Devils Fall in OT at Adirondack
Published on December 31, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. -- In typical Time Warner Cable Cup fashion, the Albany Devils and the Adirondack Phantoms battled in an overtime thriller Saturday at the Glens Falls Civic Center. At the end, Mike Testwuide netted the game-winning goal with 2:42 remaining to give the Phantoms a 2-1 win and a 2-1 advantage in the season series. Albany moves to 14-13-5-2, while Adirondack improves to 17-13-1-1.
"We weren't ready to play from the start," said Devils captain Stephen Gionta. "It kind of showed in the first, but we seemed to get back to our game in the second and in the third we definitely got our legs and dictated the play."
The Devils trailed 1-0 after two periods, but in the third they controlled the action. At one point they were outshooting the home team 7-2. Albany's eighth shot led to a rebound try by Vladimir Zharkov, who tied the game with just 4:49 remaining. Gionta tipped an Alexander Urbom blast from the left circle. Zharkov was on the right doorstep to swat in the tying goal.
"The shot came from the point and guys just crashed the net," Gionta said. "We just tried jamming at the rebound and Zharkov picked it off the goaltender's pad. We have to do that more often -- crash the net -- and get more people at the net."
Zharkov's goal was his sixth of the season. He now has four goals and three assists in his last five games.
The Devils had successfully killed four Phantom man advantages through the first 30 minutes, but Jason Akeson cashed in on the fifth infraction. He received the puck atop the left circle and sent a slap shot that beat goaltender Keith Kinkaid at 10:31 of the second period. Erik Gustafsson and Eric Wellwood had the assists.
Akeson played a hand into the winner has he assisted -- along with Gustafsson. Testwuide netted a follow-up try for his team's second-straight win.
Kinkaid rebounded nicely after a 15-save performance and a 5-4 overtime loss the night before against Manchester. He was active early playing the puck and made seven saves in the first, seven in the second three in the third and three in OT for a save total of 19. At the other end, Jason Bacashihua made 28 stops.
"I thought we did a good job in front of him," said head coach Rick Kowalsky. "He looked sharp in the first when we were kind of exposed a little bit and he had a lot of work again tonight."
Albany outshot Adirondack 29-21.
The Devils remain on the road with a pair of games Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (7:15 p.m.) at Norfolk. Both games can be followed on 104.5 "The Team" ESPN Radio or online at ahllive.com.
American Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2011
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- Rampage End 2011 with 4-3 Victory Over Barons - San Antonio Rampage
- Kings Starts Fireworks Early - Manchester Monarchs
- McCollum Leads Griffins to Big NYE Win - Grand Rapids Griffins
- New Year's Eve Overtime Win - Adirondack Phantoms
- Peoria Outlasts Rockford 3-2 - Rockford IceHogs
- Devils Fall in OT at Adirondack - Albany Devils
- Admirals Battle Back to Earn Point in Hershey - Norfolk Admirals
- Bears Shoot out of 2011 with 3-2 Win Over Norfolk - Hershey Bears
- B-Sens Fizzle in 2011 Finale, Fall to Crunch 6-2 - Binghamton Senators
- Monsters End 2011 with Come-From-Behind Shootout Win - Cleveland Monsters
- P-Bruins Fall to Monarchs 2-1 - Providence Bruins
- Falcons Fall to Whale - Springfield Falcons
- Crunch Close 2011 with 6-2 Win Over Binghamton - Syracuse Crunch
- Ads Fall to Grand Rapids to Close out 2011 - Milwaukee Admirals
- Whale Cloe out 2011 with 5-2 Win - Connecticut Whale
- Sound Tigers Fall 4-2 to Penguins - Bridgeport Islanders
- Second-Period Burst Leads Penguins Past Sound Tigers - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Sharks End 2011 with a Thud, Fall 4-2 in Portland - Worcester Sharks
- IceCaps Release Shayne Wiebe - St. John's IceCaps
- Charlotte Snaps Wolves Home Streak - Chicago Wolves
- Checkers Extend Point Streak to Five Games - Charlotte Checkers
- Bulldogs Earn One Point in 3-2 Shootout Loss - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Oilers Assign Colten Teubert to Oklahoma City - Oklahoma City Barons
- Panthers Send Dadonov to Rampage - San Antonio Rampage
- Adam Cracknell Returns to Rivermen - Peoria Rivermen
- Rangers Return Sean Avery to Whale - Connecticut Whale
- Sabres Recall Defenseman Brennan - Rochester Americans
- Griffins Call on McCollum - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Blue Jackets Recall Defenseman David Savard from AHL's Springfield Falcons - Springfield Falcons
- Bears Sign Forward Matt Pope to Two-Year Contract - Hershey Bears
- Sound Tigers Comeback Falls Short in 3-2 Loss to Admirals - Bridgeport Islanders
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