Albany Devils Weekly

Published on December 18, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS WEEK

The Albany Devils have earned at least one point in each game in December. The team began the month by tying a franchise record with five consecutive wins before losing in a shootout last Saturday. The Devils have moved into third place in the Northeast Division and are tie for 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 9-8-0-6 record (24 pts.), including a 5-3-0-2 road mark.

On Monday, the American Hockey League announced that Bobby Butler had been selected the CCM/AHL Player of the Week. In three games, he scored six goals and tallied an assist for seven points and posted a plus-5 rating. Last Wednesday against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he tied franchise records with four goals and five points. He added to his totals with goals at the Connecticut Whale Friday and against the Providence Bruins Saturday.

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers are 2-5-1-2 in their last 10 games, including a 3-1 loss against the Devils on Dec. 8 at Times Union Center. Bridgeport is second in the Northeast Division and tied for 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 12-11-1-2 showing (27 pts.). The Sound Tigers are 6-3-0-1 at Webster Bank Arena.

The Norfolk Admirals, who are 4-5-1-0 in their last 10, have earned at least one point in their last three contests, going 2-0-1-0. They are fifth in the East Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference with an 11-12-1-0 mark (23 pts.). The Admirals are 6-6-1-0 at Norfolk Scope Arena.

All three games this week can be heard on 104.5 "The Team" ESPN Radio. Each game features 10 minute pre- and post-game shows. Additionally, fans can follow along with free audio and pay-per-view video at ahllive.com.

DEVILS NOTABLES

- Albany's five-game winning streak, which was spoiled Saturday in a 2-1 shootout loss against the Providence Bruins, is tied for the longest in club history. The team also won five in a row three other times: Nov. 21-29, 2008, Nov. 7-14, 2009 and Mar. 9-16, 2011.

- The Devils, who are 6-2-0-1 within their division, are 5-2-0-1 when leading after one and 7-0-0-1 when leading after two.

- Albany's penalty kill unit ranks sixth in the league with an 86.4 percentage, allowing 16 goals on 118 attemps. The Devils have also registered four shorthanded goals, which ranks tied for third.

- Bobby Butler joined Matt Halischuk and David Clarkson as the only players in team history to register five points in a game when he posted four goals and an assist against the Wilkes- Barre/Scranton Penguins Wednesday. Halischuk and Clarkson both registered four goals and an assist. Halischuk's performance came against Worcester on Oct. 11, 2008, while Clarkson's was against Philadelphia on Jan. 12, 2007.

Butlers' performance Wednesday featured the Devils first hat trick since Joe Whitney potted three at the Springfield Falcons on Jan. 21, 2012. Also, it was Albany's first four goal performance and hat trick at home since Chad Wiseman accomplished the feat on March 9, 2011 against Bridgeport.

With additional tallies Friday and Saturday, Butler is riding a six game point streak, which includes seven goals and three assists. His scoring streak is tied for third longest in franchise history behind Michael Swift's 10 games (7g-5a) between Dec. 11-Jan. 7, 2011 and Niclas Bergfors eight games (5g-5a) between Feb. 14-27, 2009.

- With wins against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Wednesday and at the Connecticut Whale Friday, Keith Kinkaid extended his winning streak to five games. During the stretch, he has posted a 1.80 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage. Kinkaid is a win away from tying the AHL Devils record of six consecutive wins, which was accomplished by Jeff Frazee between Nov. 21-Dec. 5, 2008 and Mike McKenna between Mar. 5-19, 2011.

- With a three point night Wednesday, Steve Zalewski reached the 200 career point plateau. Now in his sixth full season, he has accumulated 201 points behind 73 goals and 128 assists in 331 games. This season, Zalewski has registered nine points with two goals and seven assists.

- Jacob Josefson increased his team lead with 16 points thanks to four assists during the last three contests. For the season, he has registered eight goals and eight assists in 23 games.

- Joe Whitney moved into third on the team with a three point week. He registered a pair of assists Wednesday and added a helper Saturday. This year, he has posted 13 points with four goals and nine assists.

- Adam Larsson, who is the only defenseman to appear in all 23 games, continues to lead the blueliners with 12 points, including two goals and a team-high 10 points.

