Albany Devils Weekly

Published on February 19, 2013 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS WEEK

After a stretch of seven games in 11 days, the Albany Devils are facing a two game weekend. They travel to face the Binghamton Senators Saturday at 7:05 pm and then head to Atlantic City to host the Hershey Bears Sunday at 4 pm. The Devils are winless in their last four games, falling to the Syracuse Crunch, 6-0, Wednesday and, 5-3, Monday. They also lost, 4-2, Friday at the Adirondack Phantoms and, 3-2, in a shootout against the Senators.

The Devils and the Senators are meeting for the third time in two weeks. Albany claimed a 3-2 shootout win at Binghamton on Feb. 10 and the Senators returned the favor with a 3-2 shootout victory at Times Union Center last Sunday. Afters Saturday's contest, these two teams will meet again on Mar. 22 and Apr. 12.

Sunday's outing is the fourth and final game in Atlantic City. The Devils, who hosted four games at Boardwalk Hall during the 2010-11 campaign, hosted Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Nov. 25), Bridgeport (Jan. 13) and Adirondack (Jan. 20) earlier this season.

The Devils are tied for third in the Northeast Division and tied for 10th in the Eastern Conference at 20-19-1-9 (50 pts.). The team is 8-10-0-6 at home and 12-9-1-3 on the road. The Senators are second in the East Division and fourth in the conference at 30-15-1-4 (65 pts.), including a 16-6-1-2 home record. The Bears are tied for third in the East Division and tied for seventh in the conference at 24-20-3-4 (55 pts.) with a 13-7-0-2 road record.

Matt Anderson leads all Devils scorers with 29 points and 19 assists. Additionally, he is tied for second among active players with 10 goals and leads the team with 10 power-play points (1g-9a). Joe Whitney and Steve Zalewski are tied for second among active Devils with 27 points. Whitney, who leads the team with a plus-13, has 12 goals and 15 assists, while Zalewski has nine goals and 18 helpers.

DEVILS NOTABLES

"¢ The Devils, who are 4-8-0-3 during Friday contests this season, will enjoy their first Friday off since Jan. 4. The team is 10-5-1-2 during Saturday outings and 3-1-0-3 during Sunday games.

"¢ Albany is the 11th least penalized team in the AHL, averaging 15.61 penalty minutes per game.

"¢ The third period has been the Devils friendliest period. They are outscoring opponents 50- 44 and outshooting teams 483-453.

"¢ The Devils have allowed the seventh fewest shots per game. They are on pace to set a franchise record, averaging 28.73 shots against per game. The current record is 29.91 set last season.

"¢ Corbin McPherson's goal 22 seconds into the game against Binghamton last Sunday was the fastest opening tally for Albany this season. For McPherson, it was his second goal, giving him five points. The rookie defenseman has appeared in 45 consecutive games and 46 overall. Additionally, he has posted three assists, a plus-5 rating and 25 penalty minutes.

"¢ Jacob Josefson scored in his return to Albany's lineup Monday against the Crunch. The day before, New Jersey returned the third year pro to Albany after a 15-game stint in the NHL. This year with the AHL Devils, he has posted nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 31 outings. He also has two shorthanded goals and a plus-9 showing.

"¢ Steve Zalewski is on a two-game scoring streak, producing two goals and an assist.

"¢ Chad Wiseman is approaching his 600th career AHL game. Now in his 11th AHL season, he has played 591 career games.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Wed., Feb. 13: Albany 0 vs. Syracuse 6 (Times Union Center)

Teams 1 2 3 F

Syracuse 1 5 0 6

Albany 0 0 0 0

The Devils three-game winning streak came to an end with a 6-0 setback against the Crunch Wednesday at Times Union Center. The contest was the second of three outings between the two teams in a 10 day span.

Keith Kinkaid, who played 40 minutes, made 10 saves on 16 shots and Jeff Frazee supplied 20 minutes of relief, stopping the six attempts he faced. At the other end, Riku Helenius turned aside 24 shots for his third shutout of the season. He improves to 9-8-0 on the season.

Mark Barberio and Radko Gudas led the Crunch each producing a power-play goal and an assist.

