A three-goal second period proved to be the difference as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers doubled up the visiting Albany River Rats 4-2 at the Arena at Harbor Yard on Sunday.
In a key East Division matchup with playoff implications, Blake Comeau tallied a goal and an assist as the Sound Tigers moved into a tie for the fourth and final playoff position with Albany in the East.
Michael Mole stopped 31 of 33 shots to earn his second win of the year and first since Oct. 21.
Ken Magowan, Steve Regier and David Desharnais each recorded goals for the Sound Tigers and Jeff Tambellini registered three assists in the victory.
Ryan Bayda and Matt Murley both scored for Albany.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 3, HERSHEY 2
Connor James scored two goals in 13 seconds in the final two minutes of regulation as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton stunned host Hershey, 3-2.
Two nights after shutting out the Penguins in Wilkes-Barre, the Bears held a 2-0 lead until Robert Nilsson scored with 4:25 to play. Nilsson then set up goals by James at 18:01 and 18:14 to send the Pens to victory and end Hershey’s seven-game winning streak.
With the win, Wilkes-Barre earned their 100th point of the season to close to within three points of Hershey and four points of Norfolk in the East Division.
Stephen Werner and Chris Bourque each scored in the loss for the Bears.
MANCHESTER 4, HARTFORD 2
Matt Ryan and Shay Stephenson each recorded a goal and two assists as the Manchester Monarchs defeated the visiting Hartford Wolf Pack by a score of 4-2 at Verizon Wireless Arena.
With the win, the Monarchs clinch a berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs and separate themselves by four points from Hartford as the two battle for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
Tim Jackman and defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky also tallied for Manchester, which avenged a 5-4 loss to the Wolf Pack the night before.
Jason LaBarbera stopped 33 of 35 shots to earn his 36th win of the year, tying him with Corey Crawford of Norfolk for the league lead.
Nigel Dawes and Brandon Dubinsky each scored in a losing effort for Hartford.
TORONTO 4, HAMILTON 1
Alex Foster tallied a pair of goals as the Toronto Marlies defeated their Canadian rival Hamilton Bulldogs by a score of 4-1 before a season-high crowd of 8,393 fans at Copps Coliseum.
Justin Pogge stopped 20 of 21 shots to earn his 17th win on the year for Toronto, which has now won five of its last six games.
Staffan Kronwall netted a goal and an assist and teammate Brett Engelhardt scored his 23rd goal of the year for the Marlies.
Corey Locke scored the lone goal for Hamilton in the loss.
PORTLAND 3, SPRINGFIELD 2
Defenseman Clay Wilson scored the game-winner with 43 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Portland Pirates a 3-2 victory over the Springfield Falcons at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
David McKee maintained his perfect mark (4-0-0) by making 25 saves on 27 shots for the Pirates, who are winners of five straight contests.
Drew Miller and Bobby Ryan both tallied and Ryan Carter added two assists on the night for Portland, which moves to within three points of a playoff position in the Atlantic Division.
Kyle Wanvig and David Spina recorded goals for Springfield, which has now dropped seven straight contests.
PROVIDENCE 2, LOWELL 1
Hannu Toivonen made 24 saves on 25 shots as Providence defeated Lowell by a score of 2-1 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
David Krejci and T.J. Trevelyan both provided goals in the win for the Bruins, who regained possession of third place in the Atlantic Division over Worcester.
Chris Minard scored for the Devils, who sit two points out of fourth place in the Atlantic.
BINGHAMTON 4, SYRACUSE 1
Brian Elliott stopped 38 of 39 shots for his first professional victory as Binghamton ended its seven-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over Syracuse at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.
Bobby Robins, Tomas Kudelka, Jamie Allison and Andrew Ebbett all tallied for the B-Sens.
For Elliott, it was his first win in four starts since finishing his senior season at the University of Wisconsin.
Defenseman Tomas Kloucek scored the only goal in a losing effort for Syracuse.
SAN ANTONIO 1, PEORIA 0
Chris Ferraro’s goal 50 seconds into the second period was the lone tally of the night as the San Antonio Rampage defeated Peoria, 1-0, at the AT&T Center.
Josh Tordjman recorded his first professional shutout by stopping all 36 shots he faced, evening his record to 15-15-2 on the year.
Chris Beckford-Tseu stopped 13 of 14 shots in a losing effort for the Rivermen, who are five points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Peoria’s loss clinched a Calder Cup Playoff berth for idle Omaha.
IOWA 1, MANITOBA 0
Dan Ellis stopped all 27 shots to earn his fourth shutout of the season as the Iowa Stars edged the Manitoba Moose, 1-0, at Wells Fargo Arena.
Junior Lessard scored the only goal of the game to give the Stars their second straight victory.
Chris Conner and Shane Endicott also put points on the board, assisting on Lessard’s goal.
Drew MacIntyre made 19 saves in the loss for Manitoba.
