West Notes: Down the stretch they come

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Chicago will miss the playoffs for just the second time in eight AHL seasons, having also missed out in 2006… The Wolves scored as many goals (5) in their 5-0 win over Lake Erie on Wednesday as they had totaled in a four-game losing skid leading up to that tilt… Rookie Matt Anderson registered a season-high three points, all assists, in Wednesday’s victory… Grant Stevenson tallied his first goal since Dec. 3 on Wednesday… Spencer Machacek leads all AHL rookies with 13 power play goals on the campaign… Chicago finishes its season in Milwaukee on Friday and at home against Rockford on Saturday.
 
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Grand Rapids snapped a season-high four-game regulation losing skid on Sunday with a 3-0 victory at Rochester on Sunday… With 14 career shutouts as a Griffin, Jimmy Howard stands two shy of Joey MacDonald’s franchise record of 16… Howard has already surpassed MacDonald’s franchise marks this season in wins (90), games played (185), minutes (10,600:37), and saves (4,809)… Defenseman Brian Lashoff has a point in four straight games (1-4-5) to begin his pro career… Grand Rapids hosts Hamilton in a playoff preview on Friday and concludes the regular season in Peoria on Saturday.
 
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Hamilton is on a three-game winning streak and shows a 12-4-2-0 record since the beginning of March… At 47-27-3-0 overall, the Bulldogs have their most wins since going 49-19-8-4 during the 2002-03 season, which ended with a berth in the Calder Cup Finals… Hamilton is the only AHL team that has not suffered a shootout loss this season (4-0)… AHL All-Rookie defenseman Yannick Weber has set a new Bulldogs record for a blueliner with 10 power play goals this season… Rookie Brock Trotter has netted a goal in four straight games (4-3-7)… The Bulldogs visit future playoff foe Grand Rapids on Friday and conclude the regular season in Toronto on Saturday.
 
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Houston has lost three straight and is 1-5-0-1 in its last seven contests but still sits just one point from clinching its second straight playoff berth in the West Division… The last time the Aeros went three consecutive games without a standings point was Nov. 8-11… With a career-high 75 points (25-50-75) in 74 games, Corey Locke is on track to lead his team in scoring for the second straight season and third time in the last four years… Krys Kolanos, back from NHL recall, shows seven points (3-4-7) in his last six games for the Aeros… Houston concludes the season with a trio of games against intra-state rival San Antonio this weekend.
 
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Iowa suffered consecutive losses at San Antonio last weekend and has been eliminated from playoff contention… The Chops were outscored 9-3 in dropping three of four visits (1-3-0-0) to the AT&T Center this season… Iowa has now suffered seven shutouts on the campaign… Goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur took a tough-luck loss on Saturday, making 35 saves on 36 shots in a 1-0 setback to the Rampage… The Chops wrap up their season with a home-and-home set against division rival Quad City this weekend.
 
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Prior to Wednesday’s 5-0 loss at Chicago, Lake Erie had not been shut out since dropping a 1-0 decision at Hamilton on Feb. 8… Philippe Dupuis’s five-game scoring streak (1-4-5) ended in the loss to the Wolves… The Monsters are the only AHL team that will enjoy Friday night off… Lake Erie will close its season by hosting Manitoba on Saturday… The Monsters are 0-3-0-0 against the Moose on the campaign and have been blanked twice, including a 1-0 final in Manitoba’s previous visit to Cleveland on Jan. 17.
 
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Manitoba has dropped three straight games for the first time since Feb. 20-22 and for just the third time all season… The Moose have clinched their second North Division title in three seasons and will battle either Toronto or Syracuse in the division semifinals beginning next week… The club closes out the regular season with road games against the Marlies and Lake Erie this weekend… Pierre-Cedric Labrie scored his first goal since Feb. 8 in Wednesday’s 6-2 loss at Hamilton… At 24-10-0-4, Manitoba has a chance to finish with the best road record in the AHL this season.
 
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Milwaukee has snapped out of a 1-5-0-1 slide by going on a three-game winning streak… Andreas Thuresson registered his first multiple-goal game since Nov. 22 in the Admirals’ 3-2 win over Chicago on Saturday… That victory gave the Admirals a perfect 8-0-0-0 record in the third game of a three-games-in-three-nights stretch this season… Mike Santorelli is scoreless in two games since returning from parent-club Nashville; he went the entire month of March without a two-game scoring drought… Kelsey Wilson is the only Admiral to play all 79 games thus far… Milwaukee closes the regular season on Friday vs. Chicago and is the only AHL club with Saturday off.
 
