LAKE ERIE 4, SYRACUSE 0
Lake Erie goaltender Tyler Weiman made 28 saves for his third shutout in 15 appearances this season as the Monsters took a 4-0 road win over division-rival Syracuse on Saturday at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Weiman improved to 3-0-1 in his last four decisions and 8-5-2 overall for the Monsters, who received a pair of goals from Marty Sertich in the victory.
Sertich opened the game’s scoring at 18:36 of the first period and made it 2-0 on the power play at 5:25 of the second.
Lake Erie captain Nathan Smith tallied a shorthanded marker with 1:08 to play in the second, and Andrew Sarauer’s first career AHL goal rounded out the scoring at 14:11 of the third.
Defenseman Kyle Cumiskey chipped in a pair of assists for the Monsters, who will wrap up a four-game road swing on Sunday in Hershey.
The Crunch saw their winless skid extend to nine games (0-8-0-1). Their last win came on Nov. 28, a 5-1 decision over Toronto.
BINGHAMTON 4, BRIDGEPORT 1
Defenseman Drew Fata netted a pair of goals to lead Binghamton to a 4-1 road win over Bridgeport at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Rookie forward Zack Smith racked up a game-high three points (1-2-3) for the Senators, who also received a goal and a helper from Marc Cavosie.
Brian Lee chipped in two assists in the victory, and goaltender Brian Elliott stopped 21 of 22 shots in net. Binghamton moved to 4-0-1-0 in its last five contests.
Jeff Tambellini netted the Sound Tigers’ lone goal of the evening.
GRAND RAPIDS 2, MILWAUKEE 0
Goaltender Jimmy Howard made 28 saves for his first shutout of the season as Grand Rapids blanked Milwaukee by a 2-0 count at Van Andel Arena.
With the win, the Griffins completed a two-game sweep of the Admirals this weekend and won their third straight game overall.
Jakub Kindl and Francis Pare netted goals in the victory, with Pare adding an assist on Kindl’s score for a multiple-point effort.
The Admirals have now lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time since Oct. 13-17. Mike Santorelli’s 14-game scoring streak came to an end in the defeat.
HAMILTON 6, HARTFORD 2
Rookie David Desharnais scored a pair of goals as Hamilton cruised to its third straight win, a 6-2 road decision over Hartford at the XL Center.
Yanick Lehoux (1-1-2) and Max Pacioretty (0-2-2) also posted multiple-point nights for the Bulldogs. Chad Anderson, Alex Henry, and Brock Trotter added goals in the winning effort.
First-year goaltender Cedrick Desjardins stopped 39 of 41 shots for Hamilton to pick up the victory.
Jordan Owens and Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau lit the lamp for the Wolf Pack, who saw their five-game points streak (4-0-0-1) come to an end.
HERSHEY 4, LOWELL 2
Hershey jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and held on to post a 4-2 win over visiting Lowell in front of 7,832 fans at the Giant Center.
Graham Mink got the Bears’ offense started by scoring his 13th goal of the season just 11 seconds into the contest. Kyle Wilson followed at 15:50 with his first of two on the night, giving Hershey a 2-0 lead at intermission.
Andrew Gordon extended the advantage to 3-0 at 1:34 of the second, but Lowell’s Jon DiSalvatore cut it to 3-1 before the period was out.
Barry Tallackson scored his first goal of the season for Lowell with 3:38 left in regulation, but Wilson sealed it for the Bears with an empty-netter in the closing minute.
Goaltender Daren Machesney only had to make 17 saves for the Bears, who held a 36-19 advantage in shots and snapped a brief two-game losing skid. Lowell is now winless in six straight outings (0-5-0-1).
PORTLAND 4, PROVIDENCE 2
Mathieu Darche tallied the game-winning goal and added an assist as Portland doubled up Providence by a 4-2 count at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Dylan Hunter also had a goal and a helper for the Pirates, while Derek Whitmore and Colton Fretter added scores in the win, which ended Portland’s three-game losing skid.
Pirates goaltender Jhonas Enroth stopped 18 of 20 shots between the pipes. With the win, Portland moved one point back of Providence for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Johnny Boychuk and Peter Schaefer netted goals for the Bruins.
TORONTO 3, SPRINGFIELD 1
Toronto netted a pair of third-period goals to take a 3-1 road win over Springfield at the MassMutual Center.
Alex Foster broke a 1-1 tie for the Marlies at 4:40 of the final frame, and Brent Aubin added an insurance goal at the 18:12 mark.
