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Albany Devils Weekly

March 19, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS WEEK

With 16 games remaining in the regular season, the Albany Devils are just three points out of a playoff spot at 27-22-1-10 (65 pts.). The team trails Hershey (30- 24-3-5) and Connecticut (30-25-5-3), which sit in seventh and eighth place with 68 points. The Devils have played two fewer games than the Bears and three fewer than the Whale.

The Devils face their fourth consecutive three-in-three and their second straight road weekend. The team plays at Binghamton Friday (7:05 pm), at Syracuse Saturday (7:30 pm) and at Bridgeport Sunday (3 pm). Albany, which is 6-3-0-1 in its last 10 contests, is 16-11-1-4 on the road this season.

The Senators are second in the East Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference at 37-19-1-5 (80 pts.), including a 20-8-1-2 home mark. The Crunch are first in the East Division and first in the conference at 37-17-3-5 (82 pts.) with a 14-9-3-3 home showing. The Sound Tigers are fourth in the Northeast Division and 13th in the conference at 26-25-6-4 (62 pts.), including a 15-8-3-3 home record.

The New Jersey Devils have a three game week, hosting the Rangers Tuesday and the Panthers Saturday. The Devils travel to Carolina Thursday. Last Saturday, Harri Pesonen became the fourth Albany Devil to make his NHL Debut this season, joining Matt Anderson, Jeff Frazee and Keith Kinkaid. The four Devils are also members of a group of 65 AHL players to play their first NHL games this season.

In the community, Devils players will visit veterans at the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center Tuesday and others will participate in Literacy Week by reading at the Delaware Community School Wednesday.

DEVILS NOTABLES

- More than half of the Devils 60 games this season have been decided by one goal. In 31 one-goal games, Albany is 13-7-1-10.

- This season, the Devils are 19-5-1-4 when scoring first. Additionally, the team is 25-4-0-3 when scoring three or more goals and 26-8-1-7 when allowing three or fewer goals against.

- On Sunday, Chad Wiseman appeared in his 600th career AHL game. Since 2001-02, he has registered 171 goals and 257 assists for 428 points. This year, Wiseman has played 33 games, producing three goals and eight assists for 11 points.

- Steve Zalewski has appeared in a team-high 58 games, while Corbin McPherson and Tim Sestito rank tied for second with 57 outings. McPherson leads the team with 56 consecutive games played. Zalewski and Alexander Urbom are next with 52 straight games logged.

- Joe Whitney failed to register a point Sunday for the first time since March 2 at Wilkes- Barre/Scranton. The second-year pro, had points in six straight games, registering six goals and three assists. His point streak ranked tied for fourth longest all-time in franchise history. Whitney leads the Devils with 41 points and 22 goals.

- Matt Anderson leads the Devils with 13 power-play points, producing a goal and 12 assists. Overall, he is second with 38 points, backed by 11 goals and a team-high 27 helpers.

- Goaltender Keith Kinkaid appeared in all three games this past weekend. On Friday, he registered his career-high 18th victory, which ranks fourth all-time on the franchise's single- season list. Additionally, his 35 career victories are third all time. This season, Kinkaid is 18-13-5 with a 2.64 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.

- With a goal at Rochester, Mike Sislo netted his eighth goal of the season. He has 17 points (8g-9a) in 45 games and eight points (6g-2a) in the last 12 contests.

- Mike Hoeffel and Phil DeSimone also scored at Rochester. Hoeffel has nine points (4g-5a) in 40 games, while DeSimone has 15 points (9g-6a) in 31 outings.

- At Syracuse, defensemen Dan Kelly netted his second goal of the season and the sixth of his three-year professional career. Both his goals this season have come within his last four contests.

- On Friday, Jean-Sebastien Berube appeared in his first AHL game since April 6, 2012 against Adirondack.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Fri., Mar. 15: Albany 3 at Rochester 2 (Blue Cross Arena) Teams 1 2 3 F

Albany 1 1 1 3

Rochester 0 1 1 2

Mike Sislo, Mike Hoeffel and Phil DeSimone all scored as the Devils defeated the Americans, 3-2, Friday at Blue Cross Arena. In goal, Keith Kinkaid made 31 saves on 33 shots for his 18th win of the season and 35th of his career.

