SPRINGFIELD 4, BRIDGEPORT 0
Springfield goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur made a season-high 49 saves in a shutout performance as the Falcons captured a 4-0 road win over Bridgeport on Sunday at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
It marked Springfield’s first blanking of the season and halted the Falcons’ winless skid at three games (0-2-1-0).
The Falcons have just two wins in their last eight games, and they have victimized the Sound Tigers on both occasions. Springfield previously captured a 3-2 overtime decision on Feb. 5.
Levasseur, who surrendered eight goals in his last outing, an 8-4 loss to Worcester on Feb. 3, stopped 16 shots in the first and second periods on Sunday and 17 more in the third frame. It marked the Falcons’ first shutout since Devan Dubnyk blanked Worcester on 32 shots on Mar. 22, 2009.
Rob Hisey proved all the offense Springfield would need at 14:54 of the first period, tallying his seventh goal of the season but first since Jan. 13.
Hisey then assisted on a second-period marker by Viacheslav Trukhno, and Colin McDonald and Charles Linglet provided insurance with goals in the third period.
Bridgeport, which took a 6-4 win at Hartford on Saturday, failed in its bid to win consecutive games for the first time since sweeping Springfield in a home-and-home set on Jan. 8-9.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, ADIRONDACK 3
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward Dustin Jeffrey notched the game-winning goal and added an assist as the Penguins held off Adirondack by a 4-3 final at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
Adirondack’s Andreas Nodl and Wilkes-Barre’s Zach Sill exchanged goals in the second period, making it a 1-1 contest heading into the final 20 minutes.
Luca Caputi put the Penguins on top just 22 seconds into the frame, but Phantoms forward Stefan Legein responded 46 seconds later with his team-leading 21st goal of the season.
The Penguins regained the lead at 9:40 when Jesse Boulerice notched an unassisted goal, and Jeffrey provided insurance at the 18:30 mark with his 16th of the season.
It proved to be the decisive tally when Adirondack’s Jared Ross lit the lamp at 19:29 of the period with goaltender John Grahame pulled for the extra attacker. But the Phantoms could not get the equalizer and fell to 2-5-0-1 in their last eight contests.
Goaltender Adam Berkhoel made 26 saves to pick up the victory for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which has put together three straight wins for the first time since a four-game run from Dec. 26-30.
WORCESTER 5, MANCHESTER 2
Worcester forward Dan DaSilva notched his first career AHL hat trick, and Worcester moved back into first place in the Atlantic Division with a 5-2 road win over Manchester at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
The Sharks (33-16-2-2, 70 points) edged one point up on the Monarchs (31-18-2-5, 69 points) for the division’s top spot and finished 5-2-0-1 in their season series vs. Manchester.
DaSilva got Worcester’s offense started just 23 seconds after the opening face-off, and Frazer McLaren made it a 2-0 game at the 12:31 mark.
DaSilva extended the Sharks’ lead to 3-0 late in the second period before defenseman Alec Martinez finally put the Monarchs on the board with an unassisted marker 3:47 into the third period.
Jon Rheault then tallied a shorthanded goal at 5:56 to close Manchester’s gap to 3-2, but T.J. Trevelyan notched an insurance goal for Worcester less than eight minutes later. DaSilva completed his hat trick with an empty-netter with 1:36 to play.
Dwight Helminen (0-3-3) and Andrew Desjardins (0-2-2) each contributed multiple assists for Worcester, and rookie goaltender Alex Stalock made 33 saves for his league-leading 29th win of the season (29-12-1).
SYRACUSE 7, PROVIDENCE 4
After a pair of rough outings to begin the weekend, Syracuse’s offense came to life on Sunday in a 7-4 road win over Providence at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
The seven goals marked a season-high for the Crunch, who had combined for one goal in losses at Portland and Manchester to begin the weekend.
Alexandre Picard tallied a hat trick to lead the offensive charge, and Michael Blunden also posted three points with a goal and two assists.
Ex-Bruin defenseman Jonathan Sigalet chipped in a goal and an assist for Syracuse, while captain Derek MacKenzie and defenseman Michael Ratchuk also found the back of the net.
