📝 With files from Patrick Williams
Here is a look at Saturday’s action around the AHL:
CALGARY 3, ONTARIO 1
The Wranglers (21-7-0-1, .741) closed out 2022 with the best record in the AHL, defeating the Reign for their sixth consecutive win and seventh straight on the road. Jakob Pelletier scored a pair of power-play goals in the second period and Dustin Wolf finished with 33 saves. Since starting the season with five losses in their first seven games, the Wranglers have gone 19-2-1-0. Alex Turcotte picked up his third goal in four games for the Reign (15-11-0-1).
COACHELLA VALLEY 4, SAN JOSE 1
The Firebirds (20-6-3-0) remain just a tiebreaker behind Calgary after extending their winning streak to five with a second straight victory in San Jose. Jimmy Schuldt and Kole Lind staked Coachella Valley to a 2-0 lead in the game’s first 10 minutes, and Max McCormick and Ryker Evans scored insurance markers 57 seconds apart in the third period. Joey Daccord handled 30 of 31 shots in net to hand the Barracuda (13-18-0-1) their eighth straight defeat. Thomas Bordeleau picked up his 15th goal for San Jose, most among AHL rookies.
UTICA 4, BELLEVILLE 3 (OT)
Nolan Foote scored 1:37 into overtime — his fourth goal in three games — to give the Comets (14-9-4-1) a win over Belleville and improve Utica’s point streak to seven games (6-0-1-0). Jeremy Groleau, Jack Dugan and Zach Senyshyn also scored for the Comets, but Ridly Greig scored twice in the third period — once on the power play and once shorthanded — to help the Senators (12-16-3-0) erase a 3-1 deficit.
TEXAS 4, TUCSON 1
The Stars (19-7-3-2) extended their point streak to 11 games (10-0-1-0), longest in the AHL this season, with a second straight win over the Roadrunners. Riley Barber scored twice to take over the league lead with 19 goals on the season, and Oskar Back netted the other two goals for Texas. Matt Murray stopped 29 of 30 shots in net. J.S. Dea had the lone goal for Tucson (14-12-4-0).
CHARLOTTE 3, CLEVELAND 2
The Checkers (16-11-2-1) carried their winning streak to four games, building a 3-0 first-period lead and holding on to sweep a two-game visit to Cleveland. Grigori Denisenko, who scored twice in Thursday’s win, scored again to help Charlotte build a 3-0 lead in the first period. The Monsters (12-13-1-2) pushed back on third-period goals by Trey Fix-Wolansky and Cole Fonstad but dropped their fifth game in a row.
ROCHESTER 3, TORONTO 2
Eric Comrie joined the Amerks on a conditioning assignment from Buffalo and stopped 34 shots to backstop Rochester (17-9-1-1) to its sixth win in a row. Lukas Rousek, Linus Weissbach and Michael Mersch scored for the Amerks, and Brandon Biro extended his scoring streak to seven games with an assist. The Marlies (19-9-1-1) outshot Rochester 36-13 in the game but saw their five-game winning streak come to an end.
PROVIDENCE 4, HERSHEY 3
Keith Kinkaid made 38 saves and Chris Wagner scored the winning goal at 7:05 of the third period to lift the Bruins (18-6-5-2) over the division-leading Bears. Luke Toporowski added a goal and an assist for Providence. Ethen Frank scored twice for Hershey (22-7-2-1); he has five goals in his last four games and 13 on the season, good for second among AHL rookies. The loss was just the Bears’ third in regulation in 18 games at Giant Center (13-3-1-1).
ABBOTSFORD 5, MANITOBA 2
Chase Wouters recorded his first multi-goal game in the AHL as the Canucks (18-9-1-1) completed a two-game sweep at Manitoba. Wouters tied the game at 2-2 in the second period before Jett Woo scored the game-winner with 9:51 to play in the third, and Nils Höglander and Justin Dowling tacked on empty-netters to put the game away. Danila Klimovich, Linus Karlsson and Arshdeep Bains all had two assists for Abbotsford. Cole Maier and Evan Polei had a goal and an assist each for the Moose (18-10-0-2).
ROCKFORD 6, CHICAGO 2
Powered by four assists from Luke Philp, the IceHogs (18-10-1-2) scored six consecutive goals and completed a sweep of their home-and-home series with Chicago. Defenseman Alec Regula pitched in a goal and two assists for the IceHogs, whose other goals came from Cooper Zech, Filip Roos, Brett Seney, Cole Guttman and Buddy Robinson. Malte Stromwall scored both goals for the Wolves (10-15-3-1).
SPRINGFIELD 2, HARTFORD 1 (SO)
Joel Hofer stopped 30 shots and Jake Neighbours delivered the shootout winner as the Thunderbirds (14-13-1-4) prevailed at XL Center for their third consecutive win. Will Bitten tallied in the first period for Springfield before Matthew Robertson responded for the Wolf Pack (11-13-1-5) in the second. Louis Domingue made 22 saves for Hartford.
MILWAUKEE 4, GRAND RAPIDS 2
Luke Evangelista’s power-play goal with 8:07 remaining in the game gave the Admirals (18-10-0-2) a sweep of their home-and-home series with Grand Rapids. Cole Schneider recorded three assists, and Devin Cooley’s 32 saves carried Milwaukee in net. Phil Tomasino picked up a goal and an assist for Milwaukee, and John Leonard completed a two-goal game with an empty-netter in the final minute. Pontus Andreasson had a goal and an assist for Grand Rapids (11-17-1-0).
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, LEHIGH VALLEY 1
Taylor Gauthier made 29 saves in his AHL debut and the Penguins snapped a five-game winless streak with a victory at PPL Center. Sam Houde, Valtteri Puustinen, Drake Caggiula and Corey Andonovski provided goals for the Penguins (14-9-2-3). Cooper Marody had the only goal for the Phantoms (14-13-2-1).
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, and is currently the co-host of The Hockey News On The ‘A’ podcast. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
