AHL Wrapup
Sharks 2, Monarchs 1 (SO)
WORCESTER, Mass. – Defenseman Danny Groulx scored in the ninth-round of the shootout as the Manchester Monarchs fought to the bitter end of their, 2-1, shootout loss to the Worcester Sharks at the DCU Center on Friday night.
Manchester (9-2-1-1) leads the Atlantic Division with 20 points. Worcester (8-3-0-1) is ranked second in the Atlantic Division with 17 points.
“We had our chances,” said Monarchs coach Mark Morris. “And on their final try they snuck it by (Jonathan) Bernier.
“We exchanged breakaways in overtime. Our shootout efforts were less than we had hoped for but we were able to salvage a point. We had a couple players out with the flu so we have to take this (point) as a positive and look toward tomorrow’s game against Hershey.
Right wing Trevor Lewis scored the lone goal for the Monarchs in the fifth round of the shootout. On top of Groulx’s game-winning tally, center Dwight Helminen also scored for the Sharks in the second round of the shootout.
River Rats 5, Devils 4 (OT)
ALBANY, N.Y. – Stephen Gionta scored twelve seconds into the game and the Lowell Devils held a 3-0 lead after the first 11:10 of play, but the Albany River Rats stormed back, eventually claiming a 5-4 overtime victory at the Times Union Center.
Following Gionta’s early goal, the Devils were able to cash in twice more in the first period thanks to a pair of 5-on-3 man advantages. Matt Corrente put the Devils up 2-0 when his slap shot from inside the blue line found a way through a screen and past River Rats goaltender Mike Murphy.
Tyler Eckford and Alexander Vasyunov each picked up an assist on the tally. At 11:54, with Albany again down two men, Michael Swift found the back of the net when he buried a deflection to put the Devils up 3-0.
Three Devils finished with multiple points in the game: Vasyunov (0-2-2), Eckford (0-2-2), and Matt Corrente (1-1-2). Lowell finished the game 2-for-5 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill. Mike McKenna saved 30-of-35 shots in the loss.
