SPRINGFIELD 5, PROVIDENCE 1
A three-goal third period helped lift Springfield to a 5-1 victory over Providence on Saturday at the MassMutual Center.
Third-year forward Viacheslav Trukhno paced the Falcons’ offense with two goals and an assist, and Charles Linglet also scored twice.
Geoff Paukovich added a goal, and defenseman Chris Armstrong chipped in with three assists. The Falcons went 2-for-5 on the power play and held Providence scoreless on seven opportunities.
The Bruins received their lone goal from Jamie Arniel at 17:17 of the third period.
HAMILTON 7, BELFAST (EIHL) 0
The Hamilton Bulldogs defeated the Belfast Giants 7-0 in the semifinal of the Gardiner Cup on Saturday at the Murrayfield Ice Rink in Edinburgh, Scotland.
With the win, the Bulldogs will now play the Toronto Marlies in the Championship game tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. EST.
Ryan Russell led the way with two goals and two assists for Hamilton. Brock Trotter also netted a pair of goals in the victory, while Ryan White, Mikael Johansson, and Chad Anderson rounded out the offense.
Bulldogs starting goaltender Cedrick Desjardins and backup Robert Mayer combined to make 14 saves in the victory.
TORONTO 6, EDINBURGH (EIHL) 1
The Toronto Marlies easily defeated the Edinburgh Capitals, 6-1, on Saturday afternoon in the other Gardiner Cup semifinal.
The Capitals started the game strong, breaking in on Marlies starting goalie Beau Erickson just 10 seconds into the game, but weren’t able to get the puck past him.
After failing on two consecutive power plays in the first period, including a 5-on-3 advantage, the Marlies got on the board when Alex Berry was able to beat Capitals starting netminder Cody Rudkowsky. Andre Deveaux and Ryan Hamilton capitalized on a 2-on-1 late in the first period to give the Marlies a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.
Ben Ondrus opened the second period with slap shot that beat Rudkowsky on his glove side, and Alex Foster finished a beautiful tic-tac-toe play midway through the second period to put Toronto ahead 4-0.
Edinburgh forward Simon Lambert ended Erickson’s shutout bid on a breakaway late in the second period.
Foster and Dale Mitchell each added third period goals for the Marlies. Hamilton finished the game with three assists and Oreskovic recorded two helpers.
ALBANY 5, ADIRONDACK 1
Five different players netted goals as Albany took a 5-1 win over Adirondack at the Times Union Center on Saturday, giving the River Rats a split of the teams’ two preseason clashes this weekend.
Zach Boychuk and Jacob Micflikier led the way with a goal and an assist apiece, and Albany also got goals from captain Mike Angelidis, Stefan Chaput, and Harrison Reed. The River Rats held a 27-16 shots on goal advantage, including 18-5 in the first period en route to an early 2-0 lead on the scoreboard.
Defenseman Jonathan Paiement picked up two assists in the winning effort, and goaltender Justin Peters made 15 saves on 16 shots.
Bryan Marshall tallied the Phantoms’ lone goal on the power play in the second period.
LOWELL 6, PORTLAND 3
Jeff Prough scored twice to lead the Lowell Devils to a 6-3 victory over the Portland Pirates at the Portland Ice Arena.
Nathan Perkovich, Nick Palmieri, Alexander Vasyunov and Eric Castonguay netted the other Lowell goals, while Matt Taormina supplied a pair of assists.
Rookie forwards Mark Voakes and Tyler Ennis paced the Pirates with a goal and an assist each. Fellow rookie Paul Byron also scored.
Lowell led 4-0 after one and 5-1 heading into the third.
J.P. Lamoureux played the entire game between the pipes for the Pirates. The rookie goaltender allowed six goals on 33 shots in the loss.
Gerald Coleman went the distance for the Devils turning aside 35 shots in the win.
BRIDGEPORT 3, HARTFORD 2
Despite getting outshot 40-18, Bridgeport eked out a 3-2 win over Hartford in preseason action at the Rinks at Shelton.
Sound Tigers goaltender Scott Munroe stopped eight of nine shots during the first period before giving way to Mikko Koskinen, who made 30 saves on 31 shots over the final two frames.
Paul Healey, who skated for Hartford in 2003-04, scored twice for Bridgeport. Vladimir Nikiforov posted a goal and two assists in the victory, and James Sixsmith added a pair of helpers.
Derek Couture and Dane Byers netted goals for the Wolf Pack, who suffered their first loss in three preseason outings.
