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| Tyrell Goulbourne looks for a rebound. Photo credit: Nina Weiss |
That's the best way to describe the Atlantic Division, as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are in the midst of an eight-game winning streak and atop the standings while teams like the Portland Pirates and Lehigh Valley Phantoms are struggling early on in the season. There's still a ton of hockey to be played and plenty of time for teams to figure it out, but digging an early hole in the standings can prove costly.
A look at the standings below, then after the jump a look around the divisional action last night as well as a look ahead to Saturday's games.
EDIT: I'll be live from Syracuse tonight with more exclusive coverage of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on the road. Be sure to follow in-game updates and breaking news on Twitter -> @TonyAndrock_TCG.
Atlantic Division Standings (through 11/6's games)
1. W-B/Scranton: 10 games played, 9-1-0-0 = 18 points
2. Bridgeport: 12 games played, 8-4-0-0 = 16 points
3. Hershey: 11 games played, 6-3-0-2 = 14 points
4. Hartford: 11 games played, 6-4-1-0 = 13 points
5. Springfield: 9 games played, 4-4-1-0 = 9 points
6. Providence: 10 games played, 3-4-3-0 = 9 points
7. Lehigh Valley: 10 games played, 4-6-0-0 = 8 points
8. Portland: 9 games played, 3-6-0-0 = 6 points
Around The Atlantic
Hershey - 4 at Lehigh Valley - 2
In the rematch between bitter rivals in the AHL's Atlantic Division, the Hershey Bears took advantage of the final minutes of the 2nd period and the start of the 3rd period to take a 4-2 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Friday night at the PPL Center in front of 8,265 fans.
Tyrell Goulbourne's third of the season with 15:32 left in regulation cut the deficit to 3-2, but that's as close as the Phantoms would get as Chris Bourque tallied an empty net goal with 51.3 seconds left in regulation to seal the deal.
Aaron Palushaj also tallied for the Phantoms in the loss, while Jason LaBarbera was the goaltender of record stopping 24 of the 27 shots he faced.
Hershey returns home to face the St. John's IceCaps, while the Phantoms took an overnight bus ride to Syracuse to take on the Crunch tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET.
St. John's - 1 at W-B/Scranton - 4
In Wilkes-Barre, the IceCaps took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission but four unanswered goals by the Penguins resulted in their 8th straight win.
Dominik Simon tallied a power play goal in the waning seconds of the middle frame to tie things up before WBS took the lead for good with 5:07 left in the third on a goal by Tim Erixon. Carter Rowney and Derrick Pouliot also tallied late third period goals to complete the 4-1 final score. Matt Murray improved to 7-1-0 on the season with a 20-save effort.
The IceCaps travel to Hershey to take on the Bears at Giant Center tonight, while the Penguins have a full week off before their next game on Friday the 13th against the same Hershey Bears.
Springfield - 6 at Portland - 1
In Portland, the Falcons took it to the home team in a dominating 6-1 win which featured five different goal scorers.
Craig Cunningham (2G-1A) and Alex Grant (0G-3A) led the way offensively for the Falcons with three points each. Laurent Dauphin, Jordan Szwarz, Lucas Lessio and Dustin Jeffrey all tallied goals in the win. Louis Domingue improved to 3-2-1 on the season with 34 saves on 35 shots.
Chase Balisy got the Pirates on the board in the third period, while both starting goaltender Mike McKenna and backup Sam Brittain both surrendered three goals each in the loss.
Springfield continues their weekend road trip with a visit to Bridgeport tonight while Portland resumes play Wednesday night in Hartford.
Friday's Eastern Conference Scores
Albany - 4 at Syracuse - 3
Toronto - 5 at Utica - 4 (SO)
Binghamton - 1 at Rochester - 3
Saturday's Eastern Conference Schedule
Springfield at Bridgeport, 7:00 p.m. ET
St. John's at Hershey, 7:00 p.m. ET
Lehigh Valley at Syracuse, 7:00 p.m. ET
Providence at Utica, 7:00 p.m. ET
Toronto at Binghamton, 7:05 p.m. ET
Albany at Hartford, 7:30 p.m. ET
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