Albany Devils Fight Back, Fall in Shootout

Published on November 12, 2014 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


ALBANY, NY - The Albany Devils fought back in the third period only to fall in the shootout to the Syracuse Crunch Wednesday at Times Union Center. The Devils lost 2-1 in the three-round shootout and 3-2 overall to move to 6-3-1-3. The Crunch, which are on a five-game point streak, improve to 6-4-3-0 overall.

Scott Timmins and Tim Sestito both scored in regulation and Scott Wedgewood made 23 saves. For Syracuse, Yanni Gourde and Joel Vermin found the back of the net and Kristers Gudlevskis had 20 stops for the victory.

"We need to realize it can't be some guys some of the time, it needs to be all of the guys all of the time," said Head Coach Rick Kowalsky. "Regardless of your roll on the team, our third and fourth line guys have been our best guys because of how they work and they play simple hockey."

Albany trailed 2-1 after two periods until Sestito capitalized off a Reece Scarlett rebound at 2:44 of the third. The tally came after Darcy Zajac won a battle in the corner and the puck floated to Scarlett at the right point. Gudlevskis made the initial save, but Sestito found the rebound on the left side.

"I think we were confident before that goal, going into the third period," Sestito said. "We just had to win a period. We've done it before, all year, so getting the goal was nice."

The Devils had their chance in overtime, but failed to convert on a 4-on-3 power play. In the shootout, Paul Thompson scored in the second round, but Gourde and Tanner Richard found the back of the net in the second and third rounds.

The Devils led early when Timmins intercepted a pass in the defensive zone and sprung Paul Thompson for a semi-breakaway. After losing the puck, Thompson found Timmins in front for a one-touch goal 1:06 into the contest.

Syracuse responded less than four minutes later when Gourde was the beneficiary of a Devils miscue in front at 4:49.

In the second, Syracuse's Jake Dotchin's slap shot was kicked away by Scott Wedgwood, but ended up on Vermin's stick for the put back at 2:52.

"We came out a little flat in the first and second period and the third period was better," Sestito said. "We need a little bit more to get off this little slump we're in."

The Devils, who were outshot, 26-22, and went 7-7 on the penalty kill, are 0-3-1-2 in their last six outings.

"Once one goes in, I think, the flood gates will open for everybody," said Reid Boucher, who missed a chance during the overtime period. "We have to score more than one or two goals a game to win games."

Game Notes

Scott Timmins registered his fifth goal of the season. He has points in 11 of the team's first 13 games and is tied with Paul Thompson for the team lead with 13 points ... Tim Sestito has goals in back-to-back games. For the season, he has seven points with three goals and four helpers ... Dating back to Jan. 31, the Devils have only one regulation loss -- a 4-1 setback against Bridgeport on Nov. 1 -- at Times Union Center. During that span they own a 16-1-1-2 record.

Next Up

The Devils travel for a pair of 7 pm contests against the Portland Pirates at Cross Insurance Arena. Both Friday and Saturday's games can be seen online at ahllive.com and heard on 104.5 "The Team" ESPN Radio.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 12, 2014


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