HOUSTON 3, SAN ANTONIO 2 (SO)
Chad Rau’s goal in the sixth round of the shootout lifted Houston to a 3-2 win over San Antonio at the Sugar Land Ice & Sports Center in Sugar Land, Texas.
Duncan Milroy and Gregg Johnson tallied regulation goals for the Aeros, and the shootout was scoreless on both sides until Rau beat Rampage goaltender Timo Pielmeier.
Anton Khudobin, a key piece of the Houston squad that reached last spring’s Western Conference Finals, started in net and stopped 12 of 13 shots over 40 minutes of action for the Aeros. Wade Dubielewicz took over and made three saves on four shots in the third period and overtime before going a perfect 6-for-6 in the shootout.
San Antonio received tallies from Colin Long and Jay Henderson.
LAKE ERIE 2, ROCHESTER 1
Rookie Brock Bradford’s goal at 19:56 of the third period broke a 1-1 tie and lifted Lake Erie to a 2-1 win over Rochester at Hoover Arena in Strongsville, Ohio.
Defenseman Kevin Schaeffer registered a first-period goal for the Monsters and then assisted on Bradford’s game-winner to finish with a two-point night.
Lake Erie goaltender Billy Sauer stopped 26 of 27 shots in the winning effort.
Andrew Sweetland tallied the Americans’ lone goal at 17:53 of the third period, which at the time made it a 1-1 contest.
HERSHEY 5, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 2
Hershey erupted for four goals in the third period to erase a 2-1 deficit and capture a 5-2 road win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in front of 5,202 fans at the Wachovia Arena.
Francois Bouchard started the rally just 25 seconds into the third frame, and defenseman Zach Miskovic followed with a shorthanded marker at 5:51 to give the Bears a 3-2 lead. Joe Finley and Steve Pinizzotto tacked on insurance goals, the latter on the power play with 1:11 left in regulation.
Anton Gustafsson also scored for the Bears, while Gavin Morgan and Oskar Osala each chipped in a pair of assists. Hershey goaltender Braden Holtby stopped 20 of 22 shots in the winning effort.
Dustin Jeffrey and Eric Tangradi each registered a power play goal for the Penguins.
BINGHAMTON 3, SYRACUSE 2 (SO)
Binghamton rallied in both regulation and the shootout to emerge with a 3-2 win over Syracuse at the Broome Community College Ice Center.
The Senators trailed 2-1 after Syracuse’s Jared Aulin scored at 12:04 of the third period, but Sens captain Denis Hamel responded with the equalizer just 13 seconds later.
After Crunch forward Daniel Steiner succeeded in the fourth shootout round, Binghamton’s Erik Condra and Martin St. Pierre bagged goals in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively, to give the Senators the victory.
St. Pierre notched a shorthanded goal in regulation for Binghamton. Senators goaltenders Mike Brodeur and Andy Chiodo combined to stop 20 of 22 shots on the night.
Defenseman Kevin Roeder also scored in regulation for the Crunch, and Kevin Harvey picked up a pair of assists.
CHICAGO 3, MILWAUKEE 2 (OT)
Darryl Smith scored at 2:48 of overtime to lift Chicago past Milwaukee by a 3-2 count on Saturday at the Hoffman Estates Park District Ice Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Former AHL rookie of the year Brett Sterling potted a goal and an assist in regulation for the Wolves, and Kevin Doell also scored.
The Admirals twice rallied from a one-goal deficit to tie the game, receiving tallies from Wacey Rabbit and defenseman Ethan Graham. Rabbit assisted on Graham’s goal, which came with just 50 seconds remaining in the third period.
Wolves goaltender Peter Mannino stopped all 17 shots he faced in 31:32 of action, while Kevin Armstrong made 17 saves on 19 shots in relief.
ROCKFORD 5, PEORIA 1
A three-goal third period sent Rockford on its way to a 5-1 triumph over intra-state rival Peoria on Saturday at the MetroCentre.
Nathan Davis and Bracken Kearns led the way for the IceHogs with a pair of goals apiece, and Maxime Tanguay also found the back of the net.
Pete MacArthur, Derek Nesbitt, and defenseman Dave Phillips each posted a pair of assists, and Rockford goaltender Joe Fallon picked up the win with 30 saves.
After spotting Rockford the game’s first five goals, the Rivermen finally got on the scoreboard when Brendan Bell beat Fallon at 4:49 of the third period. Julian Talbot and Chris Porter picked up the helpers.
