In Thursday’s only AHL action, goaltender Dan LaCosta registered a 29-save shutout to lead Syracuse over Rochester, 4-0… On Wednesday, rookie Justin Abdelkader tallied a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, as Grand Rapids took a 3-2 win over Toronto… Martin Gerber had a 32-save shutout performance in Binghamton’s 3-0 win over Philadelphia… Kyle Wilson posted a game-high three points (2-1-3) to lead Hershey past Norfolk, 6-2… AHL All-Star goaltender Jeff Frazee stopped 33 of 34 shots as Lowell edged Portland, 2-1.
An intra-state rivalry pits Wilkes-Barre/Scranton against Hershey on Friday at the Giant Center in a game that can be heard live on the NHL Home Ice channel (XM 204, Sirius 208) on XM Radio and XM Canada… The league-leading Bears enter on a four-game points streak (3-0-0-1), but the Penguins have won three of four meetings in the season series (3-1-0-0)… Hershey’s Alexandre Giroux saw his record 15-game goal-scoring streak end on Wednesday in Norfolk but posted an assist and now has a point in 20 straight tilts (25-15-40)… AHL All-Stars Keith Aucoin (2-6-8) and Chris Bourque (2-6-8) each have eight points against the Pens this year… Mark Letestu has a goal in three straight (3-1-4) for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and AHL All-Star Jeff Taffe shows a four-game scoring run (2-3-5)… The Bears (3.96) and Penguins (3.57) rank first and third, respectively, in goals per game among AHL teams this season.
Rockford hosts Iowa on Friday at the MetroCentre and enters the tilt just one point back of the Chops for second place in the tight West Division race… The IceHogs have dropped three straight to the Chops, including a 4-3 loss on Tuesday in Des Moines, after winning the teams’ first three meetings of the season… Pascal Pelletier leads Rockford with 21 goals and 40 points and has registered a point in five of his last six tilts (3-3-6)… Rookie Nathan Davis had a goal and an assist against Iowa on Tuesday.. T.J. Trevelyan has three goals (3-1-4) in his last three games for the Chops… Defenseman Brian Salcido is riding a three-game scoring streak (1-3-4) and shows a team-high nine points (2-7-9) against Rockford on the campaign… The Chops are 15-1-1-2 when they tally the game’s first goal.
Chicago begins a two-game North Division road swing against Hamilton on Friday in a match-up of the AHL’s two most recent Calder Cup champions… The Wolves have rebounded from a seven-game winless skid to post three straight victories, all by one goal… Jeff Hamilton is coming off consecutive three-point efforts (3-3-6) for Chicago and has a point in five of his last six (4-5-9)… AHL All-Star Joe Motzko shows four points (1-3-4) in his last two contests… Defenseman Brett Skinner has a point in all three games (1-2-3) since joining the Wolves on Jan. 13… Hamilton, 0-2-0-0 in its last two games, is trying to avoid its first three-game skid since early December… AHL All-Star defenseman Yannick Weber has a three-game scoring streak (1-4-5) for the Bulldogs, as does rookie Olivier Latendresse (1-2-3).
Kurtis McLean, who has 40 points (11-29-40) in 41 AHL games for Bridgeport this season, tallied his first career NHL goal for the game-winner as the N.Y. Islanders edged Anaheim, 2-1, on Wednesday… Chris Stewart and 2008 AHL All-Star T.J. Hensick each had a goal and an assist in a losing effort as Colorado fell to Los Angeles, 6-5.
2 — Consecutive AHL All-Star Games that have been decided by a one-goal margin… Canada captured a 9-8 shootout decision last year in Binghamton, and the PlanetUSA squad emerged with a 7-6 triumph in 2007 in Toronto.