Sislo opened the scoring by racing down the left side shorthanded and snapping a wrist shot at 5:43 of the first. Matt Anderson and Brandon Burlon were credited with the assists. Albany moved ahead 2-0 when Darcy Zajac chipped the puck ahead in the offensive zone and Hoeffel turned and fired a wrister past Rochester's David Leggio at 12:54.

Rochester responded with a Matt Ellis power-play goal at 18:49 of the second. The Devils recaptured a two-goal lead when Joe Whitney setup DeSimone for a one-timer at 12:56 of the third. Moments later, Rochester's Mark Mancari made the score 3-2 at 13:30.

1st Period-1, Albany, Sislo 8 (Anderson, Burlon), 5:43 (SH).

2nd Period-2, Albany, Hoeffel 4 (Zajac), 12:54. 3, Rochester, Ellis 4 (Mancari, Pysyk), 18:49 (PP).

3rd Period-4, Albany, DeSimone 9 (Whitney), 12:56. 5, Rochester, Mancari 19 (Varone, Girgensons), 13:30.

Shots on Goal-Albany 8-11-7-26. Rochester 10-11-12-33.

Power Play Opportunities-Albany 0 / 2; Rochester 1 / 5.

Goalies-Albany, Kinkaid 18-13-5 (33 shots-31 saves). Rochester, Leggio 31-19-1 (26 shots-23 saves).

Sat., Mar. 16: Albany 2 at Syracuse 6 (War Memorial at OnCenter)

Teams 1 2 3 F

Albany 0 0 2 2

Syracuse 3 3 0 6

The Devils three-game winning streak was snapped with a 6-2 setback Saturday at Syracuse. Dan Kelly and Joe Whitney scored. The duo capped the game's scoring: Kelly at 8:00 of the third and Whitney at 12:38. David Wohlberg assisted on the first goal and Steve Zalewski and Matt Anderson helped on the second.

In his third career start, Scott Wedgewood registered 15 saves in 40 minutes and Keith Kinkaid made all seven stops in the third period. At the other end, Riku Helenius made 28 saves for his 15th victory.

Brett Connolly led Syracuse with two goals and two assists. His goals came at 6:08 of the first and on the power play at 9:57 of the second. Other Crunch scorers included Jean-Philippe Cote at 6:38 and Richard Panik with the man advantage at 10:38 of the first. J.T. Brown scored at 7:22 of the second and Philip-Michael Devos followed at 9:11.

1st Period-1, Syracuse, Connolly 25 (Namestnikov, Devos), 6:08. 2, Syracuse, Cote 2 (Angelidis, Nightingale), 6:38. 3, Syracuse, Panik 22 (Connolly, Sexton), 10:38 (PP).

2nd Period-4, Syracuse, Brown 9 (Angelidis, Mikkelson), 7:22. 5, Syracuse, Devos 4 (Connolly, Namestnikov), 9:11. 6, Syracuse, Connolly 26 (Barberio, Oberg), 9:57 (PP).

3rd Period-7, Albany, Kelly 2 (Wohlberg), 8:00. 8, Albany, Whitney 22 (Zalewski, Anderson), 12:38.

Shots on Goal-Albany 11-8-11-30. Syracuse 12-9-7-28.

Power Play Opportunities-Albany 0 / 3; Syracuse 2 / 6.

Goalies-Albany, Wedgewood 2-1-0 (21 shots-15 saves); Kinkaid 18-13-5 (7 shots-7 saves). Syracuse, Helenius 15-10-0 (30 shots-28 saves).

Current Streaks

None

Upcoming Milestones

Brandon Burlon - 1 away from 100 career AHL games

Keith Kinkaid - 21 games away from 100 career AHL games

Jay Leach - 16 away from 500 career AHL games

Chris McKelvie - 6 away from 100 career AHL games

Joe Whitney - 14 away from 100 career AHL points

Recent Milestones

Mike Hoeffel - 100th career AHL game; at BRI (Mar. 17)

Chad Wiseman - 600th career AHL game; at BRI (Mar. 17)

Matt Anderson - 200th career AHL point; vs. ADK (Mar. 10)

Scott Wedgewood - 1st career AHL victory; vs. SPR (Mar. 9)

Phil DeSimone - 100th career AHL game; at WBS (Mar. 2)

Mike Sislo - 100th career AHL game; at WBS (Mar. 2)

Eric Gelinas - 100th career AHL game; at CT (Feb. 5)

Joe Whitney - 100th career AHL game; vs. ADK (Jan. 20)

Matt Anderson - 300th career AHL game; at NOR (Dec. 22)

Tim Sestito - 300 career AHL game; at NOR (Dec. 21)

Mar. 22 at Binghamton Senators (Broome Country Veteran's Memorial Arena)

Binghamton is coming off a 1-2-0-0 week, which included a 3-1 setback at Rochester Wednesday. The Senators then lost, 3-2, against Adirondack Friday before rebounding, 5-1, against Norfolk Saturday.

