Weekly Wrap-Up - North Division (Week 7)
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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.
The Marlies continue to roll, 2 streaks came to an end and a trade of veteran goaltenders shook up the Crunch lineup. That and much more in this week’s North Division notebook. . .
Belleville Senators
Record this week: 1-1
The Senators finished off their 7 game homestand on a high note, with a 6-2 win over Lehigh Valley on Wednesday. Gabriel Gagne would score twice, while Max McCormick added three assists. Andrew Hammond would stop 44 of 46 Phantom shots in his 5th win of the season.
On Friday, Belleville would start a 5 game road trip in Utica…and would get shelled by the Comets 7-1. Gagne would pick up the lone Senator goal.
In other Senators news: McCormick appeared in his 200th career AHL game on Friday; Nick Paul was recalled to Ottawa on Wednesday, while Ben Harpur was recalled prior to Friday’s game; Belleville has a busy four game week coming up, visiting Charlotte on Tuesday and Wednesday, then traveling to Toronto for a pair of weekend games on Saturday and Sunday.
Binghamton Devils
Record this week: 1-2
The Devils traveled to Rochester on Wednesday and were shut out by the Amerks 3-0. Mackenzie Blackwood would stop 33 of 35 shots in the loss.
Binghamton would return home on Friday night to host the Penguins, and would find themselves down 1-0 12 seconds into the contest. Rookie Brandon Gignac would score on a power play midway through the period to tie the game at 1, only to have Wilkes-Barre take back the one goal lead late. Another Devil power play goal from Bracken Kearns would tie the game up once again in the second, but the Penguins would put it away in the third with two goals on Ken Appleby in a 4-3 win. Jacob MacDonald would add a third power play goal to make it interesting late.
On Saturday, the losing streak was finally halted at six games with a 5-0 shutout of Rochester. Five different Devils would have one goal, while Blackwood got redemption from Wednesday’s loss, only having to stop 18 shots in his first shutout of the season.
More Devil notes: John Quenneville is expected to return to the lineup next week after a shoulder injury on October 27th; with Saturday’s goal, MacDonald is tied for third among AHL defensemen in scoring, and is tied for first in goals (6); Lappin’s 10 goals tie him for third in the AHL; after hosting Providence on Wednesday, the Devils will play a home and home with Rochester, the third and fourth games between the two teams in 9 days, this weekend.
Laval Rocket
Record this week: 1-2
On Wednesday in Quebec, the Rocket jumped out to a 3-1 lead over Utica midway through the second on two goals from Daniel Carr and one from Peter Holland. Antoine Waked’s first professional goal would give Laval a 4-1 lead in the third before the Comets cut the lead to two. Jordan Boucher looked to seal the Rocket win with an empty netter with 1:19 remaining, but Laval would give up two goals in the last 16 seconds of regulation to escape with a 5-4 win.
Laval wrapped up the brief 2 game homestand on Friday with a 5-2 loss to Lehigh Valley. Eric Gelinas’ third goal of the season would give the Rocket an early lead in the first, but the Phantoms would respond with four unanswered goals. Jeremy Gregoire would add a goal in the third period.
Sunday, the Rocket dropped a 5-2 decision to Manitoba on the road, the first of a two game set between the teams. Yannick Veilleux would score just 33 seconds into the contest, Carr would score his 11th, and goaltender Michael McNiven would stop 29 of 34 over the first two periods before being replaced by Zachary Fucale to start the third.
In other Rocket news: Fucale returned to Laval from Montreal on Wednesday, while Nick Deslauriers was recalled to the Canadiens on Thursday; Carr’s 11 goals rank him second in the AHL; defenseman Matt Taormina leads all AHL blueliners in scoring with 18 points; the Rocket play Manitoba once more on Tuesday, then return home for a pair against Utica on Friday and Saturday.
Rochester Americans
Record this week: 2-1
The Amerks would begin the week with a 3-0 shutout against Binghamton on Wednesday night at home. Linus Ullmark would stop all 31 Devil shots in his first shutout of the season, while Stuart Percy scored twice.
Rochester wrapped up a 2 game home stint with a 4-2 win over Hartford on Friday evening. Ullmark won his second straight with 36 saves, while C.J. Smith added two goals and two assists.
The Amerks would travel to Binghamton on Saturday evening, where their point streak would come to a halt at 7 games with a 5-0 shutout defeat. Adam Wilcox would take the loss in net, stopping 31 of 36. Rochester’s offense was held to 18 shots, and special teams would go 0 for 7 on the power play.
In other Rochester news: The Buffalo express saw quite a few moves this week, as Casey Nelson and Kyle Criscuolo went up to the Sabres, while Evan Rodrigues, Nicholas Baptiste, and Justin Bailey all came back to the Amerks; defensemen Eric Knodel and Arvin Atwal were officially signed to SPCs after being recalled from Cincinnati of the ECHL; Rochester travels to Syracuse on Wednesday before a home and home set against Binghamton on Friday and Saturday.
