CHICAGO 6, SAN ANTONIO 3
Chicago fell into a 3-0 hole before the first period was half over but then scored six unanswered goals en route to a 6-3 win over San Antonio before 11,321 fans at Allstate Arena. Kevin Doell notched a pair of goals for the Wolves, who improved to 6-0-0-0 against San Antonio this season.
San Antonio grabbed a quick 3-0 lead on goals by David Spina (5:17), Jeff Hoggan (8:17), and Joel Perrault (9:49), the latter coming on the power play. But Rylan Kaip cut Chicago’s deficit to 3-1 heading into the first intermission.
Doell’s shorthanded goal midway through the second frame made it a 3-2 game, and Johnny Pohl netted the equalizer with 2:23 remaining in the stanza.
Joey Crabb put the Wolves on top to stay only 17 seconds into the third period, and Doell and Jason Krog tacked on goals to give Chicago breathing room.
Spencer Machacek posted a pair of assists for the Wolves, and goaltender Drew MacIntyre stopped all 28 shots he faced after coming on in relief of starter Peter Mannino.
The teams will square off for a rematch on Sunday afternoon.
TORONTO 4, HAMILTON 3 (SO)
Tim Brent tallied a goal and an assist in regulation and then added a shootout goal as Toronto edged visiting Hamilton by a 4-3 count on Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum.
Josh Engel also scored in the shootout for the Marlies, and goaltender Joey MacDonald turned aside all four of Hamilton’s tries after making 42 saves on 45 shots through regulation and overtime.
Defenseman Phil Oreskovic and forward Ryan Hamilton joined Brent in notching regulation markers for Toronto, which has now won three straight games and collected a point in its last five contests (4-0-1-0).
Hamilton’s Ryan Russell potted a shorthanded goal, and the Bulldogs also received scores from Andrew Conboy and Brock Trotter.
With the point gained in the shootout loss, the Bulldogs (46-15-3-6) officially clinched the North Division title, their first division crown since 2004.
MANCHESTER 4, BRIDGEPORT 3 (OT)
Trevor Lewis’s first goal of the season came 41 seconds into overtime as Manchester pulled out a 4-3 road win over Bridgeport at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Lewis, who had missed much of the season to injury, was assisted on the play by Oscar Moller and defenseman Alec Martinez, both of whom picked up their second helpers of the night.
Martinez also tallied a goal for the Monarchs, who got additional regulation markers from Juraj Mikus and Justin Azevedo.
Manchester goaltender Jeff Zatkoff earned the victory with 26 saves on 29 shots, helping the Monarchs halt a five-game winless skid (0-3-1-1).
Greg Mauldin, Mike Radja, and Tomas Marcinko netted goals for the Sound Tigers, whose six-game winning streak came to an end. Bridgeport fell one point back of Wilkes-Barre for the East Division’s fourth and final playoff spot.
LOWELL 3, PORTLAND 2 (OT)
Defenseman Cory Murphy tallied the game-winner 1:52 into overtime as Lowell escaped with a 3-2 win over visiting Portland on Saturday at the Tsongas Center.
The Devils went ahead 1-0 just 2:02 into the game when Michael Swift notched his 16th goal of the season, but Portland’s Cody McCormick and rookie Tyler Ennis scored to give the Pirates a 2-1 edge midway through the second period.
Swift’s second goal of the game tied it late in the second, and it remained a 2-2 game until Murphy’s overtime winner. Murphy, who assisted on Swift’s second goal, now shows 37 points (4-33-37) in 55 games for the season.
Ben Walter and Swift earned assists on Murphy’s overtime marker, and Lowell goaltender Mike McKenna earned the victory with 19 saves between the pipes.
Lowell is now tied with Manchester for third place in the Atlantic Division at 79 points apiece.
BINGHAMTON 2, ALBANY 1
A pair of unassisted goals lifted Binghamton to a 2-1 win over visiting Albany at the Broome County Arena on Friday.
Martin St. Pierre began the night’s scoring at 13:32 of the first period, and Jonathan Cheechoo’s shorthanded tally made it 2-0 in favor of the Senators at 5:12 of the second frame.
The River Rats got on the board midway through the second frame when Oskar Osala notched his 20th goal of the season, but Albany could not find the equalizer and has now lost back-to-back games for the first time since Feb. 17-19.
A night after becoming the 10th goaltender in AHL history to score a goal, Chris Holt stopped 30 of 31 shots between the pipes for Binghamton.
SPRINGFIELD 4, HARTFORD 3
Jordan Eberle recorded a goal and two assists as Springfield edged host Hartford by a 4-3 count on Saturday at the XL Center.
Dene Arsene, Liam Reddox, and former Wolf Pack forward Chad Wiseman also scored for the Falcons, while Charles Linglet chipped in two assists and a plus-3 showing.
Springfield goaltender Bryan Pitton stopped 33 of 36 shots in net to improve his AHL season record to 2-2-0.
The Falcons, who conclude their three-game road weekend at Bridgeport on Sunday, improved to 6-2-1-0 in their last nine outings.
Corey Locke, Derek Couture, and Brodie Dupont found the back of the net for the Wolf Pack, who are now 10 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 5, ROCHESTER 4
A four-goal first period proved to be enough as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton stayed hot with a 5-4 win over visiting Rochester at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Penguins collected their third straight win and improved to 13-3-1-1 in their last 18 games, and Wilkes-Barre is now one point up on Bridgeport for the East Division’s final playoff bid.
