WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 5, ALBANY 1
Red-hot Dustin Jeffrey tallied a pair of power play goals and assisted on another as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton finished 3-for-6 on the man advantage overall en route to a 5-1 road win over Albany on Wednesday at the Times Union Center.
Jeffrey registered his third consecutive multiple-point showing (4-3-7) and his sixth such performance in his last nine contests (7-7-14). The third-year pro continues to lead the Penguins in scoring with 11 goals and 27 points in 22 games for the season.
Robert Bortuzzo notched Wilkes-Barre’s other power play goal on the night, while Brett Sterling and Tim Wallace nabbed even-strength markers just 16 seconds apart early in the second period.
Sterling finished with a goal and an assist on the night, and defensemen Steve Wagner and Corey Potter each chipped in a pair of helpers. Pens goaltender John Curry stopped 21 of 22 shots in net, improving to 8-2-0 on the campaign.
First-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (18-4-0-0, 22 points) extended its winning streak to three games and improved to 11-1-0-0 on the road this season.
Michael Swift potted the Devils’ lone goal midway through the opening period. Albany fell to 3-8-0-0 on home ice for the year.
HAMILTON 3, ABBOTSFORD 2 (SO)
Hamilton let a pair of one-goal leads in the third period slip away, but the Bulldogs eventually collected a 3-2 shootout victory over visiting Abbotsford at Copps Coliseum.
It marked the teams’ first clash since Hamilton ousted Abbotsford in a six-game North Division Finals series during last spring’s Calder Cup Playoffs.
Hours after being named Reebok/AHL Player of the Month following a 10-goal, 17-point November, Max Pacioretty kicked off December by scoring twice more for Hamilton, his team-leading 12th and 13th goals of the season. Linemate David Desharnais assisted on both markers.
Pacioretty’s first goal came 9:59 into the contest, and that 1-0 edge held until the 2:26 mark of the third, when Abbotsford’s Hugo Carpentier tied it with his first AHL goal of the season. Pacioretty put the ‘Dogs back on top at 12:44, but Heat rookie Lance Bouma made it a 2-2 game a little more than three minutes later.
Aaron Palushaj and Gabriel Dumont netted shootout goals for Hamilton, while goaltender Curtis Sanford (8-1-0) stopped four of the Heat’s five tries after making 37 saves through the first 65 minutes.
Abbotsford has extended to the shootout in five of its last 10 games, going 3-2 in that span. Overall, the Heat fell to 4-3 in shootouts this year.
WORCESTER 2, CONNECTICUT 1 (SO)
Jonathan Cheechoo and Dan DaSilva each notched a shootout goal to help Worcester edge visiting Connecticut on Wednesday at the DCU Center.
The Sharks halted a brief two-game losing skid overall and improved to 2-0-0-0 against the Whale this season.
Kevin Henderson put Worcester on the board 11:36 into the game, a lead which held until there was just 4:20 left in regulation, when Connecticut rookie defenseman Tomas Kundratek tallied the equalizer. For both Henderson and Kundratek, it marked their second goals of the season.
Cheechoo converted in the shootout round, but Kundratek answered for the Whale in the fourth round. But after Sharks goaltender Alex Stalock denied Evgeny Grachev in round six, DaSilva scored to end it.
Stalock finished with 22 saves through regulation and overtime and picked up his 10th victory of the season (10-8-1-0).
Connecticut failed in a bid to win three straight games for the first time this season.
MILWAUKEE 6, MANITOBA 3
Milwaukee fired just 20 shots on goal but scored on six of them as the Admirals doubled up visiting Manitoba by a 6-3 count on Wednesday at the Bradley Center.
The Admirals, coming off a season-high 10-game road trip, emerged victorious in their first home tilt since a 4-1 win over Chicago back on Nov. 7.
Chris Mueller paced the Milwaukee offense with a pair of goals – including an empty-netter – and an assist for a three-point night. Jamie Lundmark recorded a goal and a helper, and the Admirals also got scores from Gabriel Bourque, Linus Klasen, and Mike Bartlett.
Kelsey Wilson contributed two assists to the victory, and Milwaukee goaltender Mark Dekanich improved to 10-3-3 on the year with 27 saves on 30 shots between the pipes.
Jonas Andersson, Jordan Schroeder, and defenseman Evan Oberg tallied goals for the Moose, who finished 2-1-0-2 on a four-game road trip.
Manitoba returns home this weekend to welcome Oklahoma City for a pair of tilts at the MTS Centre.
