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Albany Devils Weekly

February 5, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL) - Albany Devils News Release


FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS WEEK

The Albany Devils will be busy this week with four road games in six nights. They travel to play the Connecticut Whale Tuesday (7 pm), the Springfield Falcons Friday (7 pm), the Syracuse Crunch Saturday (7:30 pm) and the Binghamton Senators Sunday (5:05 pm). The games are the final four of a season-long, six- game road trip.

The Devils are coming off back-to-back losses this past weekend. They lost at the Providence Bruins, 5-1, Friday and at the Portland Pirates, 2-0, Saturday. Albany is fourth in the Northeast Division and 13th in the Eastern Conference at 17-16-1-8 (43 pts.), including a 9-8-1-3 road record. The team is 11-5-0-3 against Northeast Divisional rivals and 3-5-1-2 against East Division opponents.

The Whale are third in the Northeast Division and tied for 11th in the Eastern Conference at 20-21-4-1 (45 pts.) with a 10-11-2-0 home mark. The Falcons are first in the Northeast Division and first in the conference at 27-11-3-3 (60 pts.), including a 12-6-1-3 home record. The Crunch are second in the East Division and fourth in the conference at 25-12-2-4 (56 pts.), including a 9-7-2-2 home showing. The Senators are first in the East Division and second in the conference at 27-12-1- 3 (58 pts.) with a 16-4-1-1 home mark.

Before last Saturday's contest, the New Jersey Devils recalled Albany's leading scorer Bobby Butler. In 37 AHL games, he produced 27 points, including 16 goals and 11 assists, and a plus-10 rating. Butler, who represented Albany during the 2013 Dunkin' Donuts AHL All-Star Classic in Providence, RI on Jan. 27-28, made his season debut with New Jersey Sunday at the New York Islanders.

New Jersey returned Matt Anderson to Albany Friday and loaned Cam Janssen to Albany Thursday. Anderson was recalled to the NHL last Tuesday and made his NHL debut at the Boston Bruins that same day. He registered his first NHL point -- an assist -- against the New York Islanders Thursday. Janssen appeared in his 109th AHL contest and the first since Jan. 26, 2008 when he suited up for Albany Friday.

DEVILS NOTABLES

"¢ Friday at Providence, Tim Sestito netted his sixth goal of the season. In 41 outings, he has registered 17 points, which ranks tied for sixth among active players. For his AHL career, Sestito has produced 112 points, including 52 goals and 60 helpers.

"¢ For his career, Cam Janssen has played 311 NHL games, posting 11 points (3g-8a) and 750 penalty minutes. The 28 year old has appeared in 110 AHL contests, totalling nine points (2g-7a) and 492 penalty minutes.

"¢ After a two-game stint with New Jersey, Matt Anderson returned to Albany's lineup Saturday. He is third among active Devils with 21 points, including seven goals and 14 assists in 40 games this year.

"¢ Scott Parse returned to the Devils lineup Friday for the first time since Dec. 29, while Chad Wiseman returned Saturday for the first time since playing back-to-back games on Jan. 12 and Jan. 13. Both players missed time with lower-body ailments.

"¢ On Monday, New Jersey reassigned Jean-Sebastien Berube to Albany from Trenton (ECHL). Now in his third season, Berube has appeared in 45 career AHL games, producing nine points with a goal and eight assists. Additionally, he has posted a plus-2 rating and 35 penalty minutes.

Fri., Feb. 1; Albany 1 at Providence 5 (Dunkin' Donuts Center)

Teams 1 2 3 F

Albany 0 0 1 1

Providence 2 2 1 5

The Devils began their season-long, six-game road trip with a 5-1 setback against the Providence Bruins Friday at Dunkin' Donuts Center. The contest was the first for Albany since returning from an abbreviated All-Star break.

Tim Sestito registered his sixth goal of the season when he was setup by Bobby Butler and Harri Pesonen early in the third. Pesonen sprung an odd-man rush, and Butler found Sestito, who outlasted Providence netminder Michael Hutchinson at 3:53 of the third.

The Bruins produced the majority of their goals during a 10 minute span, which included a pair of tallies by Maxime Sauve. He opened the scoring at 18:33 of the first and made the score 3-0 at 6:11 of the second. Torey Krug and Ryan Spooner also found the back of the net. Krug scored at 19:39 of the first and Spooner tallied on the power play at 7:52 of the second. After Sestito's goal, Kyle MacKinnon capped the scoring at 16:31.

In his 27th appearance, Keith Kinkaid made 33 saves on 38 shots. At the other end, Hutchinson improved to 5-10-1 by making 20 stops on 21 attempts.