- On Friday, Albany Devils General Manager Chris Lamoriello issed a statement indicating that Matt Corrente underwent successful shoulder surgery and is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Wed., Dec. 12; Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 at Albany 6 (Times Union Center)

Bobby Butler tied franchise records with four goals and five points in the Devils 6-3 win against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Wednesday at Times Union Center. Additionally, Butler notched the team's first hat trick since Jan. 21, 2012. Also, it was Albany's first four goal performance and hat trick at home since March 9, 2011.

Butler scored at 17:42 of the first, 1:48 and 8:03 of the second - shorthanded - and at 5:35 of the third. Steve Zalewski, Harri Pesonen, Jacob Josefson and Whitney also registered multiple points. Zalewski had a goal and two assists, while Pesonen netted a goal and assisted on Zalewski's tally. Josefson and Whitney both had two assists.

In goal, Keith Kinkaid moved his winning streak to four games and he is now 5-5-3 on the season. He turned aside 24 shots.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton received goals from Riley Holzapfel, Brian Dumoulin and Jayson Megna. Between the pipes, Brad Theissen made 24 stops.

1st Period-1, W-B/Scranton, Holzapfel 8 (Bennett, Samuelsson), 11:28. 2, Albany, Butler 5 (Whitney, Zalewski), 17:42.

2nd Period-3, Albany, Pesonen 2 (Josefson), 1:03. 4, Albany, Butler 6 (Zalewski, Whitney), 1:48. 5, W-B/ Scranton, Dumoulin 2 (Holzapfel, Bennett), 3:16. 6, Albany, Butler 7 8:03 (SH). 7, W-B/Scranton, Megna 2 (Thompson, Dumoulin), 15:40.

3rd Period-8, Albany, Zalewski 2 (Butler, Josefson), 2:59. 9, Albany, Butler 8 (Anderson, Pesonen), 5:35.

Shots on Goal-W-B/Scranton 11-9-7-27. Albany 5-13-12-30.

Power Play Opportunities-W-B/Scranton 0 / 5; Albany 0 / 7.

Goalies-W-B/Scranton, Thiessen 3-5-1 (30 shots-24 saves). Albany, Kinkaid 6-5-3 (27 shots-24 saves).

Fri., Dec. 14; Albany 4 at Connecticut 3 (XL Center)

The Devils did not lead against the Connecticut Whale Saturday at XL Center until the final 2:19. The team rallied from three deficits and Harri Pesonen netted the game-winning goal on a breakaway in the closing minutes to give the Devils a 4-3 win. Albany extended its winning streak to five games, tying a franchise record.

Tim Sestito, Eric Gelinas and Bobby Butler all scored for Albany. Jacob Josefson, who sprung Pesonen for the winner, and Mattias Tedenby each had two assists.

Keith Kinkaid moved his winning streak to five games by making 15 saves.

Connecticut received goals from Ryan Bourque, Kris Newbury and Christian Thomas. In goal, Cameron Talbot made 28 stops. Albany outshot Connecticut, 32-18.

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Bourque 5 (Haley, Vernace), 6:50.

2nd Period-2, Albany, Sestito 2 (Wohlberg, Tedenby), 1:35. 3, Connecticut, Newbury 8 (Kolarik, Pyett), 8:26 (SH). 4, Albany, Gelinas 1 (Tedenby, Josefson), 8:44 (PP). 5, Connecticut, Thomas 7 (Gilroy, Miller), 12:18 (PP). 6, Albany, Butler 9 17:27.

3rd Period-7, Albany, Pesonen 3 (Josefson, McPherson), 17:41.

Shots on Goal-Albany 8-17-7-32. Connecticut 5-5-8-18.

Power Play Opportunities-Albany 1 / 2; Connecticut 1 / 3.

Goalies-Albany, Kinkaid 6-5-3 (18 shots-15 saves). Connecticut, Talbot 9-10-0 (32 shots-28 saves).

Current Streaks

Bobby Butler - Six game point streak (7g-3a)

Keith Kinkaid - Five game winning streak

Upcoming Milestones

Matt Anderson - 3 games away from 300 career AHL games

Jeff Frazee - 1 shutout away from 10 career AHL shutouts

Adam Henrique - 8 games away from 100 career AHL games

Tim Sestito - 2 games away from 300 career AHL games

Recent Milestones

Steve Zalewski - 200th career AHL point; vs. WBS (Dec. 19)

Tim Sestito - 100th career AHL point; at RCH (Nov. 23)

Jay Leach - 450th career AHL game; vs. NOR (Nov. 12)

Matt Anderson - 100th career AHL assist; vs. PRO (Apr. 14)

Steve Zalewski - 300th career AHL game; at NOR (Mar. 23)

Darcy Zajac - 100th career AHL game; at SYR (Mar. 9)

Sat., Dec. 15; Providence 2 at Albany 1 (Times Union Center) -- Shootout

The Devils attempt for a record sixth straight victory was halted by the Providence Bruins, 2-1, in a shootout Saturday at Times Union Center. Jeff Frazee, who allowed just one regulation goal in his first start since Nov. 30, helped keep Albany alive during a marathon shootout session. In the end, Providence's David Warsofsky netted the deciding goal in the ninth round, giving his team a 3-2 shootout advantage.

