TORONTO 4, HARTFORD 0
Rookie goaltender Jussi Rynnas turned in a 33-save shutout effort to pick up his first North American win as Toronto took a 4-0 road win over Hartford on Tuesday at the XL Center. The surging Marlies improved to 3-0-0-2 at the halfway point of their 10-game road swing.
Rynnas had begun the season 0-3-1 in five appearances despite putting up a respectable 2.56 goals-against average and .909 save percentage. In this tilt, the Finland native stopped 12 Wolf Pack shots in the first and third periods, and nine more in the second frame.
Rookie forward Jerry D’Amigo provided all the offense Rynnas would need at 2:09 of the second period when he scored on the power play for his second tally of the year.
Joey Crabb, Josh Engel, and Mike Zigomanis (1-1-2) all added goals for the Marlies, while Justin Hodgman and rookie Nazem Kadri each contributed a pair of assists in the winning effort.
Toronto improved to 5-6-0-2 (12 points) on the season, and while the Marlies still sit in last place in the North Division, they are within just five points of first-place Hamilton and Abbotsford in the tightly-packed division.
The Wolf Pack, who entered the night averaging a league-low 2.07 goals per game, appeared to have broken out of their offensive funk with a 7-1 win over Bridgeport on Sunday. But Hartford lost for the 10th time in 11 games (1-8-2-0) and scored one or zero goals for the eighth time this season.
HERSHEY 5, CHARLOTTE 2
Kyle Greentree tallied a pair of goals while Boyd Kane and Francois Bouchard had a goal and an assist apiece as Hershey captured a 5-2 road win over Charlotte on Tuesday at Time Warner Cable Arena.
The Bears (7-4-0-1) split their two-game set with the Checkers and moved into a second-place tie with Charlotte in the East Division, although Hershey holds four games in hand.
Bouchard and Greentree staked the Bears to a 2-0 lead by scoring 56 seconds apart in the opening period, and defenseman Patrick Wellar added his first of the season to make it 3-0 after 20 minutes.
Charlotte pulled within 3-2 on goals by Chris Terry and Zac Dalpe, but Greentree added his second of the night early in the third period and Kane found an empty net in the closing minutes.
Bears goaltender Dany Sabourin stopped 37 of 39 shots to pick up just his second victory of the season (2-4-0).
ROCKFORD 4, PEORIA 1
Rockford raced out to a 3-0 lead after the first period and never looked back en route to a 4-1 win over visiting Peoria at the MetroCentre on Tuesday.
Rookies Kyle Beach, Jeremy Morin, and Nick Leddy all notched opening-period goals for the IceHogs, and Ryan Potulny added a power play strike early in the second frame.
Beach – whose marker also came on the power play – and Potulny each finished with a goal and two helpers on the night, and IceHogs defenseman Shawn Lalonde contributed a pair of assists.
The struggling Rivermen finally got on the board when defenseman Mark Cundari netted a power play goal of his own at 3:53 of the third period. Peoria fell to 1-4-0-1 in its last six games following a 7-1-0-0 start to the season.
Rockford goaltender Alec Richards (4-3-0) earned the win with 20 saves on 21 shots, while Peoria’s Ben Bishop made 31 saves in the losing effort.
SAN ANTONIO 6, OKLAHOMA CITY 3
San Antonio struck for a trio of third-period goals, turning a 3-3 deadlock into a dramatic 6-3 road win over Oklahoma City on Tuesday night at the Cox Convention Center.
The Rampage (9-4-1-0, 19 points) overcame deficits of 1-0 and 3-2 to take the victory and move into a first-place tie in the West Division with the Barons (9-6-1-0), who have played two more games.
Oklahoma City’s Jake Taylor took a cross-checking minor at the second period’s conclusion, and red-hot Rampage forward Mathieu Beaudoin made him pay with a power play strike 45 seconds into the third frame, giving San Antonio a 4-3 lead. Beaudoin leads the Rampage with eight goals and 15 points on the season, and he’s found the scoresheet in 11 of his first 14 contests.
Rookie Maxim Goncharov added his first North American goal for San Antonio at 9:18, and Andrew Ebbett added an empty-netter with a minute to play.
Brett MacLean registered a goal and two assists in the victory; forwards Tim Stapleton and Jed Ortmeyer also scored; and goaltender Al Montoya (3-2-0) stopped 32 of 35 shots between the pipes.
Jean-Francois Jacques and Greg Stewart each scored his first goal of the season for the Barons, while Teemu Hartikainen (1-1-2) notched his fifth.
Oklahoma City has now been outscored 10-4 in dropping a pair of decisions to San Antonio so far on the season.
ABBOTSFORD 3, HOUSTON 2 (SO)
For the second time in as many nights, Abbotsford rallied from a 2-0 deficit in regulation en route to a 3-2 win over visiting Houston on Tuesday at the Entertainment & Sports Centre.
Jon Rheault, Bryan Cameron, and Greg Nemisz notched shootout goals for the Heat, and goaltender Leland Irving stopped three of Houston’s four tries after making 27 saves through the first 65 minutes.
The Aeros grabbed their 2-0 edge in regulation on the strength of two power play goals. Rookie defenseman Jarod Palmer netted his second of the season midway through the opening period, and Robbie Earl, who assisted on Palmer’s marker, followed with his fourth of the campaign late in the middle frame.
But Abbotsford battled back in the third period, as Logan MacMillan (1:49) and defenseman Chris Breen (13:33) each scored his first goal of 2010-11.
With the victory, Abbotsford extended its winning streak to a season-high three games and improved to 3-1 in shootouts on the year.
The Aeros still extended their points streak to six consecutive games (4-0-0-2).
