West Notes: OKC bounces back

Also see… East Notes

 
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Abbotsford began a three-game road trip with a 3-0 win at Chicago on Wednesday… Former first-round draft pick Leland Irving, who gave up five goals in his last outing, a 5-0 loss to Rockford on Friday, stopped all 13 shots he faced to earn the shutout against the Wolves… Newcomer Matt Keith has tallied a goal in two straight games and four of six (4-0-4) to begin the season… Defenseman Keith Seabrook shows four points (1-3-4) in his last two games after going scoreless in his first four contests… The Heat conclude their trip with games this weekend in Rockford and Milwaukee, and Abbotsford will then open an eight-game homestand on Monday vs. Rochester.
 
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Chicago suffered its first shutout of the season on Wednesday, a 3-0 setback to Abbotsford… 19-year-old rookie goaltender Edward Pasquale has started four straight games (3-1-0, 1.93, .928) since counterpart Drew MacIntyre took a 6-3 loss in the season opener at San Antonio on Oct. 8… Spencer Machacek’s season-opening four-game points streak (1-3-4) was halted on Wednesday… Veteran defenseman Mike Siklenka scored on Saturday for his first AHL goal since suiting up for Utah in the 2003-04 campaign… The Wolves have Friday off and visit Rockford on Saturday before opening a four-game homestand Sunday vs. Milwaukee.
 
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With Grand Rapids winning their only two meetings with Manitoba at the MTS Centre last weekend, it marked the first time since 2002-03 (2-0) that the Griffins swept their road season series against the Moose… Grand Rapids will host Manitoba on Oct. 30 and Nov. 5 and then not see the Moose again for the rest of the season… The Griffins’ 10 goals thus far have been scored by nine different players; rookie defenseman Brendan Smith (2-2-4) is the only player with more than one tally… All four of Grand Rapids’ games have been decided by a single goal… The Griffins host Milwaukee on Friday and then visit Rochester and Toronto to close the weekend.
 
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Hamilton dropped its home opener 5-3 to Toronto on Saturday afternoon but rebounded with a 5-2 win over Rochester on Tuesday… That moved head coach Randy Cunneyworth to 2-0-0-0 against his former team on the young season… Third-year defenseman Yannick Weber is tied for the AHL defensemen scoring lead with seven points (3-4-7)… Weber, Ben Maxwell (3-2-5), and David Desharnais (1-3-4) have each found the scoresheet in all three of Hamilton’s contests… Hamilton has converted on four of its first 13 power play tries this season (30.8 percent)… The ‘Dogs visit Manitoba on Thursday and Friday before hosting Oklahoma City on Sunday.
 
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Houston erupted for six goals in a season-opening 6-1 win at Oklahoma City but has combined for six goals in three games since (1-2-0-0)… The Aeros’ schedule had them play three of their first four games against the Barons, and they will close by opposing Oklahoma City in four of their final seven contests… Robbie Earl has netted a goal in two straight games; Earl’s two goals (2-0-2) are in a three-way tie for second on the club behind Petr Kalus’s three (3-1-4)… Houston is just 2-for-21 (9.5 percent) on the power play in the early going, including an 0-for-13 mark at home… The Aeros host Peoria and Lake Erie this weekend, with a Saturday trip to San Antonio in between.
 
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Lake Erie opened by sweeping its throwback home-and-home set with Syracuse but has gone 0-3-0-1 since, with all four contests on the road… Third-year pro Matthew Ford has paced the Monsters’ offense thus far with three goals and five points, including one game-winning tally… Julian Talbot (2-1-3) is the only other skater with more than one goal on the year… Lake Erie is one of four AHL teams to have already struck for two shorthanded markers in 2010-11, along with Abbotsford, Springfield, and Portland… The Monsters close out their seven-game road swing with tilts this weekend at Texas and Houston.
 
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Manitoba has already had two players score a goal in their first professional games this season – Kevin Connauton on Oct. 8 at Peoria and Stefan Schneider last Saturday vs. Grand Rapids… Defenseman Lee Sweatt, who spent the past three years playing overseas, has registered four points (2-2-4) in his first four games for the Moose in 2010-11… Evan Oberg scored twice on three shots in Manitoba’s season opener at Peoria but has gone scoreless and managed only one shot in three outings since… The Moose host Hamilton on Thursday and Friday, and they don’t play again after that until Oct. 29 at Lake Erie, the opener of a seven-game road trip.
 
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Since opening up with a 6-2 win over Abbotsford, Milwaukee has dropped three straight games by identical 3-2 scores – one in regulation, one in overtime, and one in a shootout to enter the new week with the unique record of 1-1-1-1… Rookie Linus Klasen converted a penalty shot on Friday vs. Chicago, marking the Admirals’ first penalty shot attempt since Rich Peverley was denied on Feb. 29, 2008 vs. Providence… Milwaukee’s last conversion prior to Klasen was on Nov. 16, 2007, when Mike Santorelli cashed in vs. San Antonio… Milwaukee has its first three-game weekend upcoming, as they visit Grand Rapids on Friday, host Abbotsford on Saturday, and travel to Chicago on Sunday.
 
