Wednesday, February 13, 2013

2/12 Recap: Varone's two for Tuesday; Makarov streaks to nine

Phil Varone scored two goals Tuesday including the shorthanded game winner and added two assists as Rochester skated to a 4-1 road victory at Lake Erie. The four-point night marks a career-high for the second-year forward. Frederick Roy and Nick Crawford also scored for the Amerks, while David Leggio made 31 saves for his AHL-leading 25th victory. The Amerks Houston to town on Friday.

 Andrey Makarov made 31 saves in regulation and another three in the shootout as Saskatoon defeated Swift Current 5-4. The win extends Makarov's winning streak to nine straight starts, a best for him since arriving in the CHL back in 2010-11. The Blades take over the East Division lead from Prince Albert, as they have the same point total as the Raiders with one game in hand heading into Friday's tilt at Moose Jaw.

 In Sweden, Linus Ullmark allowed four goals on 26 shots before getting pulled 6:22 into the 3rd period as MODO dropped a 5-4 shootout decision to Vaxjo. MODO held a 4-2 lead to start the third period, but Vaxjo struck for two quick goals causing Ulf Samuelsson to put Bernhard Starkbaum in net for the balance of the game. MODO is back in action Thursday versus AIK.

 Joel Armia went without a point as Assat returned from the break to earn a 3-1 victory over Jokerit. The Aces fifth straight win gets them back in a playoff spot with 11 games to go. Assat tangles with Karpat on Thursday.