đź“ť by Patrick Williams
Here is a look at Friday night around the AHL:
TORONTO 5, LAVAL 4 (OT)
The Marlies (7-2-0-0) won their fifth consecutive game behind a hat trick from forward Logan Shaw, sweeping a two-game set with the Rocket (2-7-1-0) at Place Bell. Dylan Ferguson had 36 saves for Toronto; Laval’s Cayden Primeau finished with 27 stops. Shaw had five goals and two assists in the two games in Laval. At 14 points, Toronto is tied with the Ontario Reign and Providence Bruins for the AHL lead.
ROCHESTER 5, UTICA 3
The Amerks (6-3-0-0) rallied with four unanswered goals to erase Utica’s 3-1 second-period lead in their third consecutive win. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 37 saves as Rochester won for the 10th time in the last 15 meetings with the Comets, including last spring’s North Division semifinal playoff series. The teams head to Utica on Saturday to finish their home-and-home set.
CHARLOTTE 3, SYRACUSE 2
Two goals from captain Zac Dalpe helped the Checkers (5-1-1-1) break a three-game winless streak and improve to 5-0-0-0 at home this season. Third-period goals from Darren Raddysh and Simon Ryfors 12 seconds apart had helped Syracuse (1-5-1-2) overcome a 2-0 deficit before Dalpe countered with the game-winner.
SPRINGFIELD 5, HARTFORD 1
Josh Leivo’s hat trick and Will Bitten’s league-leading third shorthanded goal pushed the Thunderbirds’ point streak to six games (5-0-0-1). Leivo was making his Thunderbirds debut on the same ice where he won playoff MVP honors and hoisted the Calder Cup with Chicago in June. Joel Hofer had 34 saves and recorded an assist.
CHICAGO 5, CLEVELAND 2
Forward Brendan Perlini provided a hat trick and one assist while Pyotr Kochetkov made 39 saves for the Wolves (3-3-1-0). Forwards David Farrance and Joseph LaBate each had a goal and an assist in the opener of Chicago’s two-game visit to Cleveland.
GRAND RAPIDS 5, IOWA 4 (OT)
Jonatan Berggren’s successful overtime penalty shot earned the Griffins the come-from-behind win after Taro Hirose’s goal with 4:47 to go in regulation had set up OT. Grand Rapids is 3-3-0-0 through six games of its eight-game road trip, which continues tonight in Rockford.
ELSEWHERE
Calgary 3, Tucson 2
Belleville 3, Lehigh Valley 2
Texas 4, Manitoba 1
Bakersfield 3, Henderson 1
Milwaukee 3, San Diego 1
Abbotsford 5, Coachella Valley 2
Patrick Williams has been on the American Hockey League beat for nearly two decades for outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, The Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and SLAM! Sports. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
