📝 With files from Patrick Williams
Here is a look at Friday’s action around the AHL:
SAN DIEGO 6, TUCSON 2
The Gulls (7-22-0-0) ended their 12-game losing streak, pulling away in the third period to defeat Tucson. Pavol Regenda broke a 2-2 tie midway through the second period and then added another goal and an assist in the third; it was his first multi-point game in the AHL. Frank Hora provided his first career AHL tally as part of a three-goal third period for San Diego, and Hunter Drew, Jacob Perreault and Brayden Tracey all contributed a pair of assists. The Gulls were 1-for-4 on the power play, and have notched four power-play goals in their past three games. Laurent Dauphin and Curtis Douglas had the goals for the Roadrunners (14-10-4-0).
COACHELLA VALLEY 1, HENDERSON 0
Luke Henman broke a scoreless tie with 6:23 to go in regulation and Joey Daccord made 30 saves as the Firebirds (17-6-3-0) edged the visiting Silver Knights for a sweep of the teams’ home-and-home series. It was Daccord’s second shutout of the season; he also shut out Henderson on Dec. 2. Coachella Valley goes into the Christmas break tied with Calgary for the best points percentage (.712) in the Western Conference. Jiri Patera stopped 30 of 31 shots for the Silver Knights (11-17-0-2).
MANITOBA 4, IOWA 3
Jeff Malott snapped a 2-2 tie with 5:15 to go in regulation to send the Moose (16-7-2-1) to their fourth straight victory and a sweep of a two-game trip to Wells Fargo Arena. It was Malott’s seventh goal in his last six games and team-leading 15th of the season. Declan Chisholm had three assists, giving him 11 helpers in six outings, and Manitoba converted twice on four power-play opportunities to back Arvid Holm’s 35 saves in net. Andrej Sustr, Ty Ronning and Dakota Mermis scored for the Wild (11-13-2-2), who have lost the first five games of a seven-game homestand.
HARTFORD 4, BRIDGEPORT 3
Ryan Carpenter scored twice to help the Wolf Pack (10-12-1-4) to their first win in four tries this season against their in-state rival. Zac Jones scored the go-ahead goal at 6:51 of the third period, and Carpenter’s second of the evening at 9:28 stood up as the eventual game-winner. Cristiano DiGiacinto scored his first goal of the season for Hartford, and Austin Rueschhoff and Bobby Trivigno each delivered a pair of assists. Arnaud Durandeau and Andy Andreoff each had a goal and an assist and Jakub Skarek finished with 35 saves for the Islanders (14-9-5-0), who have lost seven of eight.
CHARLOTTE 5, PROVIDENCE 2
Lucas Carlsson and Riley Bezeau provided a goal and two assists apiece and Zach Uens added three assists for the Checkers (14-11-2-0) as they defeated the Bruins for the second consecutive night. It was the first multi-point effort in the AHL for both Bezeau and Uens. Santtu Kinnunen, Ethan Keppen and Aleksi Heponiemi supplied Charlotte’s other scoring, and Mack Guzda posted 29 saves as the Checkers climbed into fourth place in the Atlantic Division. Jack Ahcan tallied a goal and an assist for Providence (16-5-5-2), which has dropped four of its last five.
LEHIGH VALLEY 2, SPRINGFIELD 1
Pat Nagle made 30 saves to help the Phantoms (13-11-2-1) hold on and defeat Springfield. Artem Anisimov tallied 23 seconds into the contest and Cal O’Reilly tacked on a third-period goal, his first in 18 games. Anisimov has eight goals and 10 points in his past seven outings. One night after scoring his first career AHL goal, Mitchell Hoelscher tallied again for the Thunderbirds (11-13-1-4).
CHICAGO 3, ROCKFORD 2
Alexander Pashin’s goal 6:15 into the third period snapped a 2-2 tie and gave the Wolves (9-14-3-0) their third win in the past five games. In the first period, Nathan Sucese and Josh Melnick gave the Wolves separate leads but Cole Guttman and Brett Seney countered for the IceHogs (15-10-2-1). Zach Sawchenko stopped 31 shots for the victory.
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.