Western Conference notebook

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Stephen Baby has recorded 12 points in his last 11 games after going scoreless over his first 10 outings this season. Kevin Doell scored on a first-period penalty shot but was denied in the shootout in Chicago’s 4-3 loss to Milwaukee on Monday. The Wolves had two penalty shot attempts in that game: Billy Tibbetts failed to convert 4:53 into the contest.

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Cleveland has dropped four in a row heading into this week’s two-game series with San Antonio at the Quicken Loans Arena. Defenseman Ray DiLauro recorded a goal and two assists in the Barons’ 5-3 loss to Hamilton on Thursday. Lukas Kaspar ended an 18-game drought with a goal in Friday’s 4-1 loss to Grand Rapids.

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Donald MacLean’s three-goal, five-point effort on Thursday vs. Hershey makes him the second player in Griffins history to record two hat tricks in one season. Rookie defenseman Clay Wilson, the CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week, had five points (including two game-winning goals) in three games. Grand Rapids has followed up its five-game losing streak with a four-game winning streak, with three home games on tap for this week.

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Defenseman Jean-Philippe Cote recorded an assist in Thursday’s 5-3 win over Cleveland, his first point of the season. Danny Syvret has recorded seven assists in his last six games. The Bulldogs are busy this week, hosting Syracuse and Rochester before visiting Grand Rapids and Peoria.

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Kirby Law became the first AHL player to reach 20 goals this season when he scored twice in Monday’s 7-1 rout of San Antonio. With Monday’s win, Houston is now 11-0-1-0 in its last 12 home games against the Rampage. Roman Voloshenko scored a goal in Russia’s 5-1 win over Sweden in Monday’s opener of the 2006 World Junior Championships.

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Mike Smith returned to the Stars and made a season-high 46 saves in Monday’s 3-2 win over Peoria. It was the sixth win in a row for the Stars, who are 10-1-1-1 in their last 13 games. Mathias Tjarnqvist scored twice on Monday, giving him nine goals and two assists in nine games with Iowa.

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Manitoba has been off since a 1-0 win over San Antonio on Dec. 17. The Moose return to action with a two-game visit from Toronto, playing Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon. Rick Rypien scored a goal in his NHL debut for Vancouver last week.

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Pekka Rinne stopped one of two Chicago penalty shots in the first period, then went 4-for-4 in the shootout during Monday’s 4-3 win over the Wolves. Rookie defenseman Shea Weber scored twice on Monday, and now has four goals and two assists in his last four games. Darren Haydar remains on top of the Admirals’ scoring list with 31 points in 31 games.

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Winless in its last four games (0-2-1-1), Omaha wraps up a four-game road trip in Grand Rapids on Wednesday. Steve Bancroft, who made his AHL debut with the Newmarket Saints in 1990, played in his 500th AHL game on Dec. 17. Calgary recalled defenseman Richie Regehr from Omaha on Monday, but he did not play in the Flames’ game vs. Vancouver.

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Peoria returned to action following a week off and dropped a 3-2 decision to Iowa on Monday night, the Rivermen’s fifth straight road loss. Trent Whitfield extended his scoring streak to 11 games with a goal (7g, 8a). Doug Lynch recorded an assist in Canada’s 2-1 shootout loss to HC Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the opening game of the Spengler Cup tournament in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday.

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Jiri Novotny extended his scoring streak to five games (2g, 4a) with an assist in Friday’s 3-2 win over Hamilton. Nathan Paetsch, the AHL’s top-scoring defenseman with 28 points, is also tied for second overall with 25 assists this season. Daniel Paille made his NHL debut with Buffalo on Thursday, and recorded an assist in a 4-1 win at Tampa Bay on Friday.

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San Antonio visits Cleveland for two games this week before starting a five-game homestand against Iowa on Friday. The Rampage are 3-10-0-0 in their last 13 games at the SBC Center, with all three wins coming via shootout. Brent Cullaton scored the only Rampage goal in Monday’s 7-1 loss to Houston, his first goal in 13 games.

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Defenseman Andy Delmore, who played nine games in 11 days between Syracuse and Columbus from Dec. 13-23, has recorded a point in eight straight AHL contests (2g, 13a). Joe Motzko’s nine-game scoring streak ended in Rochester on Thursday, but he rebounded with three points in Friday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Albany. The Crunch are 4-1-1-0 in their last six games.

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Toronto extended its winning streak to five games with a 5-2 win over Lowell on Wednesday night. John Pohl scored twice in that win, giving him eight points (5g, 3a) in his last four games. Defenseman Staffan Kronwall has four assists in three games since returning to the Marlies from the parent Maple Leafs.