Saturday's Morning Skate 1/10

William Karlsson enjoyed considerable NHL time in Anaheim to start the season before joining Norfolk Admirals (AHL).

Another busy Friday in the American Hockey League (AHL) saw four of the five East Division teams in action.

Last night, I was at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre taking in the Penguins vs. Norfolk Admirals rematch of Tuesday night. Another gritty, tight-checking East Division battle between the top team in the division (Penguins) and last place in the Eastern Conference (Admirals).

Tonight, I'll be in Syracuse for some Penguins road hockey coverage as the Penguins take on the high-flying Crunch at the OnCenter at 7:00 p.m. ET. You can follow all the latest in-game updates and breaking news on Twitter (@H_P_Hockey).

East Division Standings (through 1/9's games)

1. Penguins (20-14-1-3) - 44 points
2. Hershey (18-12-4-1) - 41 points
3. Lehigh Valley (16-12-4-1) - 37 points
4. Binghamton (15-16-3-1) - 34 points
5. Norfolk (14-19-1-2) - 31 points

Norfolk - 2, Penguins - 0

In five meetings against the Admirals this season, the Penguins are 1-3-1 and have scored a total of just six goals in those five games. Friday night, the Admirals shut out the Penguins 2-0 and really outplayed them for much of the night.

Emerson Etem scored on a shorthanded breakaway and Marc Cantin floated a point shot past Penguins starting goaltender Matt Murray minutes later and that's all Norfolk would need, behind 27 saves from Jason LaBarbera - his first shutout of the season. LaBarbera has been a Penguin-killer this season, going 4-1-0 with a 1.20 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage. Outside of LaBarbera's win for Norfolk on opening night against Hershey on October 11th, the rest of his wins this season have come against the Penguins.

The Penguins (20-14-1-3) look to rebound tomorrow night in Syracuse against the Crunch, while Norfolk (14-19-1-2) travels to Hershey for a pair of games at Giant Center starting tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Hershey - 4, Albany - 0

In Hershey, the Bears took care of business with two goals 1:03 apart in the first period by Chris Brown and Stanislav Galiev before tacking on two insurance goals in the third period. Brown finished the game with two goals, while Chris Conner added two assists for Hershey.

Justin Peters picked up a 24-save shutout in his first AHL game of the season, on a conditioning stint from Washington (NHL).

Albany looks to rebound with a win tonight at home against Bridgeport, while Hershey returns home for a pair of games against Norfolk to finish their three-game weekend.

Worcester - 6, Binghamton - 3

At the DCU Center, the Binghamton Senators fell behind by two early and could not catch up in a 6-3 loss to the Worcester Sharks.

Willie Coetzee had a game high four points (1G-3A), while Konrad Abelthauser added three points (1G-2A) for the Sharks in the win. Troy Grosenick stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced to pick up his 11th win of the season.

Darren Kramer and David Dziurzynski tallied a goal and an assist each for the BSens, while Max McCormick tallied two assists in the loss.

Binghamton continues their New England road trip tonight in Manchester. Worcester hosts Providence in an Atlantic Division battle.

Other Eastern Conference Scores

Hartford - 3, Syracuse - 2 (OT)
Bridgeport - 4, Portland - 1
Springfield - 2, Providence - 1

Saturday's Eastern Conference Schedule

Bridgeport @ Albany, 5:00 p.m. ET
Lehigh Valley @ St. John's, 6:00 p.m. ET
Norfolk @ Hershey, 7:00 p.m. ET
Binghamton @ Manchester, 7:00 p.m. ET
Hartford @ Springfield, 7:00 p.m. ET
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton @ Syracuse, 7:00 p.m. ET
Providence @ Worcester, 7:00 p.m. ET