WORCESTER 5, MANCHESTER 2
Worcester used 40-17 shots advantage to take a 5-2 win over Atlantic Division-leading Manchester at the DCU Center on Tuesday.
Steven Zalewski scored twice for the Sharks, who improved to 11-2-0-1 in their last 14 games and snapped a brief two-game winless skid (0-1-0-1) against the Monarchs.
Zalewski registered his first two-goal game since Nov. 15 and now shows a team-leading 12 goals (12-17-29) in 32 games on the season.
Rookie Benn Ferriero posted a goal and an assist for the Sharks, who also received markers from John McCarthy and Dennis McCauley. 2010 AHL All-Star Logan Couture had a pair of assists to improve his scoring streak to six games (2-8-10).
Worcester rookie goaltender Alex Stalock only had to make 15 saves on 17 shots to record his league-leading 17th victory of the season (17-8-1).
Defenseman Patrick Mullen and forward Juraj Mikus notched goals for the Monarchs, whose three-game winning streak came to an end.
SYRACUSE 3, TEXAS 2 (SO)
Jared Aulin scored twice in regulation and then notched the decisive shootout goal as Syracuse eked out a desperately needed 3-2 road win over Texas before 6,483 fans at the Cedar Park Center.
The Crunch snapped a six-game winless skid (0-5-1-0) and collected just their third victory in the month of December (3-7-1-0).
Aulin staked the Crunch to a 2-0 lead with goals just 16 seconds apart in the opening period, as he struck at 4:49 and again at 5:05. Tomas Kana picked up the first of his two assists on Aulin’s initial goal, and the second came unassisted.
Former AHL defenseman of the year Andrew Hutchinson pulled the Stars within 2-1 at 17:10 of the opening frame, and Warren Peters tallied the equalizer in the second frame.
After Syracuse’s Bates Battaglia and Texas’ Travis Morin traded third-period goals, Aulin converted in the second shootout round for the Crunch and Brendan Bell followed in the fourth round.
Crunch goaltender Kevin Lalande denied all four Stars attempts after making 35 saves on 38 shots through regulation and overtime.
MILWAUKEE 7, ROCKFORD 1
Seven different Milwaukee skaters found the back of the net as the Admirals ran away with a 7-1 win over visiting Rockford on Tuesday at the Bradley Center.
Milwaukee staked itself to a 7-0 lead before Rockford’s Matt Keith spoiled the shutout bid with just three seconds left in regulation. Admirals goaltender Mark Dekanich finished with 32 saves in the winning effort.
Peter Olvecky, Ben Guite, and 2010 AHL All-Star Cal O’Reilly each had a goal and an assist for the Admirals. Mark Santorelli, Chris Mueller, Colin Wilson, and Dave Scatchard also scored in the victory, and Wacey Rabbit chipped in two assists.
All told, 16 of Milwaukee’s 18 skaters recorded at least one point in the victory, with only Scott Ford and Mike Santorelli being held scoreless.
The Admirals, who hadn’t scored as many as seven goals in a game since a 7-2 victory at Peoria on Feb. 2, 2008, improved to 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 outings.
PROVIDENCE 3, SPRINGFIELD 2 (OT)
Defenseman Andy Wozniewski’s power play goal 2:18 into overtime allowed Providence to escape Springfield with a 3-2 win over the Falcons on Tuesday at the MassMutual Center.
The Bruins, who entered the contest on a three-game losing skid, grabbed a 2-0 lead by the 3:07 mark of the second period on goals by Kirk MacDonald and Jeff Penner, the latter on the power play.
But the Falcons clawed back into the game, as Rob Hisey scored in his AHL debut at 3:51 of the middle frame and then assisted on 2010 AHL All-Star Charles Linglet’s power play strike 2:42 into the third period.
Wozniewski’s game-winning goal, which was his seventh tally of the season, was assisted by Mikko Lehtonen and Trent Whitfield.
Bruins goaltender and ex-Falcon Dany Sabourin earned the victory with 30 saves on 32 shots.
Springfield’s franchise-record winless streak extended to 16 games (0-11-4-1).
PEORIA 5, LAKE ERIE 3
Derek Armstrong netted a goal and assisted on two others as Peoria halted Lake Erie’s four-game winning streak with a 5-3 road win over the Monsters on Tuesday at Quicken Loans Arena.
Armstrong made it 1-0 just 56 seconds after the opening face-off, and defenseman Jonas Junland netted a pair of power play goals to give the Rivermen a 3-0 edge.
Pascal Pelletier and Barry Tallackson also scored for the Rivermen, and 2010 AHL All-Star Darren Haydar recorded a pair of assists in the winning effort.
Peoria goaltender Ben Bishop emerged with the victory after making 28 saves on 31 shots.
Brian Willsie, Ryan Stoa, and T.J. Hensick all scored for the Monsters, who lost for the first time since a 1-0 setback at Manitoba on Dec. 18.
HERSHEY 5, NORFOLK 3
Chris Bourque scored twice and captain Bryan Helmer notched the eventual game-winning goal shorthanded in the third period as Hershey took a 5-3 road win over Norfolk at the Scope.
Bourque lit the lamp late in the second frame and then sealed the victory with an empty-netter in the closing minute. Helmer’s goal gave the Bears a 4-2 lead at 5:02 of the third frame, but Norfolk’s Juraj Simek cut it to 4-2 just 24 seconds later.
2010 AHL All-Star Alexandre Giroux and Steve Pinizzotto also notched goals for Hershey, while Andrew Joudrey and defenseman Patrick Wellar each chipped in a pair of assists. Goaltender Jason Bacashihua made 30 saves between the pipes.
The Bears extended their season-high winning streak to seven games and now hold an 11-point lead on Albany for first place in the East Division.
Brandon Bochenski’s third-period tally for Norfolk was his 76th as an Admiral, tying him with Casey Hankinson for first overall since the team joined the AHL in 2000-01.
SYRACUSE 3, TEXAS 2 (SO)
Jared Aulin scored twice in regulation and then notched the decisive shootout goal as Syracuse eked out a desperately needed 3-2 road win over Texas before 6,483 fans at the Cedar Park Center.
The Crunch snapped a six-game winless skid (0-5-1-0) and collected just their third victory in the month of December (3-7-1-0.
Aulin staked the Crunch to a 2-0 lead with goals just 16 seconds apart in the opening period, as he struck at 4:49 and again at 5:05. Tomas Kana picked up the first of his two assists on Aulin’s initial goal, and the second came unassisted.
Former AHL defenseman of the year Andrew Hutchinson pulled the Stars within 2-1 at 17:10 of the opening frame, and Warren Peters tallied the equalizer in the second frame.
After Syracuse’s Bates Battaglia and Texas’ Travis Morin traded third-period goals, Aulin converted in the second shootout round for the Crunch and Brendan Bell followed in the fourth round.
Crunch goaltender Kevin Lalande denied all four Stars attempts after making 35 saves on 38 shots through regulation and overtime.
