MILWAUKEE 2, IOWA 1 (OT)
Milwaukee continued its surge atop the AHL’s West Division on Tuesday, capturing a 2-1 overtime decision over visiting Iowa at the Bradley Center for its fifth straight victory.
Defenseman Alexander Sulzer assisted on the Admirals’ first tally of the night and then sent the crowd home happy by scoring his seventh goal of the season at 4:04 of the extra session.
Iowa initially took a 1-0 lead when winger Troy Bodie scored at 17:08 of the opening period. Ryan Donally and Ajay Baines garnered assists on Bodie’s fourth goal of the season.
The Admirals responded 8:01 into the second, as Mike Santorelli beat Chops goaltender David LeNeveu for his team-leading 12th goal of the season. Jed Ortmeyer and Sulzer picked up helpers.
A scoreless third period set the stage for Sulzer’s heroics in the closing minute of overtime.
Goaltender Mark Dekanich made 22 saves to pick up the win in net for the division-leading Admirals, who are 12-2-0-0 in their last 14 outings.
LAKE ERIE 6, HOUSTON 2
Lake Erie scored four goals in a 3:45 span and then added an empty-netter to surge past host Houston by a 6-2 count at the Toyota Center.
Mark McCutcheon gave the Monsters a 1-0 lead 5:44 into the second period, but Aeros defenseman Tomas Mojzis scored twice before the period was out to give Houston a 2-1 edge heading into the third.
Philippe Dupuis began Lake Erie’s offensive eruption with an unassisted shorthanded marker at 11:17. Randy Rowe netted his first AHL goal of the season at 11:56, and he was followed by McCutcheon (13:18) and Bryan Marshall (15:02). Nathan Smith scored into an empty net at 18:04.
Monsters goaltender Tyler Weiman picked up the win with 27 saves on 29 shots.
LOWELL 1, ALBANY 0
Lowell defenseman Anssi Salmela scored at 6:18 of the third period, and it proved to be the game’s only goal as the Devils took a 1-0 road win over Albany at the Times Union Center.
The Devils won despite the fact that Albany held a 36-23 advantage in shots, including a 20-8 edge in the third period alone.
Rookie goaltender Jeff Frazee earned his second shutout for Lowell, stopping all 36 shots sent his way.
The River Rats were blanked for the league-leading eighth time this season.
BINGHAMTON 5, SYRACUSE 2
Binghamton scored four unanswered goals to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 road win over Syracuse at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Defenseman Tomas Kudelka scored his first two goals of the season and added an assist for the Senators, who also received a goal and an assist for Peter Regin and single markers from Greg Mauldin and Denis Hamel.
Zack Smith and Derek Smith each posted two assists for Binghamton, and goaltender Brian Elliott earned the victory with 23 saves on 25 shots.
Adam Pineault and Maksim Mayorov notched goals for the Crunch.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 6, PHILADELPHIA 4
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won its fifth straight game and moved within a point of second place in the East Division by capturing a 6-4 decision over visiting Philadelphia at the Wachovia Arena.
Defenseman Ben Lovejoy paced the Penguins with two goals and a helper. Bill Thomas (1-1-2), Luca Caputi (0-2-2), Jeff Taffe (0-2-2) each had two points, while Chris Minard, Janne Pesonen, and Aaron Boogaard added single goals in the win.
Minard’s marker extended his franchise-record goal-scoring streak to seven games (10-1-11). Penguins goaltender John Curry earned the victory with 29 saves.
Patrick Maroon had three points (2-1-3) for the Phantoms, while Jonathan Matsumoto and Sean Curry also lit the lamp. Philadelphia is 0-3-0-1 in its last four outings.
HAMILTON 4, TORONTO 0
Marc Denis made 21 saves for his third shutout of the season to pace Hamilton over Toronto by a 4-0 count at Copps Coliseum.
Kyle Chipchura and Mathieu Carle netted first-period goals for the Bulldogs, and Max Pacioretty and Ryan Russell scored in the middle frame. Neither side scored in the third.
Hamilton captured its second straight win after a brief two-game losing skid and ended the Marlies’ three-game winning streak.
GRAND RAPIDS 3, PEORIA 1
Grand Rapids moved into sole possession of first place in the North Division with a 3-1 road win over Peoria at Carver Arena.
Jamie Tardif, Darren Haydar, and Francis Pare all scored for the Griffins (19-7-4-3, 45 points), who moved two points up on Manitoba for the division’s top spot.
Rookie goaltender Daniel Larsson made a season-high 40 saves to secure the victory, as Grand Rapids allowed just one or fewer goals for the fourth time in its last five games.
Defenseman Jonas Junland had the lone goal for the Rivermen, who are now winless in a season-high three straight games (0-2-0-1).
QUAD CITY 3, ROCKFORD 1
Kris Chucko and Jamie Lundmark each posted a goal and an assist to lead Quad City over visiting Rockford by a 3-1 count at the I Wireless Center.
Defenseman Ryan Wilson also scored for the Flames, who netted one goal in each of the three periods.
Quad City goaltender Leland Irving stopped 32 of 33 shots in the victory, which pushed his season record above .500 at 6-6-0.
Jack Skille netted a goal for the IceHogs, who have lost three straight contests.
CHICAGO 6, MANITOBA 2
Chicago ended a brief two-game winless skid and kept Manitoba sliding with a 6-2 road win over the Moose before 7,581 fans at the MTS Centre in the opener of the teams’ two-game set.
Riley Holzapfel, Jeff Hamilton and Junior Lessard each posted a goal and an assist for the Wolves, while Spencer Machacek, Rylan Kaip, and Joe Motzko also scored in the victory.
Motzko now has a goal in five straight games (5-2-7).
Grant Stevenson chipped in a pair of assists for Chicago, and goaltender Brent Krahn stopped 17 of 19 shots between the pipes.
Maxime Fortunus and Mario Bliznak lit the lamp for the Moose, who fell out of first place in the North Division and saw their winless skid extend to a season-high four games (0-3-0-1).
