Wednesday roundup: Hall paces Norfolk

Wednesday’s AHL Boxscores

NORFOLK 5, WILKS-BARRE/SCRANTON 4
Adam Hall tallied two goals and added two assists for a four-point night as Norfolk halted a five-game winless skid with a 5-4 road triumph over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday at the Wachovia Arena.

Hall, a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2008 Eastern Conference championship squad, tallied his seventh and eighth goals of the season for the Admirals, who had been 0-4-1-0 in their previous five contests.

Ryan Craig also scored twice in the victory, with Hall picking up an assist on both markers. Radek Smolenak rounded out Norfolk’s scoring, and former AHL All-Star Martins Karsums (0-4-4) and Matt Lashoff (0-2-2) each chipped in multiple assists.

Admirals rookie goaltender Dustin Tokarski picked up the victory with 36 saves between the pipes.

Mark Letestu and 2010 AHL All-Star Dustin Jeffrey each led the Penguins with a goal and an assist, while Tim Wallace and rookie Eric Tangradi also found the back of the net. Nick Johnson contributed two assists in the losing effort.

SAN ANTONIO 3, GRAND RAPIDS 2
San Antonio struck for three goals in the first period and held on for a 3-2 road win over stumbling Grand Rapids at Van Andel Arena on Wednesday.

Rampage forward Gavin Morgan opened the game’s scoring just 1:07 into the contest, 2010 AHL All-Star defenseman Sean Sullivan made it 2-0 at 6:08, and Ryan Hollweg converted a power play to extend the lead to 3-0 at 16:06.

The Griffins battled back into it, as Logan Pyett scored late in the first and Jan Mursak made it 3-2 with his 16th goal of the season – and fourth in as many games – 11:12 into the middle frame.

But San Antonio held on for the victory and moved to 5-0-0-1 in its last six games and 16-15-3-2 overall, the first time the Rampage have been above .500 since the morning of Nov. 7.

Rampage goaltender Josh Tordjman earned the victory with 27 saves on 29 shots.

The Griffins have now lost seven of their last eight contests (1-7-0-0).

MANCHESTER 2, SPRINGFIELD 1
Marc-Andre Cliche notched a pair of goals as Manchester rallied past visiting Springfield by a 2-1 count on Wednesday at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Cliche tied the contest at 1-1 with a power play goal 10:24 into the second period before registering the game-winner at 1:11 of the third period.

Gabe Gauthier, Andrew Campbell, Bud Holloway, and Geoff Walker each posted an assist for the Monarchs, and 2010 AHL All-Star Jonathan Bernier stopped 22 of 23 shots in the winning effort. Manchester halted a three-game winless skid (0-2-0-1).

Rob Hisey notched his fourth goal in five games since joining the Falcons, giving Springfield a 1-0 lead in the opening period.

ADIRONDACK 4, ALBANY 3 (OT)
Stefan Legein scored his team-leading 18th goal of the season 4:05 into overtime to lift Adirondack to a 4-3 road win over Albany at the Times Union Center.

The Phantoms battled back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 en route to the victory. David Laliberte tied the contest at 3-3 with 1:07 to play in regulation, and Adirondack also got goals from defenseman Marc-Andre Boudon and 2010 AHL All-Star Jon Matsumoto.

Defenseman Joonas Lehtivuori posted two assists in the win, and Phantoms goaltender Johan Backlund denied 25 of 28 shots sent his way.

Chris Terry recorded a goal and an assist for the River Rats, while Nick Dodge and Mike Angelidis also scored in the loss.

LOWELL 3, HARTFORD 2
Rookie forward Nick Palmieri scored his second goal of the night with just one minute left in regulation, sending Lowell to a 3-2 win over Hartford at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., home of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.

Palmieri combined with first-year defenseman Matt Taormina to give the AHL Devils a 2-0 lead in the second period.

But the Wolf Pack battled back to a draw on third-period strikes by Paul Crowder and Dale Weise, with defenseman Ilkka Heikkinen earning a pair of assists.

Palmieri’s game-winning goal was assisted by Tim Sestito – who had two helpers on the night – and defenseman Cory Murphy. Lowell goaltender Jeff Frazee took the win with 28 saves in net.

Hartford’s four-game winning streak and five-game points streak (4-0-0-1) both came to an end.

HAMILTON 3, CHICAGO 1
Hamilton rallied from a 1-0 deficit to post a 3-1 win over visiting Chicago at Copps Coliseum, spoiling former head coach Don Lever’s return to Steeltown as bench boss of the Wolves.

The Bulldogs held a 14-2 shots advantage in the opening period but were held in check by Chicago goaltender Peter Mannino, and it was the Wolves who struck first when Johnny Pohl converted a power play 1:54 into the second frame.

2010 AHL All-Star defenseman P.K. Subban answered for Hamilton with a power play tally of his own at 18:07 of the second, and David Desharnais registered an unassisted goal 5:28 into the third to put the Bulldogs on top for good.

Ryan White’s late empty-netter closed the scoring, and 2010 AHL All-Star Cedrick Desjardins earned the victory with 25 saves in net for the Bulldogs.

Chicago saw its three-game winning streak end and is now 0-3-0-0 this season when trying to extend a winning streak to four games.

ROCKFORD 4, TORONTO 3 (OT)
Jake Dowell’s buzzer-beating goal at 4:59 of overtime lifted Rockford to a 4-3 win over visiting Toronto on Wednesday at the MetroCentre.

Richard Petiot picked up the lone helper on the goal by Dowell, who scored for just the third time all season but second time in his last three contests.

Kyle Greentree notched a pair of regulation goals for the IceHogs, Matt Keith also found the back of the net, and Bracken Kearns registered two assists on the night.

Rockford goaltender Joe Fallon only had to make 16 saves in the winning effort, as his club held a 28-19 advantage in shots, including 3-0 in overtime.

Andre Deveaux and Kyle Calder each posted a goal and an assist for the Marlies, and rookie Tyler Bozak also scored. Toronto’s brief two-game winning streak came to an end.

TEXAS 3, HOUSTON 2 (OT)
2010 AHL All-Star defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy capped Texas’ rally from a 2-0 deficit by scoring 4:21 into overtime, lifting the Stars to a 3-2 win over visiting Houston at the Cedar Park Center.

Fabian Brunnstrom picked up his second assist of the night on the play, and Warren Peters also earned a helper. The Stars snapped a season-high five-game winless skid (0-3-0-2), collecting their first victory since a 5-2 decision over the Aeros in Houston on Dec. 18.

Peters and ex-Aero Mathieu Beaudoin scored in regulation for Texas, both registering power play tallies after Houston had grabbed a 2-0 first-period lead.

Stars goaltender Matt Climie took the victory despite only needing to make seven saves on the night. Texas held a 23-9 shots advantage and held Houston without a shot on goal in the entire second period.

The Aeros took only two shots in the opening period but scored on both of them, receiving goals from Jon DiSalvatore and Duncan Milroy. Colton Gillies assisted on both markers.