Record Crowd on Hand as Devils Shutout Phantoms

Published on January 28, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


ALBANY, NY - In front of a record crowd of 8,194, the Albany Devils shut out the Adirondack Phantoms and evened the Time Warner Cable Cup series with a 3-0 win Saturday.

The fans at the Times Union Center helped shatter the franchise's previous record, which was 6,504 when the team was located in Lowell. That outing featured the Providence Bruins on Jan. 31, 2008.

"They were into the game, but when you get that first goal, it brings a little more life into the building and gets [the crowd] involved as well," said head coach Rick Kowalsky. "It's a huge boost for the guys."

That first goal came off the stick of Tim Sestito at the six minute mark of the second period.

"I maybe cheated a little on the defensive side," Sestito said. "I saw [Chad] Wiseman grab the puck and I tried to beat my guy up the ice to make it a 3-on-2. I yelled pretty loud for it and I'm glad he gave it to me. After that it was just close your eyes and shoot as hard as you can."

Goaltender Keith Kinkaid was credited with the second assist on the goal. Despite his offensive production, he showcased his skills in the defensive end. He made 30 saves for his third shutout of the season.

"He looked sharp tonight," Kowalsky said. "He looked like he was into the game and knew the importance of this game. Like I said, he made not only some big saves, but some timely saves."

As a team the Devils killed off all five Adirondack power-plays, including a 5-on-3 in the third period.

"It was a great job by everyone out there," Kinkaid said. "We were blocking a lot of shots and our defense cleared everything out. If I gave up a bad rebound they were there to help and there were no second chances."

"Defensively, I thought we played pretty well," Sestito said. "We blocked shots; we cleared the puck. Our penalty kill did a good job and our power play had good looks. I think all aspects of our game were on point."

Peter Harrold and Jacob Josefson provided the team's second and third goals. Harrold scored off a rebound at 15:04 of the third - assists went to Stephane Veilleux and Steve Zalewski.

Josefson capped the scoring at 19:46 with an empty-net goal. Stephen Gionta's diving effort just inside the blue line helped get the puck to Wiseman, who setup the tally.

"To beat these guys, knowing we see Connecticut next Friday is definitely huge," Kowalsky said. "Just mentally to go into the break ending on a high is good."

Albany travels to take on the Whale on Friday at 7 p.m. Fans can listen to that game on 104.5 "The Team" ESPN Radio or online at ahllive.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 28, 2012


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