1st Period-1, Syracuse, Barberio 7 (Johnson, Connolly), 0:45 (PP). 2nd Period-2, Syracuse, Korobov 3 (Devos, Gudas), 4:30 (PP). 3, Syracuse, Gudas 4 (Korobov, Namestnikov), 5:07 (PP). 4, Syracuse, Tyrell 1 12:21 (SH). 5, Syracuse, Wyman 6 (Devos, Barberio), 16:49 (PP). 6, Syracuse, Angelidis 8 19:44 (SH). 3rd Period- No Scoring. Shots on Goal-Syracuse 9-7-6-22. Albany 8-10-6-24. Power Play Opportunities-Syracuse 4 / 10; Albany 0 / 6. Goalies-Syracuse, Helenius 11-8-0 (24 shots-24 saves). Albany, Kinkaid 16-11-5 (16 shots-10 saves); Frazee 4-9-4 (6 shots-6 saves). Fri., Feb. 15: Albany 2 at Adirondack 4 (Glens Falls Civic Center)

Teams 1 2 3 F

Albany 2 0 0 2

Adirondack 3 0 1 4

The Devils three-game winning streak at Glens Falls Civic Center came to an end with a 4-2 loss against the Phantoms Friday. Despite the setback, the Devils still own the Time Warner Cable Cup with a 6-2-0-1 overall record against their Northway rival this season. Chris McKelvie and Harri Pesonen both netted goals and Dan Kelly supplied a season-high two assists. Tim Sestito also registered a helper. In goal, Jeff Frazee made 27 stops on 30 tries.

The Phantoms received scoring from Andrew Johnston, Brandon Manning, Rob Bordson and Eric Wellwood. Between the pipes, Scott Munroe posted his 11th victory by stopping 31 shots on 33 attempts.

1st Period-1, Adirondack, Johnston 2 (Noebels), 1:50. 2, Albany, McKelvie 2 (Zajac, Kelly), 2:29 (SH). 3, Adirondack, Manning 6 (Gustafsson), 3:38 (PP). 4, Albany, Pesonen 10 (Sestito, Kelly), 6:42. 5, Adirondack, Bordson 7 (Laliberte, Gustafsson), 11:13. 2nd Period- No Scoring. 3rd Period-6, Adirondack, Wellwood 5 (Harper, Bordson), 18:45 (EN). Shots on Goal-Albany 13-10-10-33. Adirondack 12-6-13-31. Power Play Opportunities-Albany 0 / 3; Adirondack 1 / 5. Goalies-Albany, Frazee 4-9-4 (30 shots-27 saves). Adirondack, Munroe 11-12-0 (33 shots-31 saves).

Sun., Feb. 17: Albany 2 vs. Binghamton 3 -- SO (Times Union Center)

Teams 1 2 3 OT SO F

Binghamton 1 1 0 0 1 3

Albany 1 0 1 0 0 2

Steve Zalewski's goal with 4:53 remaining in regulation secured a point for the Devils against the Senators Sunday at Times Union Center in front of 4,928 fans. In the end the Devils lost, 3-2, in a shootout.

Trailing 2-1 within the final five minutes, Zalewski picked the top, right corner over Senators netminder Marc Cheverie's glove.

After a scoreless overtime period in which the Devils controlled the play, Mike Sislo scored in the opening round of the shootout. Binghamton's Pat Cannone tied the score in the fourth round and Cole Schneider potted the winner in the sixth.

1st Period-1, Albany, McPherson 2 (McKelvie, Wiseman), 0:22. 2, Binghamton, Schneider 6 (Prince, Wideman), 8:47 (PP). 2nd Period-3, Binghamton, Caporusso 1 (Wideman, Schneider), 3:39. 3rd Period-4, Albany, Zalewski 8 (Whitney), 15:07. OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties Shootout - Binghamton 2 (Caporusso NG, Gazley NG, Jessiman NG, Cannone G, Eckford NG, Schneider G), Albany 1 (Sislo G, Wiseman NG, Anderson NG, Sestito NG, Zalewski NG, Pesonen NG). Shots on Goal-Binghamton 13-4-9-0-1-27. Albany 12-14-11-0-0-37. Power Play Opportunities-Binghamton 1 / 5; Albany 0 / 4. Goalies-Binghamton, Cheverie 1-1-0 (37 shots-35 saves). Albany, Kinkaid 16-11-5 (26 shots-24 saves). Goalies-Albany, Frazee 4-8-4 (39 shots-37 saves). Binghamton, Lehner 18-8-2 (46 shots-44 saves).