Syracuse Crunch
Record this week: 0-3
The biggest news of the week came on Tuesday, when Tampa Bay traded goaltender Michael Leighton and forward Tye McGinn to Arizona for goaltender Louis Domingue, who joined the Crunch on Wednesday.
On ice, Syracuse would travel to Hershey on Wednesday and drop a 4-2 decision to the Bears. Rookie goaltender Connor Ingram, fresh off a weekend with ECHL Adirondack that saw him dominate in three straight starts, would get the nod in net and stop 22 of 25 shots in defeat. Anthony Cirelli and Alexander Volkov would have the lone Crunch goals.
Saturday, in the first of two with the Marlies, Syracuse would take an early 1-0 lead on an Adam Erne goal, but Toronto would score twice on the power play late in the first period and hold on for a 2-1 win. Domingue would make his Syracuse debut with 25 saves. Domingue was back in the net for the rematch on Sunday, where in the first the Crunch and Marlies exchanged shorthanded goals. The 1-1 deadlock would hold over until the third, when Toronto would score twice and sweep the Crunch 3-1. Kevin Lynch had the lone Syracuse goal, while Domingue stopped 26 of 28 shots.
More Crunch notes: Captain Erik Condra was injured in Wednesday’s game and will be out 4 to 6 weeks; Syracuse is now 1-6-0-2 away from the War Memorial; the Crunch host Rochester on Wednesday before starting a home and home series with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday and Saturday.
Toronto Marlies
Record this week: 2-0
Toronto started their two game set with the Crunch with a 2-1 win on Saturday. Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen each had a power play goal in the first period, while Garret Sparks stopped 31 of 32.
In the rematch on Sunday, Miro Aaltonen would break a 1-1 tie in the third, as the Marlies would finish the two game sweep with a 3-1 win. Calvin Pickard would get the win in net, stopping 23 of 24 Crunch shots.
Marlies notes: Nikita Soshnikov was recalled to the Maple Leafs on Monday, while Frederik Gauthier was reassigned to the Marlies; Sparks ranks first in the AHL in goals against average and save percentage, and is tied for first in wins and shutouts; Toronto’s 26 points are most in the AHL, but their .765 point percentage is second to Wilkes-Barre’s .821; the Marlies travel to Utica on Wednesday, then return home for a pair against Belleville over the weekend, including a home game at Air Canada Centre on Saturday afternoon.
Utica Comets
Record this week: 1-2
On Wednesday in Laval, the Comets nearly overcame a 4-1 deficit in the third period, but would ultimately lose 5-4. Michael Chaput and Reid Boucher would each have one goal and one assist, while Thatcher Demko stopped 20 of 24 shots.
Utica rebounded in a big way on Friday night at home against Belleville, beating the Senators 7-1. Boucher would score twice, Jordan Subban had three assists, and 12 other Comet skaters had at least one point.
The Comets would close out the week with a 4-1 home loss to Hartford on Saturday night. Carter Bancks had the lone Utica goal, while Demko stopped 25 of 29 Wolfpack shots.
Comet Bites: Forward Darren Archibald will miss the next four to six weeks after having surgery to repair a facial fracture on Wednesday; defenseman Anton Cederholm was recalled from Kalamazoo on Friday; the 7 goals scored in Friday’s win tie a franchise record set nearly two years ago—Utica scored 7 goals against Lehigh Valley on November 25, 2015, also a 7-1 win; the Comets host Toronto on Wednesday night, then travel to Laval for a pair against the Rocket on Friday and Saturday.
Division Standings as of November 20th, 2017
Toronto: 17 GP, 13-4-0-0, 26 points, .765 pct Rochester: 16 GP, 9-5-1-1, 20 points, .625 pct Laval: 18 GP, 9-7-2-0, 20 points, .556 pct Belleville: 17 GP, 8-8-0-1, 17 points, .500 pct Binghamton: 15 GP, 6-8-1-0, 13 points, .433 pct Utica: 15 GP, 6-8-0-1, 13 points, .433 pct Syracuse: 16 GP, 4-9-1-2, 11 pts, .344 pct
This Week’s Schedule:
Tuesday, November 21st
Belleville @ Charlotte, 7:00 PM Laval @ Manitoba, 7:00 PM CST
Wednesday, November 22nd
Belleville @ Charlotte, 7:00 PM Rochester @ Syracuse, 7:00 PM Toronto @ Utica, 7:00 PM Providence @ Binghamton, 7:05 PM
Friday, November 24th
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton @ Syracuse, 7:00 PM Binghamton @ Rochester, 7:05 PM Utica @ Laval, 7:30 PM
Saturday, November 25th
Belleville @ Toronto (at Air Canada Centre), 1:30 PM Utica @ Laval, 3:00 PM Rochester @ Binghamton, 7:05 PM Syracuse @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:05 PM
Sunday, November 26th
Belleville @ Toronto, 4:00 PM