Chris Conner and defenseman Chris Lee each posted a goal and two assists for the Penguins, who also received tallies from Konstantin Pushkarev, Tim Wallace, and rookie Eric Tangradi.
Dustin Jeffrey chipped in a pair of helpers in the victory, and Pens goaltender John Curry secured the win with 28 saves on 32 shots.
Jeff Taffe scored twice and defenseman Jordan Henry once for the Americans, who have now lost three straight games.
WORCESTER 2, PROVIDENCE 1
Dan DaSilva notched a goal and assisted on the game-winner to help Worcester edge Providence before a sellout crowd of 7,568 fans at the DCU Center on Saturday.
The victory allowed the Sharks to open a three-point edge on Portland atop the Atlantic Division, and Worcester still holds two games in hand on the Pirates.
DaSilva tallied his 16th goal of the season with 1:01 to play in the opening period, and he picked up an assist on rookie John McCarthy’s 11th of the year just 10 seconds into the middle frame.
The Bruins got on the board late in the second when Levi Nelson scored his seventh goal of the season, but Providence was unable to tie it and fell seven points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Sharks goaltender Frank Doyle earned the win with 24 saves in net.
NORFOLK 3, ADIRONDACK 1
Norfolk scored once in each period and swept its two-game weekend set vs. Adirondack with a 3-1 win over the visiting Phantoms on Saturday at the Scope.
The Admirals’ Ryan Craig and the Phantoms’ Ryan Dingle traded goals in the first period, and Adam Hall put Norfolk on top with just 17 ticks left in the second period.
The game remained 2-1 through most of the third period until Norfolk rookie Dana Tyrell sealed the victory with an empty-netter at the 19:18 mark.
Craig finished with a goal and an assist on the night, and Admirals rookie goaltender Dustin Tokarski earned the win with 38 saves on 39 shots.
Norfolk maintained its one-point lead on red-hot Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the East Division’s third and final guaranteed playoff spot.
The Phantoms are now 11 points back of Wilkes-Barre for the final playoff berth in the conference.
LAKE ERIE 3, ABBOTSFORD 2
Lake Erie built itself a 2-0 lead and then came away with a 3-2 win over Abbotsford on Friday before 12,976 fans at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Monsters, who snapped a six-game winless slide (0-4-0-2), moved within three points of idle Manitoba for the North Division’s fourth and final playoff spot.
T.J. Hensick tallied a power play goal 1:44 into the contest, and Brian Willsie’s 21st goal of the season made it 2-0 at 14:24.
The Heat rallied for a pair of second period goals, as Olivier Latendresse and Radek Smolenak scored less than two minutes apart to make it a 2-2 game.
But Willsie broke the deadlock only 1:32 after Smolenak’s goal, with Hensick and rookie Ryan Stoa earned assists. Neither side scored in the third period.
Monsters goaltender John Grahame stopped 35 of 37 shots in the winning effort.
HERSHEY 6, SYRACUSE 2
Hershey scored once in the first period, twice in the second, and three more times in the third en route to a 6-2 road win over Syracuse at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Andrew Gordon notched a pair of goals for the Bears, while Chris Bourque and Ashton Rome each posted a goal and an assist.
Hershey also got goals from Kyle Wilson and Jay Beagle, while defensemen Karl Alzner and Zach Miskovic each posted two assists in the winning effort.
Bears goaltender Jason Bacashihua stopped 29 of 31 shots in net, as Hershey captured its third straight win since a 6-2 loss at Worcester last Sunday.
Tom Sestito and Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman scored for the Crunch, who tumbled to 1-5-0-0 in their last six games.
TEXAS 2, ROCKFORD 0
Texas goaltender Brent Krahn turned aside all 29 shots he faced as the Stars collected a 2-0 road win over Rockford at the MetroCentre.
Krahn improved to 14-2-0 on the season and earned his fourth shutout between the pipes. He made 14 of his 29 saves in the third period as Rockford tried to climb out of a 2-0 deficit.
Perttu Lindgren posted a goal and an assist for the Stars, and Mathieu Beaudoin also scored in the victory.
Texas, which was opening a season-high seven-game road trip, improved its winning streak to three games and moved to 8-2-0-0 in its last 10 outings.
The IceHogs have now dropped four of their last six contests (2-4-0-0).
MILWAUKEE 3, HOUSTON 1
Milwaukee got back on the winning track and earned some breathing room in the West Division playoff race with a 3-1 road triumph over Houston at the Toyota Center.
The Admirals ended a three-game losing skid and moved five points up on Peoria and San Antonio for the West’s fourth and final postseason entry.
Hugh Jessiman and defenseman Teemu Laakso each scored to give Milwaukee a 2-0 lead by 5:54 of the third period, only to watch Houston’s Jean-Michel Daoust score his 20th goal of the season on the power play to tie it at 10:45.
But Ryan Maki sealed the Admirals’ victory with a goal at 18:31, as Ben Guite and Triston Grant picked up assists.
Milwaukee goaltender Mark Dekanich stopped 31 of 32 shots in the winning effort.