1st Period-1, Providence, Sauve 6 (Bartkowski, Miller), 18:33. 2, Providence, Krug 6 (Cunningham), 19:39. 2nd Period-3, Providence, Sauve 7 (Warsofsky, Spooner), 6:11. 4, Providence, Spooner 9 (Camper, Krug), 7:52 (PP). 3rd Period-5, Albany, Sestito 6 (Butler, Pesonen), 3:53. 6, Providence, MacKinnon 6 (Spooner, Bartkowski), 16:31. Shots on Goal-Albany 7-6-8-21. Providence 13-18-7-38. Power Play Opportunities-Albany 0 / 3; Providence 1 / 5. Goalies-Albany, Kinkaid 14-8-4 (38 shots-33 saves). Providence, Hutchinson 4-10-1 (21 shots-20 saves). Sat., Feb. 2; Albany 0 at Portland 2 (Cumberland County Civic Center)

Teams 1 2 3 F

Albany 0 0 0 0

Portland 0 1 1 2

Jeff Frazee turned aside 27 shots, but the Devils went without a goal, falling 2-0 Saturday against the Portland Pirates at Cumberland County Civic Center.

Appearing in his 15th contest, Frazee made seven saves in the first, 12 in the second and eight in the third. His performance improved his season-long goals-against average to 2.44 and his save percentage to .910.

With 22 saves, Portland's Mark Visentin earned his 10th victory and his second shutout. Providing offensive support, Chris Conner scored at 1:22 of the second period and Ethan Werek, who set up Conner's tally, found the back of the net at 7:25 of the third.

The Devils best opportunity to spoil Visentin's shutout came early in the third period. Corbin McPherson led an offensive rush and found Mike Sislo skating down the right side. He pulled up at the half wall and hit a cutting Phil DeSimone. After a shot, the rebound sat in the crease, but was cleared away before Harri Pesonen or Sislo could get their sticks on the puck.

1st Period- No Scoring. 2nd Period-1, Portland, Conner 9 (Werek), 1:22. 3rd Period-2, Portland, Werek 9 (Brown, Louis), 7:25. Shots on Goal-Albany 9-8-5-22. Portland 7-13-9-29. Power Play Opportunities-Albany 0 / 3; Portland 0 / 3. Goalies-Albany, Frazee 3-8-4 (29 shots-27 saves). Portland, Visentin 10-9-1 (22 shots-22 saves).

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS

Tue., Feb. 5 at Connecticut Whale (XL Center)

The Connecticut Whale had a three-game winning streak ended by a 5-4 overtime loss against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Friday. They followed with a 3-2 setback against the Springfield Falcons Saturday. The Whale, who are 5-4-1-0 in their last 10 contests, are embarking on their sixth straight home game Tuesday.

Kris Newbury leads the team with 38 points and 23 assists. He also has 15 goals. Brandon Segal is second among active players with 23 points, including 13 goals and 10 assists and rookie Marek Hrivik is third with 22 points with four goals and 18 helpers.

Cameron Talbot has carried the load between the pipes, appearing in 34 games. He is 15-19-0 with a 2.69 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.

Fri., Feb. 8 at Springfield Falcons (MassMutual Center)

The Springfield Falcons are riding a two-game winning streak, including a 5-3 victory against the Syracuse Crunch Friday and a 3-2 win at the Connecticut Whale Saturday. Springfield is 8-2-0-0 in its last 10 outings.

Nick Drazenovic is the Falcons leading active scorer with 43 points, which ranks fourth in the AHL. He has totaled 15 goals, including nine power-play tallies, and 28 assists. Ryan Craig is second with 33 points, backed by 14 goals and 19 assists.

In goal, Curtis McElhinney has played 29 games, registering a 19-7-2 record with a 2.30 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. He is third in the AHL for wins and first with six shutouts.

Sat., Feb. 9 at Syracuse Crunch (Onondoga County War Memorial)

The Syracuse Crunch have lost six of their last seven and are coming off a 5-3 loss at the Springfield Falcons Friday and a 5-3 setback against the Rochester Americans Saturday. The team is 4-5-0-1 in its last 10 games.

Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn lead the team with 39 and 37 points, respectively. Johnson, who is a plus-16, has posted 20 goals and 19 assists, while Killorn has registered 16 goals and 21 assists. Both players have netted seven power-play goals.

Between the pipes, Dustin Tokarski has played 30 games, posting a 17-7-4 record with a 2.39 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage.

Sun., Feb. 10 at Binghamton Senators (Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena)

The Binghamton Senators, who are 5-4-0-1 in their last 10, lost a pair of games at the St. John's IceCaps last weekend. Binghamton lost 4-2 Friday and 1-0 Saturday.

Mike Hoffman is first among active Senators with 24 points, backed by 12 goals and 12 assists. Hugh Jessiman and Derek Grant are second and third with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Jessiman has eight goals and 12 helpers, while Grant has 13 tallies and six assists.

Goaltender Robin Lehner is first in the AHL with a .946 save percentage, third with a 1.86 goals-against average and tied for sixth with 16 wins. In 25 games, he is 16-7-2.

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