📝 With files from Patrick Williams
Here is a look at Sunday’s action around the AHL:
SYRACUSE 4, PROVIDENCE 0
Hugo Alnefelt set an AHL career high with 51 saves for his second shutout of the season, backstopping the Crunch to a victory in Providence. Alnefelt, who has allowed six goals total in his last five starts, stopped 21 shots in the first period while Syracuse built an early 3-0 lead on goals by Gemel Smith and All-Stars Gabriel Dumont and Alex Barré-Boulet. Philippe Myers added a shorthanded goal in the second period for the Crunch, who have five consecutive road wins. Kyle Keyser stopped 18 of 19 shots in two periods of relief work for the Bruins.
BRIDGEPORT 2, HERSHEY 0
Jakub Skarek stopped all 39 shots he faced as the Islanders spoiled Teddy Bear Toss Night at Giant Center with a shutout win over Hershey. Arnaud Durandeau scored both goals and Chris Terry recorded a pair of assists for Bridgeport, which had lost each of its previous seven meetings with the Bears. Since ending an 11-game winless skid, the Islanders have won four of their last six.
MANITOBA 3, TORONTO 2
Leon Gawanke scored the go-ahead goal with 7:42 left in the third period to send the Moose to a victory over the Marlies. Gawanke’s goal was his 11th of the season, tied for the AHL lead among defensemen. Oskari Salminen made 22 saves and Cole Maier and Dominic Toninato had the other goals for Manitoba, which has won five of its last seven games. The loss was only the third in regulation in a 20-game span for Toronto (16-3-0-1), which finished 6-2-0-0 on its eight-game road trip.
GRAND RAPIDS 5, CHICAGO 3
The Griffins overcame an early 2-0 deficit with five straight goals, two of them from Elmer Soderblom, to defeat the Wolves at Allstate Arena. Soderblom also had an assist for his first three-point AHL game, and Simon Edvinsson, Jakub Vrana and Joel L’Esperance chipped in with a goal and an assist apiece for Grand Rapids. Ronan Seeley scored twice for Chicago; after going 36 games without a goal, Seeley has three in his last two games.
TUCSON 5, ABBOTSFORD 2
Ivan Prosvetov made 38 saves as the Roadrunners completed a sweep of the Canucks’ two-game visit to Tucson Arena. First-period goals from Victor Soderstrom and Milos Kelemen put Tucson ahead 2-0, and Dysin Mayo’s second-period tally stood as the game-winner. AHL leading scorer Michael Carcone reached 60 points on the season with a pair of assists. Phil Di Giuseppe scored both goals for Abbotsford.
CALGARY 4, ONTARIO 1
Matthew Phillips picked up his league-leading 24th goal, breaking a 1-1 tie and sending the Wranglers past the Reign and into first place in the Pacific Division. Jakob Pelletier tallied a goal and an assist and Dustin Wolf made 21 saves to improve to 25-5-1 on the season. Lias Andersson scored for the Reign, his 11th goal in the last 10 games, and Cal Petersen stopped 28 of 30 shots in the Ontario net.
TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams has been on the American Hockey League beat for nearly two decades for outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, The Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and SLAM! Sports, and was most recently the co-host of The Hockey News On The ‘A’ podcast. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
