PROVIDENCE 6, SPRINGFIELD 0
Providence raced out to a 4-0 lead after 20 minutes and cruised to its second straight win over Springfield, a 6-0 decision at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Sunday.
Trent Whitfield notched two goals and two assists for the Bruins, who have put together back-to-back victories for the first time since Dec. 29 and Jan. 1.
Providence, which collected an 8-2 win in Springfield on Saturday night, started quickly in this one as Kirk MacDonald scored 1:48 after the opening face-off. Zach Hamill (4:41) and Jamie Arniel (8:56) followed to make it a 3-0 lead, with each earning an assist on the other’s goal, and Brad Marchand’s power play strike extended the lead to 4-0.
Whitfield tallied both of his goals in the second period, registering his 10th and 11th markers of the season. Neither side scored in the third frame.
Marchand (1-2-3) and Mikko Lehtonen (0-2-2) joined Whitfield, Hamill, and Arniel in registering multiple points for the Bruins, who improved to 7-1-0-0 vs. Springfield this season.
Providence has tallied six or more goals in a game on four occasions this year, and three of those have come against the Falcons.
P-Bruins goaltender Dany Sabourin (19-16-0) made 28 saves to pick up his second shutout in his last three appearances, and third overall on the campaign.
HERSHEY 6, BINGHAMTON 1
Hershey’s offensive machine hummed along again on Sunday, racking up six more goals in a 6-1 win over visiting Binghamton before 8,414 fans at the Giant Center.
Bears winger Alexandre Giroux notched two goals and two assists for a game-high four points. Keith Aucoin put up a goal and two helpers, and in the process became just the 42nd player in AHL history to reach 600 career points.
Boyd Kane and Kyle Wilson each posted a goal and an assist for the Bears, and Mathieu Perreault rounded out the offense. Defenseman John Carlson chipped in two helpers.
Goaltender Michal Neuvirth (11-5-0) made 32 saves to earn the victory in his first appearance for Hershey since Dec. 6.
The Bears pushed their overall winning streak to eight games and their home winning streak to 16 games, extending a franchise record.
Erik Condra scored the Senators’ lone goal of the night, as Binghamton dropped their fourth straight outing.
NORFOLK 2, BRIDGEPORT 1 (SO)
Defenseman Ty Wishart converted in the 13th round of a shootout, and Norfolk goaltender denied Pascal Morency on Bridgeport’s ensuing attempt as the Admirals prevailed over the Sound Tigers by a 2-1 count at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Norfolk heads home after wrapping up its seven-game road trip at 6-0-1-0, which brings the Admirals’ back to .500 on the season at 23-23-3-0.
Blair Jones, Mitch Fadden, Juraj Simek, and Ryan Cruthers also notched shootout goals for Norfolk, while the Sound Tigers received successful attempts from Trevor Smith, Greg Mauldin, Greg Moore, and Tyler Haskins.
Norfolk’s Matt Fornataro tallied a power play goal in the opening period, but the Sound Tigers’ Michael Haley answered in the second frame.
Admirals rookie goaltender Dustin Tokarski stopped 36 of 37 shots and picked up the win, while Scott Munroe made 38 saves in the loss for Bridgeport.
LOWELL 4, WORCESTER 3 (OT)
Lowell extended its road winning streak to seven games by capturing a 4-3 overtime decision over Worcester at the DCU Center.
Michael Swift netted the game-winner 1:55 into the extra session for the Devils, who pulled into a tie with Worcester for second place in the Atlantic Division at 62 points apiece.
The Devils grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by Stephen Gionta and defenseman Tyler Eckford, but the Sharks’ Benn Ferriero and defenseman Danny Groulx tied it up with goals less than six minutes apart in the second frame.
Brad Mills put Lowell back on top in the second period’s closing minute, only to watch Ferriero tally his second of the night seven minutes into the third period.
Devils goaltender Jeff Frazee came away with the victory after making 31 saves on 34 shots.
The Sharks’ five-game winning streak came to an end.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 3, MANITOBA 1
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scored once in each period en route to a 3-1 win over struggling Manitoba at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
After Matt Pettinger gave the Moose a 1-0 lead just 1:07 after the game began, Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy tallied a power play goal to tie it up at the 15:21 mark.
Tim Wallace notched the eventual game-winning marker midway through the second frame, and Luca Caputi added an empty-netter with 1:12 to play.
Pens goaltender John Curry bounced back from a rough outing on Friday vs. Hershey to earn the victory with 31 saves between the pipes.
The Moose head home following a 1-5-0-0 road trip and dropped to 1-7-0-0 in their last eight contests overall.
TORONTO 4, LAKE ERIE 2
Toronto halted a four-game winless skid (0-2-0-2) with a 4-2 triumph over Lake Erie at Ricoh Coliseum on Sunday.
Tim Brent and Greg Scott each tallied a goal and an assist for the Marlies; 2010 AHL All-Star Christian Hanson potted a shorthanded goal, and Andre Deveaux also found the back of the net.
Marlies goaltender Joey MacDonald stopped 21 of 23 shots to pick up the win in net, avenging a 6-3 loss to the Monsters on Friday.
Matthew Ford and Brian Willsie scored for the Monsters, who fell to 1-3-0-0 in their last four contests.
HAMILTON 3, MILWAUKEE 2
Brock Trotter tallied a pair of power play goals as Hamilton edged host Milwaukee by a 3-2 count on Sunday at the Bradley Center, earning the ‘Dogs a sweep of the teams’ two match-ups in the past week.
Trotter now shows a team-leading 24 goals on the season, and each of the last four games in which he found the back of the net resulted in multiple-goal efforts.
Max Pacioretty also scored for the Bulldogs, who wrapped up a seven-game road swing by collecting their fourth straight win.
Hamilton goaltender Curtis Sanford earned the victory with 23 saves between the pipes.
Hugh Jessiman and Colin Wilson each posted a goal and an assist for the Admirals.
ROCHESTER 2, ADIRONDACK 1
Jeff Taffe snapped a 1-1 tie at 13:51 of the third period, and Rochester held on for a 2-1 win over visiting Adirondack at the Blue Cross Arena.
Jamie Johnson and Daniel Steiner assisted on Taffe’s 17th goal of the season, which pushed the Americans to their seventh win in nine games (7-2-0-0).
Rochester initially grabbed a 1-0 lead when defenseman Jordan Henry tallied an unassisted goal 2:43 into the contest, but Phantoms forward David Laliberte tied it up at 29 seconds of the second period.
Amerks rookie goaltender Alexander Salak earned the win with 37 saves on 38 shots in goal.
TEXAS 3, PEORIA 2 (SO)
Texas converted on three of its five shootout tries and eked out a 3-2 road win over Peoria on Sunday at Carver Arena.
The Stars closed out a perfect three-game weekend, earned their fifth straight win overall, and moved to 7-0-1-0 in their last eight outings.
Ivan Vishnevskiy, Colton Sceviour, and Perttu Lindgren notched shootout goals for the Stars, and goaltender Todd Ford stopped three of Peoria’s five attempts.
Ford stopped 35 of 36 shots through regulation and overtime, improving his season mark to 4-0-1.
Both regulation tallies were scored in the first period. Nicholas Drazenovic put the Rivermen on top with a power play marker at 16:07, but Texas’ Travis Morin answered at 18:58.
Peoria suffered its second shootout loss in as many days.