Binghamton is 6-3-0-1 in its last 10 outings. Stephane Da Costa leads the Senators with 32 points, including 11 goals and a team- best 21 assists. Corey Cowick and Jean- Gabriel Pageau are tied for second among active Senators with 27 points. Cowick has 11 goals and 16 helpers, while Pageau has seven tallies and 20 assists.

In goal, Marc Cheverie and Nathan Lawson make up the team's current tandem.

Cheverie is 4-3-0 with a 3.10 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage. Lawson is 7-4-1 with a 2.26 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage.

Mar. 23 at Syracuse Crunch (War Memorial at OnCenter)

In two games last week, the Crunch earned three-out-of-a-possible four points with a 1-0-0-1 record. On Friday, Syracuse lost in a shootout, 4-3, against Norfolk. On Saturday, the team responded with victory, 6-2, against the Devils. The Crunch are 5-3-1-1 in their last 10 and are riding a four-game point streak at 3-0-0-1.

Brett Connolly, who had two goals and two assists against Albany Saturday, is Syracuse's active leader with 56 points, backed by 26 goals and 30 assists. Richard Panik and Mark Barberio are second and third with 41 and 40 points, respectively. Panik has 22 goals and 19 assists, while Barberio has eight goals and 32 helpers.

In goal, Cedrick Desjardins and Riku Helenius have shared time. Desjardins is 11-15-3 overall, including a 4-2-1 record with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage with the Crunch. Helenius is 15- 10-0 with a 2.75 goals-against average and a .894 save percentage.

Mar. 24 at Bridgeport Sound Tigers (Webster Bank Arena)

Bridgeport is coming off a 2-1-1-0 week, which included a 3-2 overtime victory against Springfield Tuesday. The Sound Tigers then lost, 3-2, at Manchester Friday and, 1-0, in overtime at Hershey Sunday. They capped the weekend with a win, 2-0, against the Devils Sunday to improve to 4-2- 3-1 in their last 10 outings.

Nino Niederreiter and rookie Brock Nelson lead the Sound Tigers with 45 and 42 points, respectively. Niederreiter has 26 tallies and 19 assists, while Nelson has 17 goals and 25 helpers. Matt Donovan is third with 32 points, backed by nine goals and 23 assists.

Rick DiPietro and Kenny Reiter have been the team's two available goaltenders with Anders Nilsson out. DiPietro is 4-3-0 with a 2.81 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. Reiter is 0-4-1 with a 2.69 goals- against average and a .913 save percentage.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS

Sun., Mar. 17: Albany 0 at Bridgeport 2 (Webster Bank Arena) Teams 1 2 3 F

Albany 0 0 0 0

Bridgeport 0 0 2 2

For nearly 50 minutes, the Devils Keith Kinkaid and the Sound Tigers Rick DiPietro were locked in a goaltending battle. A neutral zone turnover followed by a shorthanded goal settled the stalemate and lifted the Sound Tigers to a 2-0 win Sunday at Webster Bank Arena.

Scott Campbell set up Brock Nelson, who netted the winner at 10:35 of the third frame. Racing down the left side, Nelson snapped a shot over the shoulder of Kinkaid, who appeared in his third straight game. Bridgeport's Nino Niederreiter added to his team's lead at 18:03 of the third.

Kinkaid finished with 41 saves on 43 shots, while DiPietro had 33 stops in his first shutout.

1st Period- No Scoring.

2nd Period- No Scoring.

3rd Period-1, Bridgeport, Nelson 17 (Campbell), 10:35 (SH). 2, Bridgeport, Niederreiter 26 (Sundstrom, Kabanov), 18:03

Shots on Goal-Albany 9-12-12-33. Bridgeport 8-20-15-43.

Power Play Opportunities-Albany 0 / 3; Bridgeport 0 / 4.

Goalies-Albany, Kinkaid 18-13-5 (43 shots-41 saves). Bridgeport, DiPietro 4-3-0 (33 shots-33 saves).

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