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Oklahoma City is on a three-game winning streak since beginning the year 0-2-1-0… The Barons totaled three goals in their first three games but have racked up 15 in their last three, including an 8-2 road pounding of Houston on Sunday… Brad Moran recorded the Barons’ first hat trick in team history on Saturday vs. Lake Erie, helping Oklahoma City overcome a 3-0 deficit for a 4-3 victory… Moran is tied with Alexandre Giroux (3-4-7) and defenseman Shawn Belle (1-6-7) for the team scoring lead… Giroux has collected all of his points in the past four games after going without a point in the first two… The Barons host San Antonio on Friday before visiting Toronto and Hamilton on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
 
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Peoria, which is out to a West Division-best start of 5-1-0-0, has surrendered exactly two goals in all five games of its current winning streak… Goaltenders Ben Bishop and rookie Jake Allen have combined to stop 168 of 178 shots (.944) during the streak… Through six games in 2010-11, newcomer Graham Mink’s 12 points (4-8-12) are nearly one-third of the way to the 37 points (20-17-37) he totaled in 67 contests with Rochester last season… Leading goal-scorer Nicholas Drazenovic (5-3-8) already has two multiple-goal games to his credit this season after totaling two such efforts last year… The Rivermen continue their Lone Star State road trip by visiting all three Texas-based clubs this weekend.
 
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Twenty-year-old rookie goaltender Jacob Markstrom (3-3-0, 3.34, .891) has played every minute of every game for Rochester this season, making the Americans one of two AHL teams to utilize only one netminder so far (Hamilton, Robert Mayer)… The Amerks are 0-2-0-0 against Hamilton and 3-1-0-0 against all other opponents… Former AHL All-Star defenseman Clay Wilson has a point in five of his first six games (3-3-6) to place tied for fourth in scoring among AHL rearguards… Rochester has been outscored 11-6 in the third period after outscoring opponents 13-9 in the first and second frames, combined… The Amerks’ only weekend game is a Saturday night tilt vs. Grand Rapids.
 
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Rockford a pair of games last weekend in its only visit to Abbotsford, earning a 5-0 win on Friday and a 4-3 shootout decision on Saturday… Goaltender Alec Richards earned a 27-save shutout in the Friday night game for his first career AHL whitewash… It marked Rockford’s first shutout on the road since Corey Crawford blanked Lake Erie on Oct. 10, 2009… Rookie winger Jeremy Morin leads the IceHogs with three goals (3-1-3) for the season, and all three have come on the power play… Defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy shows four assists; all four of those have also come on the man advantage… The ‘Hogs host the Heat on Friday and welcome Chicago to town for the first time Saturday.
 
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San Antonio rallied for a 4-2 win over Lake Erie on Wednesday, its second win against the Monsters in a four-day span… Mathieu Beaudoin had an assist in the contest, extending his scoring streak to four games (3-1-4)… Beaudoin leads the Rampage with five goals – tied for first overall in the league – and eight points overall… Brett MacLean has fired 35 shots on goal thus far, second in the AHL behind the 36 attempted by Charlotte’s Jerome Samson… MacLean surpassed Joel Perrault for the franchise lead in power play goals when he tallied his 23rd on Friday vs. Peoria… The Rampage visit Oklahoma City on Friday before hosting Houston and Peoria to close the weekend.
 
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After two straight wins over San Antonio, Texas suffered its first loss of the season on Sunday when it dropped a 5-2 decision to Peoria… Scott McCulloch totaled five goals in 50 AHL games (5-12-17) as a rookie last season, but this year he already shows a team-high four goals (4-1-5) in just three contests… McCulloch has nabbed the game-winning marker in both of the Stars’ wins thus far… Travis Morin is tied with McCulloch for the team lead with five points (3-2-5), and he is pacing Texas with a plus-5 rating… Texas continues a five-game homestand with weekend tilts against Lake Erie and Peoria.
 
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Toronto fell to 0-3-0-0 on home ice Sunday with a 3-1 loss to Binghamton… The Marlies lone win of the season thus far came on the road, a 5-3 triumph at Hamilton on Saturday… Rookie winger Dale Mitchell has registered an assist in each of his first two games played this season, while former first-round pick Nazem Kadri shows a point in three of four (1-2-3) to begin the year… Rookie Brayden Irwin (2-1-3) is the only member of the Marlies with more than one goal through four contests – eight other skaters have one apiece… Toronto has scored just one first-period goal in its first four games combined… After enjoying Friday off, the Marlies host Oklahoma City and Grand Rapids at Ricoh Coliseum over the weekend.