Albany Devils Get Much Needed Win against Worcester Sharks
March 13, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release
ALBANY, NY -- After surrendering a two-goal lead, the Albany Devils rebounded in the third period, knocking off the Worcester Sharks, 3-2, Friday at Times Union Center. Darcy Zajac netted the game-winning goal at 5:46 of the third period as the Devils extended their point streak to four games, going 3-0-1-0 during that span.
Overall, Albany gained ground on Worcester, who is currently occupying one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The Devils improve to 27-23-5-5 (64 pts.), while the Sharks move to 32-22-4-2 (70 pts.).
Zajac and Devils captain Rod Pelley led Albany with a goal and an assist each.
"We know where we are in the standings and that's when the leaders need to be leaders," Pelley said. "In my opinion we need to take the bull by the horns and show the way, and hopefully guys fall in line."
Paul Thompson also scored and netminder Scott Clemmensen made 27 saves for his sixth win of the season.
For Worcester, Taylor Fedun and Karl Stollery both scored. Goaltender Troy Grosenick made 31 saves.
Albany's Top Line
The Devils line of Pelley, Zajac and Ben Thomson set the tone for the game.
"They were good," said Head Coach Rick Kowalsky. "I thought Rod Pelley was outstanding tonight and he has been doing a lot of the little things and leading by example. He had a big hit before that goal. It doesn't always have to be pretty and it doesn't need to be this time of year. They were certainly our best line out there."
That hit Pelley threw resulted in him gaining control of the puck. He carried the puck out of the corner and fired it towards the net with traffic in front. After multiple whacks, Zajac finished off his own rebound.
"It started 20 seconds before that when we got it in," Zajac said. "Once the battle ended Pelley had room and I parked myself in front of the net and found a way to my stick and took a few whacks and it found a way in."
The goal was Zajac's seventh of the season. He now has six points (3g-3a) in the last six outings.
Making A Game Of It
The Devils came out strong, establishing a 2-0 advantage and outshooting the Sharks, 14-8, at the end of the first.
Tim Sestito set up Thompson at the bottom of the left circle at 7:36. The goal was his team-leading 25th tally. Pelley's goal followed when Zajac found the centerman near the left face-off circle. His shot hit the far post and in at 15:14. The goal was his sixth of the season.
The tables turned in the second period when the Sharks scored twice to tie the game. At 4:57, Bryan Lerg made a pass to Matt Taormina, who sent the puck to the high-slot to Fedun. Fedun sniped a one-timer to the low left corner of the net.
"We thought it was going to be easier than it was," Zajac said. "We were up 2-0 and this time of the year you can't take the foot off the gas pedal. I think we did that for a little bit and had a few good spurts, but we let them back in it."
Then at 10:20 while playing four-no-four, the Sharks broke the play out of the defensive zone and made a few quick passes up ice: Dylan DeMelo slid a pass to Ryan Carpenter who made a cross-ice pass to Stollery. Stollery released a shot from the top of the circle and went bar-down on Clemmensen.
Notables
Albany improved to 21-2-1-3 when scoring three goals and 20-4-2-2 when allowing two-or-fewer goals ... The team is 18-6-2-2 when scoring first and 12-3-1-0 when leading after the first period ... Stefan Matteau's six-game point streak ended (4g-2a) ... Matt Lorito, who signed an ATO earlier in the day, did not dress.
Next Up
The Devils host the Syracuse Crunch Saturday at 5 pm. As part of "Times Union Family Night," the newspaper's readers will receive $5 or $10 admission by presenting a Times Union bill, a copy of the paper or any "Times Union Family Night" advertisement at the Box Office. Fans who bring their skates can take a spin on the Times Union Center ice.
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