GRAND RAPIDS 2, LAKE ERIE 1 (SO)
Grand Rapids ran its winning streak to eight games on Wednesday afternoon with a 2-1 shootout decision over visiting Lake Erie. Kris Newbury tallied the lone shootout goal for either side, helping his club improve to 7-0-0-0 at home this season.
Griffins goaltender Daniel Larsson denied all five of the Monsters’ shootout attempts after making 26 saves on 27 shots through regulation and overtime. The 2009 AHL All-Star improved to 5-2-0 on the campaign.
Regulation time in this one played out much differently than the teams’ first clash of the year on Sunday in Cleveland, which the Griffins captured by an 8-6 final.
Jeremy Williams tallied a power play goal to put Grand Rapids on top with 1:37 to play in the first period, with Newbury and defenseman Jakub Kindl picking up the assists.
It remained a 1-0 game through the second period and half of the third before the Monsters’ Brock Bradford tied it at the 13:22 mark. Marty Sertich and Chris Durno earned helpers on Bradford’s fifth goal of the season.
Newbury beat Monsters rookie goaltender Trevor Cann in the fifth shootout round, after Cann had stopped tries by Williams, Mattias Ritola, Cory Emmerton, and Francis Pare. Cann finished with 34 saves on the afternoon.
Lake Erie dropped to 0-3-0-1 in its last four contests.
SYRACUSE 4, ALBANY 3 (SO)
Syracuse climbed out of a 3-1 hole in the third period and eventually skated off with a 4-3 shootout win over visiting Albany at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Trevor Frischmon brought the Crunch within 3-2 at 7:07 of the third frame and then assisted on Alexandre Picard’s game-tying goal at the 12:18 mark. Dan Fritsche, who scored in the second period, picked up an assist on both third-period markers.
Frischmon also finished with a goal and two helpers for the Crunch, who received shootout tallies from Maksim Mayorov, Pascal Pelletier, and defenseman Brent Regner.
Goaltender Kevin Lalande stopped 31 shots through regulation and overtime and denied three of five shootout tries for Syracuse, which improved to 4-1-1-0 at home this season compared to a 1-5-1-1 road mark.
Jerome Samson, Pat Dwyer, and Stefan Chaput netted regulation goals for the River Rats, while Chris Terry and Jamie McBain converted in the shootout.
LOWELL 7, WORCESTER 3
Lowell turned in its second strong offensive performance in as many visits to Worcester this season, taking a 7-3 win over the Sharks on Wednesday afternoon at the DCU Center.
The Devils, who earned a 7-5 triumph in their first trip to Worcester on Oct. 17, extended their overall winning streak to three games and moved to 4-1-1-0 in their last six contests.
Nathan Perkovich led the way with a goal and two assists for Lowell, which also received scores from Vladimir Zharkov (1-1-2), Matt Taormina, Nick Palmieri, Trevor Kell, Ben Walter, and Jeff Prough. Kell and Prough both registered their first goals of the season.
Lowell scored twice on an early power play to take a 2-0 lead. Taormina converted a one-timer with a 5-on-3 advantage at 6:56, and Perkovich poked home a loose puck in the crease just 43 seconds later.
Worcester cut its deficit in half on a goal by Brandon Mashinter at 17:33 of the opening period, the rookie’s first marker since scoring twice at Lowell on Oct. 10. But the Devils took control with a trio of second-period tallies before adding two more in the third.
Tyler Eckford (0-3-3), Rob Davison (0-2-2), and Michael Swift (0-2-2) all finished with multiple assists for Lowell, and goaltender Jeff Frazee stopped 30 of 33 shots in net.
Frazer McLaren and rookie Logan Couture also netted goals for the Sharks, who have lost consecutive games for the first time this season.
MANCHESTER 2, HARTFORD 1
Manchester rallied for a pair of third-period goals and took a 2-1 win over visiting Hartford at Verizon Wireless Arena on Wednesday.
Trailing 1-0, the Monarchs received a power play tally from defenseman Andrew Campbell just 54 seconds into the third frame to tie it up. Campbell’s first goal of the season was assisted by rookie Andrei Loktionov and Oscar Moller.
Second-year defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov put Manchester on top for good 2:27 later, with helpers going to Justin Azevedo and Juraj Mikus.
Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier earned the victory with 26 saves, helping his club snap a three-game winless skid (0-1-1-1).
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau initially gave the Wolf Pack a 1-0 lead with a power play goal early in the second period. Hartford’s four-game winning streak came to an end.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 6, PORTLAND 1
Six different players netted goals as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton snapped out of its offensive funk with a 6-1 win over visiting Portland at the Wachovia Arena.
Defenseman Chris Lee paced the Penguins’ offense with a goal and two assists on the night. Fellow blueliner Brian Strait and forward Zach Sill both scored their first professional goals, and the Pens also got markers from Luca Caputi (1-1-2), Keven Veilleux, and Eric Tangradi.
Dustin Jeffrey (0-3-3) and Mark Letestu chipped in multiple assists for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which built a 5-0 lead before Portland’s Mark Mancari broke up the shutout with 2:15 to play in regulation.
Since taking a 6-4 win over Hershey on Oct. 23, the Penguins had gone six straight games without registering more than two goals.
Goaltender John Curry picked up the victory in net with 17 saves on 18 shots.
NORFOLK 5, BINGHAMTON 2
Ex-Senator Brandon Bochenski racked up two goals and two assists, pacing Norfolk to a 5-2 win over Binghamton on Wednesday. The Admirals earned a split of the teams’ two-game mid-week set at the Scope.
Blair Jones registered a goal and two helpers for Norfolk, which staked itself to a 3-0 lead after the first period and never looked back.
Defenseman Ty Wishart tallied his first goal of the season in the victory, fellow rearguard Mike Lundin also scored, and Juraj Simek chipped in with a pair of assists.
Admirals goaltender Riku Helenius earned the victory with 29 saves on 32 shots between the pipes, helping his club move back over .500 for the season at 8-7-0-0 (16 points).
Kaspars Daugavins lit the lamp twice and captain Denis Hamel once for Binghamton, which concludes a three-game road swing at Adirondack on Friday.
PEORIA 5, TEXAS 4 (OT)
Defenseman Bryce Lampman’s second goal of the game came 33 seconds into overtime, lifting Peoria to a 5-4 win over visiting Texas at Carver Arena on Wednesday.
The Rivermen overcame deficits of 1-0, 2-1, and 4-3 to capture their third straight win, all of which have required overtime or a shootout.
Ryan Reaves posted a goal and an assist for the Rivermen, and Yan Stastny and Barry Tallackson rounded out Peoria’s scoring. Chris Porter and Cam Paddock each contributed a pair of assists.
Peoria goaltender Hannu Toivonen earned the win with 28 saves in net.
Greg Rallo netted a pair of goals for the Stars, Warren Peters and Ivan Vishnevskiy each scored once, and Brad Lukowich (0-3-3), Garrett Stafford (0-2-2), and Aaron Gagnon (0-2-2) all posted multiple helpers in the loss.
The Stars’ five-game winning streak came to an end, but Texas earned a point for an eighth consecutive game (6-0-1-1).
