Sound Tigers drop Hartford, grab share of first place


Sunday’s Boxscores

BRIDGEPORT 6, HARTFORD 3
Bridgeport surged into a first-place tie in the East Division on Sunday with a 6-3 win over intra-state rival Hartford before 7,349 fans at the Arena at Harbor Yard.

Jon Sim and Jeremy Colliton (pictured) each tallied two goals and an assist for the Sound Tigers, who have won three straight and are 11-1-0-3 in their last 15 contests.

Trevor Smith notched his team-leading 27th goal of the season and an assist for Bridgeport. Tyler Haskins also scored, and defenseman Chris Lee contributed two assists. The Sound Tigers scored once in the first period, twice in the second, and three times in the third frame.

Sound Tigers goaltender Peter Mannino stopped 21 of 24 shots in net to pick up the victory. Bridgeport swept its stretch of three home games in three nights this weekend, and at 39-18-3-5 (86 points), the Sound Tigers have pulled even with Hershey atop the East Division standings.

Tommy Pyatt, Patrick Rissmiller, and Mike Ouellette netted goals for the Wolf Pack, who had gained a point in nine straight games (8-0-1-0) since a 1-0 loss to Bridgeport on Feb. 18.


TORONTO 4, HAMILTON 3
Jeremy Williams capped off a hat trick with the game-tying and game-winning goals on the power play in the third period as Toronto took a 4-3 road decision from Hamilton at Copps Coliseum.

With the Marlies trailing 3-2, Williams netted the equalizer at 3:17 of the final frame and broke the tie with just 3:54 to go in regulation. Williams also netted a power play tally in the second period and now has 21 goals for the Marlies in just 31 games this season (21-9-30).

Ryan Hamilton also scored for the Marlies, and AHL All-Star defenseman Jaime Sifers chipped in two assists. Toronto goaltender Justin Pogge earned the victory with 18 saves on 21 shots.

Hamilton took leads of 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 on goals by Sergei Kostitsyn, Mike Glumac, and defenseman J.T. Wyman. The Bulldogs saw their four-game winning streak come to an end.


MANCHESTER 4, WORCESTER 3
Manchester twice rallied from a one-goal deficit and prevailed over Worcester by a 4-3 count on Sunday at the DCU Center.

The Monarchs matched a season high with their sixth straight victory and moved to 7-0-0-1 in their last eight games. Manchester previously won six in a row from Nov. 19-28.

Trevor Lewis broke a 3-3 tie with his 15th goal of the season for the Monarchs at 16:33 of the second period, and neither side scored the rest of the way. Brian Boyle, Vladimir Dravecky, and defenseman Alec Martinez also netted goals for the Monarchs, and captain Marty Murray chipped in a pair of assists.

Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier earned the victory with 28 saves on 31 shots in net.

Tom Cavanagh, Riley Armstrong, and Frazer McLaren all scored for the Sharks, who remained two points back of Portland for the Atlantic Division’s final playoff spot.


ALBANY 4, SYRACUSE 1
A three-goal third period lifted Albany to a 4-1 win over Syracuse on Sunday before 5,151 fans at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

River Rats captain Pat Dwyer broke a 1-1 tie at 10:23 of the third period and then tallied an empty netter with a minute to play in regulation. In between, Aaron Clarke netted his second goal of the season.

Jakub Petruzalek notched a second-period goal for the River Rats, and goaltender Daniel Manzato earned the victory with 32 saves on 33 shots.

Alexandre Picard initially gave the Crunch a 1-0 lead with a goal at 16:55 of the opening period.


LAKE ERIE 6, HERSHEY 3
Lake Erie climbed back to the .500 mark for the season with a 6-3 win over visiting Hershey on Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena.

Six different Monsters scored in the victory, and Philippe Dupuis and Randy Rowe led the way with a goal and an assist apiece.

Mike McLean, Matt Hendricks, and Per Ledin added markers, as Lake Erie reached the six-goal plateau for the second time in as many days.

Chris Durno chipped in two assists, and goaltender Jason Bacashihua made 15 saves to secure his eighth consecutive victory. As a team, Lake Erie has won three straight and is 8-1-0-0 in its last nine games to move to 30-30-1-5 (66 points) for the season.

Defenseman Sean Collins posted a goal and an assist for the Bears, while Andrew Gordon and rookie Mathieu Perrault also lit the lamp. Hershey dropped into a first-place tie with Bridgeport in the East Division race.


WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, NORFOLK 1
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton netted three power play goals in the first period and cruised to a 4-1 win over visiting Norfolk before 7,787 fans at the Wachovia Arena.

Mark Letestu scored the game’s first two goals for the Penguins, and Chris Minard made it 3-0 with his team-leading 29th goal of the campaign. Connor James and Jeff Taffe each picked up two assists in the period.

Penguins rookie Dustin Jeffrey extended the advantage to 4-0 midway through the second period. It remained 4-0 until Norfolk’s Brandon Bochenski scored on the power play in the game’s closing seconds.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender John Curry had his shutout bid ruined but still picked up the victory with 31 saves on 32 shots.


PEORIA 3, CHICAGO 2
Peoria extended its winning streak to four games with a 3-2 road triumph over Chicago on Sunday at Allstate Arena.

Nicholas Drazenovic snapped a 2-2 tie in the third period for the Rivermen, who rallied from a 2-1 deficit. Peoria also received tallies from Justin Fletcher and defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy.

Rivermen goaltender Manny Legace stopped 30 of 32 shots to improve his record to 5-5-0 in the AHL this season.

Brett Sterling and Clay Wilson lit the lamp for the Wolves, and rookie Spencer Machacek assisted on both.

At 33-29-1-1 (68 points), the Rivermen have pulled within one point of Chicago for the fourth and final guaranteed playoff spot in the West Division.


QUAD CITY 4, MILWAUKEE 3 (SO)
Rookie Justin Bowers scored in the 15th round of a shootout to give Quad City a 4-3 win over visiting Milwaukee on Sunday at the I Wireless Center.

John Vigilante (1st round), Adam Cracknell (5th round), and John Armstrong (10th round) also netted shootout goals for the Flames. Goaltender Leland Irving surrendered goals in the first, third, and 10th rounds but held on to secure the victory. Irving made 31 saves through regulation and overtime.

Quad City received regulation tallies from Kyle Greentree – his 32nd of the season – Hugo Carpentier, and Bowers.

Defenseman Nolan Yonkman posted a goal and an assist for the Admirals, while Hugh Jessiman and Patric Hornqvist also lit the lamp.


PROVIDENCE 2, ROCHESTER 1
Providence wrapped up its lone eight-game road swing with a 2-1 win over Rochester on Sunday at the Blue Cross Arena.

Johnny Boychuk and Wacey Rabbit netted goals for the Bruins, who erased a 1-0 deficit and snapped a five-game winless skid (0-3-0-2). Providence also moved back into a first-place tie with Hartford in the Atlantic Division.

Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask earned the victory with 26 saves, securing his 26th win of the season (26-19-2).

Providence finished 2-3-0-3 on its road swing and returns to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center next Friday to take on Portland.

Rookie Michal Repik notched a power play goal for the Americans, who have dropped three straight in regulation for the first time since late November.