📝 With files from Patrick Williams
Here is a look at Sunday around the AHL:
ONTARIO 5, BAKERSFIELD 2
Quinton Byfield netted his first career hat trick to lead the Reign (12-6-0-1) to a win over the Condors. Byfield opened the scoring just 31 seconds into the game, added a marker in the second period and capped the victory with a shorthanded empty-netter in the third. Rasmus Kupari converted a penalty shot, Frederic Allard scored off a faceoff win, and Cal Petersen turned aside 27 shots for Ontario. Xavier Bourgault scored both goals for Bakersfield (8-11-1-0), which has lost five in a row.
ABBOTSFORD 6, LAVAL 3
The Canucks (11-7-1-1) completed a perfect four-game week with a 6-3 win over the Rocket. Lane Pederson notched a goal and two assists and Christian Wolanin added four helpers, giving him 20 for the season — tops among all AHL defensemen. Justin Dowling and Wyatt Kalynuk each registered a goal and an assist for an Abbotsford offense that has scored 23 goals in its last four outings. Arturs Silovs made 33 saves in the win. Anthony Richard scored his 15th goal of the season for Laval (7-13-3-0), tying him for the league lead.
IOWA 7, CHICAGO 0
Less than 24 hours after being shut out on Saturday, the Wild turned the tables with a 7-0 blanking of the Wolves. Zane McIntyre, playing his 250th career AHL game, earned his 138th victory and 17th shutout with 28 saves. Adam Beckman (2g, 1a), Sammy Walker (1g, 2a) and Dakota Mermis (3a) all had three-point performances for Iowa (9-7-2-2), which was 3-for-5 on the power play. Chicago (6-10-2-0) was blanked for the first time since Jan. 29.
SAN JOSE 4, TUCSON 3 (OT)
Andrew Agozzino scored his 200th career AHL goal with 46.8 seconds left in overtime to give the Barracuda (12-9-0-1) a 4-3 win over the Roadrunners. Agozzino finished the night with two goals and an assist to help San Jose rally from a 2-0 deficit. Eetu Makiniemi made 40 saves, one shy of his AHL career-best. Jean-Sebastien Dea scored for Tucson (10-7-2-0), his fifth straight game with a goal, and Michael Carcone and Adam Cracknell notched a goal and an assist apiece for the visitors.
SPRINGFIELD 3, BRIDGEPORT 1
Joel Hofer stopped 33 shots as the Thunderbirds (8-10-0-4) snapped a five-game winless streak. Matthew Highmore’s first-period goal broke Springfield’s 0-for-12 power-play slump, and Greg Printz netted the eventual game-winner just 14 seconds into the third. Samuel Bolduc’s right-point shot through traffic in the final minute ended Hofer’s shutout bid, but the Islanders (13-4-4-0) still saw their seven-game point streak come to an end.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 7, HERSHEY 3
The Penguins (11-6-1-2) scored five times in a span of 7:07 early in the second period en route to a resounding win over the Bears. Drew O’Connor led the way with a goal and three assists, and the Pens got a goal and an assist apiece from Filip Hållander, Mitch Reinke, Alex Nylander, Valtteri Puustinen and Tyler Sikura. Sam Anas, Hendrix Lapierre and Mike Sgarbossa scored for Hershey (14-5-2-0). Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s seven goals were tied for the most they had ever scored in 150 all-time visits to Hershey (including playoffs).
PROVIDENCE 3, HARTFORD 1
Keith Kinkaid stopped 46 of 47 shots against his former club as the Bruins (14-3-3-2) remained atop the AHL standings. Defensemen Josiah Didier and Jack Ahcan scored 79 seconds apart to give Providence a 2-0 lead, and Jakub Lauko tacked on an insurance goal. Matthew Robertson scored the only goal for the Wolf Pack (5-9-1-4), his first since Feb. 12.
TORONTO 3, BELLEVILLE 1
Joseph Woll made 32 saves to lead the Marlies (13-7-1-0) past their provincial rivals. Noel Hoefenmayer struck 28 seconds into the game with his third goal of the weekend before Bobby McMann and Zach O’Brien expanded Toronto’s lead. For O’Brien, a Calder Cup champion with Manchester in 2015, it was his first AHL goal since Oct. 26, 2019. Jarid Lukosevicius had the only goal for the Senators (9-11-1-0), his fourth in three games.
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.