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December 30, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


On Wednesday, ex-Pirate Tim Kennedy scored 36 seconds into overtime to lift Connecticut past Portland, 2-1... Matt Watkins notched a hat trick as San Antonio rallied for a 5-3 win over Oklahoma City... Nick Johnson had a hat trick of his own and Brad Thiessen posted a 23-save shutout in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's 5-0 blanking of Syracuse... Ryan Thang and Matt Halischuk each posted a goal and an assist as Milwaukee edged Houston, 3-2.

Wed 12/29

Manchester 6, ADIRONDACK 2

CONNECTICUT 2, Portland 1 (OT)

LAKE ERIE 4, Rochester 1

Worcester 3, SPRINGFIELD 2 (SO)

Chicago 3, TORONTO 2 (SO)

W-B/SCRANTON 5, Syracuse 0

MILWAUKEE 3, Houston 2

SAN ANTONIO 5, Oklahoma City 3

LOOKING AHEAD:

In a prelude to Saturday's Bridgestone/NHL Winter Classic between Washington and Pittsburgh, the two teams' AHL affiliates - arch-rivals Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - are set to battle tonight at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, home of the NHL Penguins... League-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (25-7-0-0) has taken all four meetings from Hershey this season after dropping 10 of 12 to the Bears in 2009-10... Dustin Jeffrey is pacing the Penguins in goals (14), assists (19), and points (33) in 29 outings this season while also appearing in three games for Pittsburgh... Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Bryan Lerg (3-1-4) and Ryan Craig (2-1-3) are each riding three-game scoring streaks, and Eric Tangradi shows 9-4-13 in 11 games during December... The two-time defending Calder Cup champion Bears are on a three-game winning streak during which they've outscored opponents 15-5, and Hershey is 7-3-0-0 in its last 10 contests... 2009-10 AHL MVP Keith Aucoin has 3-3-6 in four games since returning from injury, and Kyle Greentree is coming off a three-point effort (2-1-3) on Tuesday vs. Binghamton... Leading scorer Andrew Gordon (16-15-31) returns to the Bears following an eight-game stint with Washington... Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton each rank among the AHL's top five teams in both offense and defense thus far.

The East Division's second- and third-place teams go at it tonight when Norfolk (43 points) hosts Charlotte (40 points) in the back end of a two-game set in southern Virginia... The Checkers eked out a 3-2 shootout victory on Tuesday night and have taken three of the clubs' first five meetings this year (3-1-0-1)... The home team has yet to win a game in this season series... Jacob Micflikier boasts a five-game scoring streak (4-3-7) for the Checkers and has a point in eight of his last nine contests (6-5-11)... With 15 goals in 30 games (15-13-18), Micflikier needs just three more to equal the 18 he scored in 59 games for Albany last season... Jerome Samson leads Charlotte with 17 goals and 34 points on the year and has produced 5-5-10 in his last eight outings... Charlotte rookie Zac Dalpe shows four goals and seven points in five games vs. Norfolk on the campaign... The Admirals have just one win in their last four games but have earned at least a point in three of those four (1-1-1-1)... Alex Berry has a point in five of his last six games (3-4-7) for the Admirals, who continue to feature the AHL's top-ranked offense (3.88 goals per game)... Norfolk rookie defenseman Mark Barberio has eight points (3-5-8) in his last nine games after totaling just five assists in his first 16 outings this year.

Texas brings its five-game points streak (3-0-1-1) - which matches a season high - to western Canada tonight for the opener of a two-game set with Abbotsford... The Stars, who at 19-11-2-2 have climbed to within five points of first place in the tight West Division, also earned a point in five straight games from Nov. 27 to Dec. 7 (3-0-1-1)... Stars rookie goaltender Richard Bachman (12-5-2, 2.09, .930) has been in net for all five games of the team's current streak after returning from an NHL recall to Dallas... Francis Wathier is riding a six-game scoring streak (3-4-7) for Texas, and Raymond Sawada has a point in his last three contests (1-2-3)... Travis Morin leads the Stars with 28 points (13-15-28) on the season but is without a point in his last two outings; Morin's only three-game scoreless drought of the year occurred from Oct. 27-30... Abbotsford, which is opening a season-high 10-game homestand, has been idle since suffering a 2-1 loss at Adirondack on Dec. 18... The Heat are just 1-3-1-0 in their last five games and have totaled seven goals in that span... Matt Keith paces the Heat with 12 goals, and his 17 points are tied for the club lead with Greg Nemisz (9-8-17)... Keith snapped an eight-game goal drought with a marker in the Dec. 18 loss... The Heat and Stars split their four meetings in 2009-10.

(all times Eastern)

Thu 12/30

Lake Erie @ Hamilton, 7:00

Rochester @ Toronto, 7:00

Bridgeport @ Worcester, 7:00

Charlotte @ Norfolk, 7:15

Houston @ Rockford, 7:35

Hershey vs. W-B/Scranton, 7:35*

Texas @ Abbotsford, 10:00

*at Pittsburgh, Pa.

ALUMNI WATCH:

2009 AHL All-Star Brett MacLean, who leads San Antonio with 31 points in 32 games this season, tallied a goal in his NHL debut on Wednesday as Phoenix doubled up Los Angeles, 6-3... Josh Bailey scored in regulation and Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau nabbed the winning shootout goal as the N.Y. Islanders edged Pittsburgh, 2-1... Zach Boychuk, who has 32 points in 28 games for AHL Charlotte this year, tallied a pair of goals to lead Carolina past Ottawa, 4-0.

BY THE NUMBERS:

10-1-0-1 -- Rochester's record against Toronto since the beginning of the 2009-10 season, including a 3-1-0-0 mark through four meetings this year... The North Division rivals collide tonight at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto.

AHL LIVE:

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American Hockey League Stories from December 30, 2010


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