Defenseman Dylan Reese posted two assists, and Crunch goaltender Dan LaCosta earned the win with 32 saves in net.
Zach Hamill scored twice for the Bruins, giving the former first-round draft pick a point in four straight games (3-3-6). Mikko Lehtonen and Jamie Arniel also notched goals in the loss, as Providence’s four-game winning streak came to an end.
SAN ANTONIO 2, MILWAUKEE 1
Mikkel Boedker broke a 1-1 tie with just 2:52 to play in regulation, and San Antonio held on for a 2-1 road win over Milwaukee before a crowd of 12,246 fans at the Bradley Center.
Boedker, drafted eighth overall by the parent Phoenix Coyotes in 2008, tallied his seventh goal of the season and was assisted by Rampage captain Jeff Hoggan.
The game was scoreless through the first period, but Milwaukee’s Ryan Maki and San Antonio’s Matt Watkins traded scores in the middle frame.
Rampage goaltender Justin Pogge made 27 saves to run his winning streak – and the Rampage’s – to three games. Pogge has stopped 97 of 100 shots (.970) over those three contests.
San Antonio improved to 5-1-0-2 on its 14-game road trip, which continues on Wednesday at Chicago.
CHICAGO 3, HOUSTON 0
Making his first appearance since Jan. 22, Drew MacIntyre pitched a 24-save shutout as Chicago continued surging with a 3-0 road win over Houston before 9,063 fans at the Toyota Center on Sunday.
MacIntyre, a Second Team AHL All-Star each of the last two seasons, collected his first shutout of the year and improved his season record to 13-11-1.
The Wolves scored all three of their goals in the second period. Matt Anderson broke a scoreless deadlock with a shorthanded marker 13:05 into the frame, and Patrick Galivan tallied his first career AHL goal just 1:23 later. Jason Krog added a power play goal in the period’s closing minute.
Chicago swept its three-game weekend road trip to the Lone Star State and extended its overall winning steak to four games.
The Wolves have a point in 10 straight games (8-0-0-2) and now own a three-point lead on Rockford for first place in the West Division.
BINGHAMTON 4, ROCHESTER 2
Binghamton rallied for a trio of third-period goals to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 win over visiting Rochester on Sunday at the Broome County Arena.
Senators forward Keegan Dansereau began the rally by tallying the equalizer on the power play at 7:55 of the third frame, and defenseman Paul Baier’s first goal of the season at 10:48 gave Binghamton a 3-2 lead.
2010 AHL All-Star Ryan Keller sealed the victory with an empty-net marker with 1:07 to play in regulation.
Former AHL All-Star Jonathan Cheechoo posted a goal and an assist for the Senators after being assigned by parent-club Ottawa on Saturday, while Josh Hennessy and Zack Smith each contributed a pair of assists.
Ex-Amerks goaltender Mike Brodeur earned the win with 34 saves for Binghamton, which bounced back nicely from a 7-0 loss at Albany on Saturday.
Defenseman Clay Wilson (1-1-2) and forward Michal Repik each scored for the Americans, who dropped to 2-5-0-0 in their last seven contests.
HERSHEY 5, LOWELL 2
Hershey rebounded from a rare loss and kept Lowell skidding with a 5-2 win over the visiting Devils on Sunday before 10,530 fans at the Giant Center.
The Bears, whose 11-game winning streak ended on Saturday in a shutout loss at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, improved to 24-2-0-0 in their last 26 games and earned a two-game sweep of their season series with the Devils.
Five different Hershey skaters found the back of the net. Defensemen Patrick McNeill and John Carlson each posted a goal and an assist, as did forward Chris Bourque.
Francois Bouchard and rearguard Grant McNeill added goals on the afternoon, and Mathieu Perreault contributed two assists.
Bears rookie goaltender Braden Holtby (17-3-1) bounced back from a rough outing on Saturday to earn the win with 32 saves on 34 shots in net.
Patrick Davis and defenseman Matt Cohen scored for the Devils, who were outscored 13-3 in dropping all three games of their East Division road swing. Lowell is winless in six straight contests overall (0-4-1-1).
