NORFOLK 5, HARTFORD 1
Norfolk rebounded from a 1-0 first-period deficit to score five unanswered goals en route to a 5-1 win over Hartford on Wednesday at the XL Center in the opener of a four-game road trip.
Five different skaters registered goals for the Admirals, who extended their season-opening winning streak to four games, during which time they have outscored opponents 23-7.
After Tim Kennedy put the Wolf Pack on top with a power play goal midway through the first period, Norfolk struck three times in the middle frame. Chris Durno (1:52), Blair Jones (7:19 – power play), and Mike Angelidis did the damage, with Durno picking up an assist on Angelidis’s goal.
Defensemen Troy Milam and Scott Jackson padded the Admirals’ lead with third-period tallies, and goaltender Cedrick Desjardins (2-0-0) made it stand up by stopping 24 of 25 shots in net.
With the victory, Norfolk moved into a tie atop the East Division with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which is also 4-0-0-0 in the early going.
Hartford saw its three-game points streak (2-0-0-1) come to an end.
ALBANY 2, CHARLOTTE 1
Third-year pro Michael Swift picked an opportune time for his first goal of the season, scoring with 4:23 left in regulation to break a 1-1 tie and lift Albany past visiting Charlotte on Wednesday at the Times Union Center.
Swift, who is coming off a 24-goal and 55-point showing for Lowell in 2009-10, was assisted on the game-winner by Nathan Perkovich and rookie defenseman Harry Young.
Charlotte took an early 1-0 lead when Chris Terry buried his second of the year 7:15 into the contest, assisted by Jiri Tlusty and rearguard Casey Borer. All three players are among those on the Checkers’ roster who played in Albany when the Carolina Hurricanes’ prospects were based there the past four seasons before shifting to Charlotte this year.
The Devils didn’t stay behind for long, as rookie center Adam Henrique notched his first pro goal only 2:37 after Terry scored. It remained 1-1 until Swift’s late heroics.
Albany goaltender Jeff Frazee earned the victory with 25 saves, helping his club to its third straight win since dropping its season opener to Adirondack on Oct. 9.
Justin Pogge took the loss with 24 stops for the Checkers, who stumbled to 1-5-0-0 out of the gate. Charlotte continues a five-game road trip on Saturday at Adirondack.
SAN ANTONIO 4, LAKE ERIE 2
San Antonio scored twice in a 26-second span late in the third period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead, and the Rampage went on to a thrilling 4-2 victory over visiting Lake Erie at the AT&T Center on Wednesday.
With his club down by a goal, Rampage forward Brett MacLean made it 2-2 with a power play strike at 15:47. On the very next shift, newcomer Bracken Kearns buried his first of the season off assists by Alexandre Picard and Viktor Tikhonov.
Ryan Hollweg added an empty-netter at 18:30, with Kearns picking up an assist, and just like that the Rampage collected their second win over Lake Erie in the last four days and improved to 3-2-1-0 overall.
Mikkel Boedker (1-1-2) and MacLean (1-1-2) joined Kearns in posting multiple points for San Antonio, and goaltender Matt Climie picked up the win in net with 31 saves on 33 shots.
Lake Erie rookie Mark Olver, who started the year by posting two assists in four outings with parent-club Colorado, netted a goal in his AHL season debut. Matthew Ford also scored for the Monsters.
ABBOTSFORD 3, CHICAGO 0
Abbotsford scored once in each period and kicked off three-game Midwest road trip with a 3-0 win over Chicago at Allstate Arena on Wednesday.
Heat forward Jon Rheault recorded his first goal of the season midway through the opening period. Cam Cunning and Matt Keith finished with their third and fourth tallies in the second and third periods, respectively, both on the power play.
Defenseman Keith Seabrook picked up an assist on each of the latter two goals, and Cunning helped out on Keith’s marker to finish with multiple points.
Abbotsford goaltender Leland Irving (3-2-0) only faced 13 shots on the night but stopped them all to record his third professional shutout and first of the 2010-11 campaign.
The Wolves’ three-game winning streak came to an end with their first shutout against of the year.
