HARTFORD 3, ALBANY 0
Hartford snapped a scoreless tie with three third-period goals in a span of 7:46, and the Wolf Pack went on to post a 3-0 win over Albany on Wednesday in preseason action at the Koeppel Community Sports Center on the campus of Trinity College.
Wolf Pack goaltenders Cameron Talbot (14 saves) and Dov Grumet-Morris (12 saves) combined for the shutout between the pipes.
After the teams played scoreless hockey through the first two frames, Hartford forward Mats Zuccarello broke the deadlock with a power play strike 2:13 into the third period.
Samson Mahbod followed with an even-strength tally at 6:39 – assisted by Zuccarello – and defenseman Lee Baldwin’s power play goal capped the scoring at 9:59.
Devils goaltender Dave Caruso stopped 37 of 40 shots in the losing effort.
PROVIDENCE 4, WORCESTER 0
Providence goaltender Matt Dalton turned in a 22-save shutout performance as the Bruins took a 4-0 win over Worcester in Marlboro, Mass., in the preseason opener for both squads.
Dalton, who went winless in five appearances for Providence as a rookie in 2009-10, sandwiched a seven-save second period between 10-save efforts in the first and third frames.
Yannick Riendeau led the way with a goal and two assists for the Bruins, who raced out to a 2-0 first-period lead and never looked back. Antoine Roussel, Casey Haines, and defenseman Brandon Gentile also scored in the victory.
Carter Hutton (13 saves on 15 shots) and Kevin Reiter (10/12) tended goal for the Sharks.
SYRACUSE 5, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 2
A four-goal third period propelled Syracuse to a 5-2 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday in Oswego, N.Y.
The Crunch earned a sweep of the East Division rivals’ two-game preseason set, having captured a 7-6 shootout decision on Tuesday in Wilkes-Barre.
Kyle Palmieri notched a pair of power play goals and assisted on another for the Crunch, who finished 4-for-9 on the man advantage. Defenseman Mark Mitera (1-1-2) recorded Syracuse’s other power play marker.
Brian Lebler rounded out the Crunch’s offensive attack, and Nick Bonino contributed two assists.
J.P. Levasseur started in goal for Syracuse and stopped 14 of 16 shots before giving way to Timo Pielmeier, who denied all 13 shots sent his way.
Keven Veilleux and Geoff Walker scored for the Penguins.
CHICAGO 5, ROCKFORD 3
Chicago built a 4-1 third-period lead and then held off Rockford for a 5-3 preseason win over its intrastate rivals on Wednesday in Rolling Meadows, Ill.
Dan Kissel and ex-IceHog Akim Aliu each recorded a goal and an assist for the Wolves, with Kissel’s marker at 3:40 of the third period standing up as the game-winner.
Wolves forward Mauro Juri began the game’s scoring late in the opening period, and Michael Davies sealed the victory with a last-minute empty-netter.
Davies’ goal was preceded by scores by IceHogs forwards Kyle Hagel and Peter LeBlanc, which cut a 4-1 Rockford deficit to 4-3. Andy Bohmbach had scored a power play goal in the second period for Rockford.
Chicago goaltenders Edward Pasquale and Chris Carrozzi combined to make 29 saves on 32 shots in the victory.