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Peoria has a point in eight straight games (6-0-0-2) and has assured itself of finishing no worse than third in the West Division… The Rivermen can clinch second place with a point in either of their last two regular season games (at Rockford on Friday, vs. Grand Rapids on Saturday)… Goaltender Manny Legace is on a personal six-game winning streak, posting a 1.41 GAA and .950 save percentage over that span… Yan Stastny tallied the game-winning goal in three of those six victories… Nicholas Drazenovic snapped a 10-game drought with Peoria’s lone goal in a 2-1 shootout loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday.
 
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Quad City will need two wins this weekend and either two regulation losses by Rockford or three regulation losses by San Antonio to qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs… The Flames are 6-1-0-1 in their last eight games and 17-8-1-2 since Feb. 7… Kyle Greentree is on a three-game scoring streak (3-1-4) and now shows a team-high 39 goals and 73 points for the season… Carsen Germyn has registered a point in five of his last six contests (2-4-6)… Quad City scored three shorthanded goals on Wednesday vs. Rockford to boost its season total to nine… The Flames wrap up with a home-and-home set with Iowa this weekend.
 
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Rochester’s 5-4 overtime win at Toronto on Wednesday marked the Amerks’ highest goal output in a game since capturing a 5-3 decision at Manchester on Jan. 16… Karl Stewart posted his first multiple-goal effort on Wednesday since Dec. 28 at Hamilton… Stefan Meyer has registered four points (2-2-4) in his last four contests, while Janis Sprukts shows six points (1-5-6) in his last four tilts… The Amerks could go a long way toward determining the North Division’s final playoff spot, as they defeated Toronto on Wednesday and will close the season with a home-and-home set with arch-rival Syracuse this weekend.
 
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Rockford welcomed a season-high crowd of 6,229 to the MetroCentre on Saturday vs. Milwaukee, bettering the previous mark of 5,994… Defenseman Brian Connelly tallied his first professional goal in that contest… The IceHogs have an AHL-high 10 shootout wins this season (10-6), and their 16 shootout games are tied with Manchester for most in the league… Prior to scoring on Friday at Syracuse, Jeff Christian’s last AHL goal came as a member of Albany on Apr. 2, 1994… Rockford looks to clinch a playoff spot on the season’s final weekend, as it hosts Peoria on Friday and visits Chicago on Saturday.
 
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San Antonio is on a five-game winning streak and is 8-1-0-0 in its last nine games to maintain slim hope of finishing above last place in the West Division, where it has spent most of the season… Joel Perrault has tallied the game-winning goal in five of the Rampage’s last seven wins, and he has totaled 10 goals (10-4-14) in his last nine contests… David Spina has registered a point in six of his last seven outings (1-7-8)… The Rampage close the season with a trio of games against intra-state rival Houston this weekend… San Antonio will bring an even 19-19-0-1 home mark into their finale at the AT&T Center on Saturday.
 
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Syracuse is on a five-game points streak (3-0-1-1) but will enter the season’s final weekend one point back of Toronto for fourth place in the North Division… Derek MacKenzie is currently riding a seven-game scoring streak (1-7-8), while Alexandre Picard has netted a goal in three straight games (3-0-3) and five of his last six (5-0-5)… Rookie Maksim Mayorov is also riding a three-game goal-scoring streak (3-0-3)… Syracuse is 20-9-5-3 in one-goal games this season… The Crunch close out the regular season with a home-and-home set against last place Rochester.
 
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Toronto is trying to reach the Calder Cup Playoffs for the third time in its four-year existence… Jiri Tlusty registered two assists in Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime loss to Rochester and shows three points (1-2-3) in his last two games… Tim Stapleton tallied his second hat trick of the season on Wednesday and has set a Marlies franchise record with 76 points (27-49-76) for the campaign, eclipsing the 75 points put up by John Pohl in 2005-06… Stapleton’s 49 assists are also a team record, two better than Bates Battaglia registered during that same 2005-06 campaign… Jeremy Williams’s 18 power play goals match a team record; John Pohl also scored 18 in 2005-06… The Marlies host Manitoba and Hamilton to close the regular season.