener before 7,013 fans at the XL Center.
Jacob Micflikier scored the first goal in the Checkers’ AHL history just 5:19 after the opening faceoff, but Dale Weise, who ranked second on the Pack with 28 goals last year, responded with his first of 2009-10 at 16:55 on the power play.
Despite a 10-7 disadvantage in shots, Hartford took control in the second period on the strength of goals from rookie Chris McKelvie and veteran newcomer Jeremy Williams.
Jon Matsumoto brought the Checkers within 3-2 with a power play strike midway through the third frame, but Dane Byers iced the Wolf Pack’s victory with a last-minute empty-netter.
Kris Newbury and defenseman Wade Redden each finished with two assists for the Wolf Pack, and goaltender Chad Johnson turned aside 24 of 26 shots to earn the win.
BRIDGEPORT 5, WORCESTER 4 (SO)
Bridgeport scored on four of its final five shootout tries to take a 5-4 win over visiting Worcester on Saturday before 8,480 fans on opening night at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Rob Hisey and Robin Figren each scored in regulation and the shootout for Bridgeport, and the Sound Tigers also got shootout goals from Tony Romano and Tomas Marcinko, whose seventh-round conversion clinched the victory.
Sound Tigers forward Matt Martin had a goal and an assist in regulation, and Michael Haley rounded out Bridgeport’s scoring.
Bridgeport rookie goaltender Mikko Koskinen made 26 saves through the first 65 minutes and stopped four of Worcester’s seven shootout tries, including a key save on defenseman Sean Sullivan in the seventh round.
Jonathan Cheechoo scored twice in his Worcester debut, and Brandon Mashinter also had a pair of goals for the Sharks.
ROCHESTER 4, TORONTO 2
Rochester built a 4-0 lead midway through the third period and doubled up host Toronto by a 4-2 count on Saturday afternoon, making a winner of new Americans coach Chuck Weber in his first AHL game behind the bench.
Newcomers Bill Thomas, Nathan Paetsch, and Michael Nylander joined returning defenseman Clay Wilson in tallying goals for the Americans, while rookie defenseman Colby Robak chipped in two assists.
Paetsch played his first three professional seasons for the Amerks from 2003-06 and was an AHL All-Star for Rochester in 2006. Wilson, an AHL All-Star for Syracuse in 2008, is coming off a career-best 60-point showing (14-46-60) in 75 games with the Amerks in 2009-10.
Amerks goaltender Jacob Markstrom, drafted 31st overall by parent-club Florida in 2008, stopped 21 of 23 shots to earn the victory in his North American debut.
Alex Foster and defenseman Simon Gysbers scored for the Marlies to make things interesting midway through the third frame, but Toronto could get no closer.
NORFOLK 7, BINGHAMTON 4
Norfolk scored a franchise-record six goals in the third period and rolled to a 7-4 road win over Binghamton on Saturday in its season opener.
Blair Jones and Troy Milam each scored twice for the Admirals, who finished the 2009-10 ranked 22nd in the AHL in offense with an average of 2.60 goals per contest.
Norfolk also got goals from Matt Fornataro (1-1-2), Mike Angelidis, and defenseman Ty Wishart, while Marc-Antoine Pouliot and rearguard Kevin Quick each posted three assists.
The Admirals finished 2-for-6 on the power play while holding Binghamton to an 0-for-5 showing. Norfolk goaltender Dustin Tokarski stopped 32 of 36 shots in the winning effort.
Jim O’Brien scored twice for the Senators, giving him three goals in the first two games of the season. Bobby Butler and Ryan Keller each recorded a goal and an assist on the evening.
LAKE ERIE 2, SYRACUSE 1 (SO)
Lake Erie held a remarkable 40-18 advantage in shots on goal through regulation and overtime, and the Monsters emerged with a 2-1 road shootout win in the back end of the teams’ throwback home-and-home weekend.
Ben Walter and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk notched shootout goals for the Monsters, and netminder John Grahame stuffed all four of Syracuse’s tries top help Lake Erie move to 2-0-0-0 on the young season.
The game was scoreless through most of the first two periods before Lake Erie’s Julian Talbot struck at 17:16 of the middle frame with his second goal in as many nights.
Crunch rookie Maxime Macenauer responded with the equalizer – his first career AHL goal – on the power play at 2:08 of the third period. That was one of only five third-period shots for the Crunch, who were outshot 17-5 in the frame.
Grahame finished with 17 regulation and overtime saves to pick up the win, while J.P. Levasseur took the tough-luck loss after making 39 saves through the first 65 minutes.
MILWAUKEE 6, ABBOTSFORD 2
Milwaukee staked Abbotsford to a 2-0 first-period lead before erupting for six unanswered goals to take a 6-2 win over the visiting Heat on opening night at the Bradley Center.
Abbotsford grabbed its early edge courtesy of special teams play. Greg Nemisz tallied a shorthanded goal 6:31 into the contest, and Cam Cunning scored on the power play at 14:04.
After intermission, the Admirals came out and scored on four of their seven shots in the second period. Nick Spaling (6:05) and Linus Klasen (8:35) scored less than three minutes apart, and Mark Van Guilder and Matt Halischuk added goals later in the frame.
Klasen and Halischuk each tacked on an additional goal in the third period to account for the final score. Halischuk finished with a game-high three points (2-1-3) on the night, and Andreas Thuresson chipped in two assists.
Milwaukee goaltender Mark Dekanich stopped 22 of 24 shots in the winning effort.
HOUSTON 6, OKLAHOMA CITY 1
Houston scored twice in each period and rolled to a 6-1 road win over Oklahoma City, spoiling the Barons’ first-ever game before 9,818 fans at the Cox Convention Center on Saturday.
Rookie forward Joel Broda notched a pair of goals for the Aeros, and returning forward Petr Kalus recorded a game-high three points (2-1-3) in the victory.
Houston’s Jon DiSalvatore (1-1-2) and Colton Gillies also found the back of the net, and Jean-Michel Daoust contributed a trio of helpers.
Twenty-year-old rookie goaltender Matt Hackett turned in a 30-save effort in his professional debut and stopped all 14 shots during a third period in which Houston was outshot by a 14-5 margin.
Teemu Hartikainen scored the first goal in Barons history midway through the second period, with Brad Moran picking up the lone assist.
