Weekly Wrap-Up - North Division (Week 4)
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Editor's Note: Tracey takes a look around last week's AHL North Division action, and outlines the week ahead for all seven teams.
Belleville Senators
Belleville finished off their season opening 9 game road trip with a pair of wins against Manitoba.
In a 4-3 shootout win on Friday, Erik Burgdoerfer and Ben Sexton each picked up their first goals of the season, while Andrew Hammond stopped 35 of 38 Moose shots in regulation and overtime, along with 2 of 5 shootout attempts.
On Saturday, the Senators found themselves down 2-0 after the first, but would score three unanswered goals, including the game winner by Filip Chlapik 35 seconds into overtime, to finish off the sweep 3-2. Sexton scored his second goal in as many days, while Danny Taylor would pick up his third win. Belleville finally returns home and will host Syracuse in their inaugural home opener at Yardmen Arena on Wednesday night.
Binghamton Devils
The Devils finished off their 3 game homestand this weekend with a 1-1 mark against two Atlantic Division foes.
On Friday night, Binghamton could only manage 14 shots on goal in a 4-1 loss to Providence, with defenseman Jacob MacDonald scoring the lone tally on a power play.
The Devils would rebound with a 2-1 win over Springfield on Saturday, as Ken Appleby, now the #2 goaltender with the trade of Scott Wedgewood to Arizona, made his first start of the season and did not disappoint, stopping 28 of 29 shots. Brandon Baddock would score his first AHL goal, while Nick Lappin scored his 5th of the season.
Laval Rocket
In a 3 games in 4 days schedule, the Rocket would go 1-1-1 to stay within the top half of the division.
On Wednesday night at home, a 2-2 tie with Rochester after one period would turn into a 5-2 Amerk victory. Chris Terry and Nick Deslauriers had the lone goals.
Friday night, Laval would travel to Rochester and would jump out to a 3-0 lead after two periods. But…Rochester would score three goals in the third, including two in a 57 second span with less than 2 minutes to go in regulation, then finish off the comeback 4-3 in overtime. Byron Froese and Stefan Leblanc would each have a goal and an assist.
The Rocket would salvage their week with a comeback win of their own on Saturday, a 3-2 road win in Toronto. After falling behind 2-1 after one period, Jordan Boucher’s first goal in the second and a Daniel Carr goal in the third would seal the win.
Rochester Americans
The Amerks would rebound from last week’s 0-2 stretch with a home and home sweep of Laval to start a 3 games in 4 days stretch.
In Wednesday’s 5-2 road win, Colin Blackwell would score his first two goals of the season, while Nick Baptiste would add a goal and two assists.
Baptiste would spark a huge comeback for Rochester on Friday, as he scored twice late in the third period to turn a 3-0 Laval lead after two periods into a 4-3 overtime win. Kyle Criscuolo would score the short handed game winner 2:29 into overtime, while Linus Ullmark recovered from a shaky start to stop 33 of 36 Rocket shots in his third win of the season.
The Amerks appeared on the verge of a 3-0 week after going up 2-1 on Syracuse at home after the first two periods on Saturday, but the Crunch would score twice in the third to escape with a 3-2 win. Goaltender Adam Wilcox started the game, but would pull himself out of the game with less than 10 minutes to go in the third.
Syracuse Crunch
It was an up and down week for the Crunch, who went 1-1 against a pair of divisional rivals.
On Friday night at home, Syracuse would drop a 4-2 decision to Toronto. Rookie goaltender Connor Ingram got the start, but was quickly pulled 10:27 into the contest after giving up 2 goals on 5 shots. Alexander Volkov scored his first AHL goal, while fellow rookie Mitchell Stephens scored his second.
The Crunch would rebound with a comeback 3-2 win over Rochester on the road on Saturday. Down 2-1 entering the third period, Anthony Cirelli would tie the game with his second goal of the season 9 minutes in, then Kevin Lynch would score the game winner with just 1:03 remaining in regulation. Michael Leighton would win his second of the season, stopping 25 of 27 shots.
Toronto Marlies
Toronto would finish off October with a 1-1 mark and would hold on to first place in the North.
On Friday, in a 4-2 road win over Syracuse, Colin Greening would score twice and Garret Sparks picked up his fourth win, stopping 29 of 31 shots.
Back at home on Saturday against Laval, Toronto would jump out to a 2-1 lead after one period thanks to goals by Mason Marchment and Chris Mueller, but the Rocket would score one goal in the second, then the game winner in the third to defeat the Marlies 3-2. Calvin Pickard took the loss in net and had 19 saves.
Utica Comets
The Comets would finish off their 7 game road trip with a split in North Carolina against Charlotte. On Saturday night, the Checkers would score four in the second period en route to a 5-1 win. Brendan Gaunce had the lone Utica goal in the third period.
The Comets would rebound Sunday afternoon with a 6-3 victory, as Evan McEneny had a goal and 2 assists, Anton Rodin added two helpers, and five other skaters had one goal each.
Utica will finally return to the newly renovated Adirondack Bank Center on Wednesday night, starting a 5 game homestand. After spending all of October on the road, the Comets will play 9 of 12 November games on home ice.
The standings as of October 29th:
- Toronto: 9 GP, 6-3-0-0, 12 points, .667 pct
- Binghamton: 7 GP, 4-2-1-0, 9 points, .643 pct
- Laval: 10 GP, 5-3-2-0, 12 points, .600 pct
- Utica: 7 GP, 4-3-0-0, 8 points, .571 pct
- Rochester: 8 GP, 4-4-0-0, 8 points, .500 pct
- Belleville: 9 GP, 4-4-0-1, 9 points, .500 pct
- Syracuse: 9 GP, 3-5-0-1, 7 points, .389 pct
This Week’s Schedule:
Wednesday, November 1st
Syracuse @ Belleville, 7:00 PM Rochester @ Utica, 7:00 PM Toronto @ Laval, 7:30 PM
Friday, November 3rd
Charlotte @ Belleville, 7:00 PM Binghamton @ Utica, 7:00 PM Hershey @ Rochester, 7:05 PM Syracuse @ Laval, 7:30 PM
Saturday, November 4th
Syracuse @ Laval, 3:00 PM Charlotte @ Belleville, 7:00 PM Toronto @ Hershey, 7:00 PM Rochester @ Utica, 7:00 PM Lehigh Valley @ Binghamton, 7:05 PM
Sunday, November 5th
Toronto @ Lehigh Valley, 5:05 PM
