Albany Devils Streak Comes to An End
November 1, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release
ALBANY, NY - The Albany Devils winning streak came to an end with a 4-1 setback against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Saturday at Times Union Center. Bridgeport used four unanswered goals to hand Albany its first regulation loss of the season. Albany, which moved to 6-1-0-1 overall, fell a win shy of tying the franchise record for longest winning streak. Last year's team won six consecutive outings between Nov. 30 and Dec. 14.
"We know teams are coming in and they know they have to be at their best just with our record," said Devils captain Rod Pelley. "It's one of those things we can't let off the gas pedal; we have to move forward."
Albany led after the first period thanks to a 5-on-3 power play goal at 10:24. Paul Thompson jammed in his league-leading eighth goal and Steve Bernier and Scott Timmins earned the assists.
In the second, Bridgeport's C.J. Stretch snuck a puck under an outstretched Scott Wedgwood on a broken play at 9:06. Colton Gillies added to the lead, redirecting an Aaron Ness shot at 15:16.
Two and a half minutes later, Ryan Pulock unloaded a shot from the point for a 5-on-3 power play goal at 17:44 and gave the Sound Tigers a 3-1 advantage.
All three goals came while the Devils played with a shortened bench during the majority of the second and early parts of the third. Brandon Burlon was issued two minutes for instigating, five for fighting and a 10 minute misconduct after dropping the gloves with Gillies at 4:46 of the second. Gillies had boarded Corbin McPherson between the team's benches, causing Burlon to take action.
"A credit to him for stepping in there," said Head Coach Rick Kowalsky. "But I just thought as a group we stopped skating. They picked up their compete level. They started winning battles and races and we didn't have much of a response. "
Bridgeport's Peter Sivak capped the scoring at 17:52 of the third with an empty-net, power-play goal.
The teams combined for 64 penalty minutes. Albany went 1-6 on the power-play, while Bridgeport was 2-7.
"It kind of gets to you," Thompson said of the lack of 5-on-5 time. "If you're not killing or not on the power play, it's going to affect guys and it certainly just effects the flow of your 5-on-5 game. We're a team that pretty much flows through our four lines. We've got a lot of depth, and when you get in situations like that sometimes guys are sitting for a long time and it's tough to get the chemistry and the flow going."
Scott Wedgwood, who is 2-1-0 this season, made 22 saves. At the other end, Kevin Poulin made 26 stops and improved to 2-1-1.
Notes
Albany now has at least one power play goal in seven of eight games this season. The team entered the game tied for second in the AHL with a 25.0 percent power-play rating ... Paul Thompson netted his league-leading eighth goal of the season, matching his output from a season ago. He had four goals playing with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and four playing with Springfield. For his career, he has 47 goals in 208 games ... Scott Timmins moved his point streak to eight games (4g-6a) ... Steve Bernier extended his point streak to three games (3a) ... Raman Hrabarenka's three-game point streak (1g-3a) was halted ... Bridgeport extended its points streak to four games (3-0-0-1).
Next Up
The Devils host the Portland Pirates Sunday at 3pm. Fans can hang around for the postgame autograph session and the postgame skate. Additionally, the Albany Devils, Price Chopper Thanksgiving Food Drive continues and fans who donate a nonperishable food item will receive a free ticket voucher to the Nov. 26 game.
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