Mon., Feb. 18: Albany 3 vs. Syracuse 5 (Times Union Center)

Teams 1 2 3 F

Syracuse 2 0 3 5

Albany 1 0 2 3

A Devils comeback effort was squandered for the second time is as many days as they suffered a 5-3 setback against the Crunch Monday at Times Union Center.

Steve Zalewski had a goal and an assist. Mike Sislo chipped in a goal and Jacob Josefson scored in his return to Albany. Alexander Urbom had a pair of assists and Keith Kinkaid made 20 saves on 24 tries.

For Syracuse, which extended its winning streak to four games, Tyler Johnson netted a hat trick and Dana Tyrell and Brett Connolly added goals. Between the pipes, Cedrick Desjardins stopped 23 shots on 26 attempts for his eighth win of the season and first with the Crunch.

1st Period-1, Syracuse, Tyrell 3 (Hutchings, Angelidis), 9:40. 2, Syracuse, Johnson 24 (Palat, Cote), 10:14. 3, Albany, Sislo 3 (Zalewski, Urbom), 14:32 (PP). 2nd Period- No Scoring. 3rd Period-4, Syracuse, Johnson 25 (Wyman), 3:45. 5, Albany, Zalewski 9 (DeSimone, Urbom), 7:26. 6, Syracuse, Johnson 26 (Palat, Korobov), 14:27 (PP). 7, Albany, Josefson 9 (Gelinas, Anderson), 18:28. 8, Syracuse, Connolly 22 19:57 (EN). Shots on Goal-Syracuse 10-5-10-25. Albany 12-6-8-26. Power Play Opportunities-Syracuse 1 / 3; Albany 1 / 4. Goalies-Syracuse, Desjardins 8-13-2 (26 shots-23 saves). Albany, Kinkaid 16-11-5 (24 shots-20 saves).

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS

Sat., Feb. 23 at Binghamton Senators

(Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena)

The Senators split four games last week. On Tuesday, they knocked off Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 5-1, before falling to Syracuse, 7-1, Friday and to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 5-2, Saturday. On Sunday, Binghamton defeated Albany, 3-2, in a shootout. Mike Hoffman leads active Senators with 24 points, including

12 goals and 12 assists. Hugh Jessiman is second with 22 points, including nine goals and 13 assists. Brett Lebda leads the active defenseman with 14 points, featuring two goals and 12 helpers.

In goal, Robin Lehner is 18-10-2 with a 2.12 goals-against average and a league-best .938 save percentage.

All-time Series

All-Time: 13-9-1-1

Home: 8-4-0-1

Away: 5-5-1-0

2012-13: 2-1-0-1

Last 5 Meetings

3/16/2012 -- Albany (2) at Binghamton (4)

12/28/2012 -- Binghamton (3) at Albany (2)

1/6/2013 -- Binghamton (2) at Albany (5)

2/10/2013 -- Albany (3) at Binghamton (2) SO

2/17/2013 -- Binghamton (3) at Albany (2) SO

Sun., Feb. 24 vs. Hershey Bears (Boardwalk Hall)

The Bears, who went 1-1-0-1 last week, lost in a shootout, 3-2, at Hamilton Friday. Hershey followed with a 2-1 loss at Toronto Saturday and a 4-1 win against Rochester Sunday.

Jeff Taffe leads the Bears with 42 points and 32 assists. Additionally he has contributed 10 goals. Jon DiSalvatore, who is second with 33 points and third with 20 helpers, is tied for the team lead with 13 goals. Garrett Stafford leads active Hershey defensemen with 17 points backed by a goal and 16 assists.

The Bears have relied on veteran Dany Sabourin and rookie Philipp Grubauer in goal. Saborurin is 7-8-2 with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. Grubauer is 5-3-1 record with a 1.91 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.

All-time Series

All-Time: 5-14-0-1

Home: 3-6-0-0

Away: 2-8-0-1

2012-13: 1-1-0-0

Last 5 Meetings

11/19/11 -- Albany (6) at Hershey (5) SO

3/17/12 -- Albany (2) at Hershey (3) SO

3/18/12 -- Hershey (4) at Albany (1)

10/27/12 -- Albany (0) at Hershey (3)

12/29/12 -- Albany (3) at Hershey (2)

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