Bruins rookie defenseman Zach Trotman opened the scoring with a seeing-eye shot from the point at 10:46 of the first period. In the second, Adam Larsson and Joe Whitney worked the puck near the top of the left face-off circle. Whitney walked the half-wall and then sent a pass through two defensemen and found a cutting Bobby Butler for the one-touch, power- play tally at 5:59.

After a scoreless third and overtime, the Devils received shootout goals from Mattias Tedenby in the first round and Mike Sislo in the third. The Bruins had goals from Tardif in the second, Chris Bourque in the third and finally Warsofsky in the ninth round.

1st Period-1, Providence, Trotman 2 (Tardif), 10:46.

2nd Period-2, Albany, Butler 10 (Whitney, Larsson), 5:58 (PP).

3rd Period- No Scoring.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties Shootout - Providence 3 (Spooner NG, Tardif G, Bourque G, Cunningham NG, Camper NG, Sauve NG, MacKinnon NG, Caron NG, Warsofsky G), Albany 2 (Tedenby G, Whitney NG, Sislo G, Zalewski NG, Butler NG, Anderson NG, Pesonen NG, Josefson NG, Gionta NG). Shots on Goal-Providence 8-13-4-3-1-29. Albany 12-8-8-1-0-29.

Power Play Opportunities-Providence 0 / 3; Albany 1 / 8.

Goalies-Providence, Hutchinson 3-5-1 (29 shots-28 saves). Albany, Frazee 3-3-3 (28 shots-27 saves).

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS

Wed., Dec. 19 at Bridgeport Sound Tigers (Webster Bank Arena) Bridgeport's last regulation loss was a 3-1 decision on Dec. 8 against the Devils at Times Union Center. Since then, the Sound Tigers have gone 2-0-1-1, including a 1-0-1-1 showing last week. They lost in overtime, 2-1 at the Portland Pirates Wednesday, won in overtime, 4-3, at the Norfolk Admirals Friday and lost in a shootout, 3-2, at Norfolk Saturday.

The Sound Tigers are led by Nino Niederreiter, who has 27 points with 13 goals and 14 assists. Brock Nilson is second on the team with 22 points, including 11 goals and 11 assists.

Bridgeport has relied on Anders Nilsson and Kevin Poulin in goal. Nilsson is 6-6-0 with a 3.03 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage and Poulin is 6-5-2 with a 3.24 goals- against mark and a .903 save percentage.

TEDDY BEAR TOSS

The Devils collected 431 stuffed animals during the "Teddy Bear Toss," which took place during the first intermission of Saturday's game. Thanks to the fans' generosity, the team collected more than double the total from the previous years.

"I've said it 1,000 times and our Teddy Bear Toss reassured my belief that we have the most generous fans in the American Hockey League," said Albany Devils CEO Christopher Ciceri.

"Thanks to everyone's participation an extra 252 children will receive a gifted stuffed animal this year. That is purely remarkable and we cannot say thank you enough."

The donations will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Albany and Troy and the Albany Police Athletic League (PAL).

Fri., Dec. 21 & Sat., Dec. 22 at Norfolk Admirals (Scope Arena)

Norfolk split a pair of home games last weekend against Bridgeport. The Admirals lost in overtime, 4-3, Friday before rebounding for a shootout win, 3-2, Saturday.

The Admirals are led by Peter Holland's 25 points. In 24 games, he has registered a team-high 11 goals and 14 assists. Kyle Palmieri and Patrick Maroon are second and third on the team for points. Palmieri has 19 with nine goals and 10 assists, while Maroon has 16 with seven goals and nine assists.

The rookie tandem of Frederik Anderson and Igor Bobkov has shared goaltending responsibilities. Andersen is 7-7-0 with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage and Bobkov is 4-6-0 with a 3.73 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 18, 2012


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