GRAND RAPIDS 8, LAKE ERIE 6
Grand Rapids scored eight goals over the final two periods to take an 8-6 road win over Lake Erie on Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena. Cory Emmerton and Jeremy Williams each tallied two goals and an assist for the Griffins, who extended their winning streak to seven games since a 1-5-0-0 start and snapped a four-game road losing skid.
John Vigilante, Mattias Ritola, and defenseman Andy Delmore all finished with a goal and an assist for Grand Rapids, while defenseman Doug Janik also scored. Logan Pyett and Francis Pare each chipped in a pair of helpers, and Emmerton and Vigilante were each plus-4 on the afternoon.
The Griffins overcame deficits of 2-0, 5-4, and 6-5 to post their largest goal output since an 8-4 win over Rochester on Jan. 31, 2009.
Brian Fahey and Brian Willsie gave the Monsters a 2-0 lead in the opening period, scoring the first two of five power play goals for Lake Erie on the afternoon. After the Griffins came back to take a 4-2 advantage, Lake Erie got power play tallies from Fahey, Darren Haydar, and Brock Bradford in a span of 2:09.
Chris Durno also scored for the Monsters and added two assists for a three-point afternoon. Fahey added another goal and chipped in two assists, while Derek Peltier and Cedric McNicoll each had two helpers.
Grand Rapids goaltender Thomas McCollum emerged with the victory after making 19 saves in net.
HAMILTON 1, BINGHAMTON 0
Sergei Kostitsyn broke a scoreless tie at 8:48 of the third period, and Hamilton went on to post a 1-0 win over Binghamton on Sunday at Scotiabank Place, home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.
Mathieu Darche and Yannick Weber assisted on Kostitsyn’s third goal of the season, helping the Bulldogs bounce back from a 2-1 loss to Binghamton on Friday in Montreal.
Second-year goaltender Cedrick Desjardins stopped 31 shots for the Bulldogs to earn his first shutout of the season and Hamilton’s third as a team.
Mike Brodeur made 33 saves on 34 shots in net for the Senators.
SPRINGFIELD 2, PORTLAND 1
Springfield goaltender Devan Dubnyk made 39 saves on 40 shots as the Falcons eked out a 2-1 road win over Portland at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Ryan O’Marra and Colin McDonald netted second-period goals for Springfield, which erased an early 1-0 deficit and moved to 4-1-1-0 in its last six games.
Dubnyk turned in his eighth consecutive 30-plus save performance in net, improving his season record to .500 at 6-6-1.
Rookie Philip Gogulla tallied a first-period goal for the Pirates, who fell to 0-5-0-0 this season following a victory.
LOWELL 3, BRIDGEPORT 2
Lowell finished up a three-game weekend with a 3-2 road victory over Bridgeport on Sunday at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Devils forwards Nathan Perkovich and Michael Swift netted second-period power play goals, which proved to be the difference. Swift’s tally to make it a 3-1 game turned out to be the game-winner when Bridgeport’s Trevor Smith scored with 32 seconds to play in regulation.
Lowell’s Matthew Corrente and the Sound Tigers’ Greg Mauldin traded goals in the opening period.
Goaltender Mike McKenna picked up the win with 28 saves for the Devils, which finished 2-1-1-0 in a stretch of four games in five days.
Bridgeport suffered its fifth straight defeat and fell to 3-10-0-0 in 13 contests since beginning the season with a four-game winning streak.
HERSHEY 5, PROVIDENCE 1
Ex-Bruin Keith Aucoin bagged a pair of goals to lead Hershey past host Providence by a 5-1 count on Sunday in a rematch of last spring’s Eastern Conference Finals.
The Bruins struck first when Mark Derlago scored in his first AHL goal of the season just 34 seconds after the opening face-off.
But Aucoin responded at the 16:39 mark and then gave the Bears the lead for good with a power play score 3:15 into the second frame. Patrick McNeill and Oskar Osala followed with second-period tallies for Hershey, and Francois Bouchard added one late in the third.
Alexandre Giroux chipped in two assists in the victory, and Bears goaltender Michal Neuvirth earned the win with 24 saves. Hershey finished 3-1-0-0 on a four-game New England swing and has won six of its last seven overall.
The Bruins lost their third straight game and dropped to 1-6-1-0 in their last eight contests.