Springfield’s Taylor Chorney and Toronto’s Tim Stapleton traded first-period goals, and neither side scored in the second. Chorney’s goal was the first of his professional career.
Marlies goaltender Adam Munro earned the victory with 24 saves on 25 shots.
NORFOLK 3, PHILADELPHIA 2 (SO)
Brandon Bochenski and Chris Gratton tallied shootout goals to push visiting Norfolk over streaking Philadelphia by a 3-2 count at the Wachovia Spectrum.
Radek Smolenak and Jason Ward netted regulation goals for the Admirals, who matched a season high with their third straight victory. Smolenak has a goal in all three contests (4-0-4).
Norfolk goaltender Karri Ramo made 30 saves through regulation and overtime before turning aside all four of Philadelphia’s tries in the shootout.
Jared Ross and Claude Giroux scored in regulation for the Phantoms, who earned a point but saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end. Giroux now has a goal in six straight outings (7-4-11).
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, ALBANY 3
Tommy Goebel netted a pair of goals to pace Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 4-3 win over visiting Albany before 6,705 fans at the Wachovia Arena.
Goebel, who entered with just one goal on the season, scored once in the second period and once in the third.
Janne Pesonen had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, and Chris Minard also lit the lamp. Goaltender John Curry made 25 saves in the victory.
Mike Angelidis tallied two goals for the River Rats, Ryan Weston had a goal and a helper, and Jonathan Paiement chipped in two assists. Albany finished 0-3-0-0 on its three-game road swing.
WORCESTER 3, MANCHESTER 1
Ryan Vesce and Cory Larose each posted a goal and two assists, factoring into all three goals as Worcester took a 3-1 win over visiting Manchester at the DCU Center.
Ex-Monarch Brendan Buckley gave the Sharks a 1-0 lad with a shorthanded goal at 10:31 of the opening period, and Vesce made it 2-0 at 13:42. Larose followed with his team-leading 13th goal of the campaign at 1:34 of the middle stanza.
Bud Holloway put the Monarchs on the board with a power play marker midway through the third, but Manchester would get no closer and suffered its fourth straight loss.
Sharks goaltender Thomas Greiss made 20 saves in the victory, which pulled Worcester (16-13-0-0, 32 points) into a third-place tie with Hartford in the Atlantic Division.
PEORIA 4, IOWA 0
Four different skaters netted goals and Ben Bishop made 15 saves for his first professional shutout as Peoria took a 4-0 road win over Iowa at Wells Fargo Arena.
The win gave the Rivermen a split of the teams’ home-and-home set this weekend and earned them a share of second place in the West Division with 35 points, a spot also shared by Iowa, Milwaukee, and Houston. It was also Peoria’s first win in four tries against the Chops this season (1-2-1-0).
Steve Regier scored in the first period for the Rivermen, who then received third-period markers from Josh Soares, Trent Whitfield, and Chris Conner. Whitfield and Conner each finished with a goal and a helper on the night.
The Chops dropped to 0-2-1-1 in their last four home contests.
HOUSTON 2, ROCKFORD 1
Houston netted a power play goal in each of the first two periods and held on for a 2-1 road win over Rockford at the MetroCentre, giving the Aeros a sweep of the teams’ two-game set.
The Aeros are now on a eight-game points streak overall (5-0-0-3) and are part of a four-way tie with Milwaukee, Iowa, and Peoria for second place in the West Division. The quartet of squads has 35 points apiece.
Defenseman Tomas Mojzis scored in the first period for Houston, and Marco Rosa followed in the second. Rosa assisted on Mojzis goal to finish with a multiple-point night.
Aeros goaltender Barry Brust earned the win with 24 saves on the night, allowing only a third-period goal to IceHogs defenseman Jordan Hendry.
QUAD CITY 2, MANITOBA 1
Quad City ended a seven-game winless skid (0-4-2-1) with a 2-1 victory over Manitoba on Saturday, giving the Flames a split of the teams’ two-game set at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.
Aki Seitsonen tallied the game-winning goal for the Flames at 1:47 of the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie with just his second marker of the campaign.
The Moose initially took a 1-0 lead when Alexandre Bolduc scored at 4:15 of the opening stanza, but Quad City’s Jamie Lundmark – reassigned from parent-club Calgary earlier in the day – tied it on the power play 14:44 into the second.
Flames goaltender Leland Irving earned the victory with 24 saves on 25 shots.
The Moose (21-8-0-0) saw their four-game winning streak come to an end.
