Albany Devils Weekly

Published on April 1, 2013 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS WEEK

After splitting last week's games with a 1-1-0-1 record, the Albany Devils are five points out of an Eastern Conference playoff spot with 10 games remaining. The Devils trail eighth-place Hershey (73 pts.), ninth-place Norfolk (71 pts.) and 10th-place Manchester (69 pts.) Albany has played one fewer game than all three teams.

The Devils, who are third in the Northeast Division, are 28-26-1-11 on the season with a 12-12-0-7 home mark and a 16-14-1-4 road record. Albany is 3-6-0-4 against the Atlantic Division, 9-10-1-4 versus the East Division, 15-9-0- 3 against the Northeast Division and 1-1-0-0 against the North Division.

Springfield is first in the Northeast Division and tied for first in the Eastern Conference at 39-18-5-4 (87 pts.), including a 23-8-1-3 home mark. Providence is first in the Atlantic Division and tied for first in the conference at 41-21-0-5 (87 pts.) with a 19-12-0-2 road record. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is third in the East Division and sixth in the conference at 26-28-2-2 (76 pts.), including a 17-13-2-2 home showing. Rochester is second in the North Division and fifth in the Western Conference at 37-26-3-1 (78 pts.) with a 17- 13-3-0 road mark.

Harri Pesonen and Tim Sestito have both rejoined the Albany Devils. New Jersey returned Pesonen Saturday and Sestito Sunday. This season in the AHL, Pesonen has 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 55 games, while Sestito has seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points in 57 contests.

Tuesday's game, which will be available on 104.5 "The Team" ESPN Radio or online at ahllive.com, is the makeup date for the originally scheduled Feb. 8 contest. It was postponed due to inclement weather.

NOTES & NUMBERS

- Albany has not lost in regulation when leading after two periods, going 19-0-0-2. Additionally, the team is 13-5-0-1 when leading after the first period and 19-6-1-4 when scoring first.

- The Devils are 26-2-0-4 when scoring three- or-more goals and 25-9-1-7 when allowing three-or-fewer goals.

- Albany signed defensemen Jon Merrill and left-winger Reid Boucher to amateur tryout agreements Friday. Merrill made his AHL debut against Hershey and registered an assist and a +2 rating. He followed against Portland with two helpers and a +1 showing. Boucher, who made his AHL debut last season on Apr. 15, played Saturday and had a goal, two assists and a +1 rating.

- Joe Whitney had at least one point in all three games last week, extending his scoring streak to six games, tying a career-high. Whitney's current run, which includes three goals and four assists, is tied for fourth longest in franchise history. Ahead of the second-year pro are Michael Swift (10), Niclas Bergfors (8) and Matthew Halischuk (7).

- With a pair of goals against Hershey, Jay Leach registered his third and fourth goals of the season and the 24th and 25th of his career. The Devils captain followed with an assist against Portland.

- Mike Sislo tied a career high with two goals and three points during last Saturday's game. He last potted two goals on Feb. 24, 2013 against Hershey and posted three points on Oct. 22, 2011 against Adirondack. For the season, Sislo has a career-high 11 goals.

- Mattias Tedenby returned to the lineup Saturday after missing 18 games after being cut up high on Feb. 15 at Adirondack.

- On Friday, Cam Janssen netted his first goal of the season and his first AHL tally since Oct. 9, 2005 at Philadelphia. Additionally, it was his first professional goal since playing for St. Louis (NHL) on Mar. 30, 2011 at Detroit.

- With a goal Friday, Darcy Zajac registered his career-high ninth goal of the season and 20th of his career.

- On Wednesday Matt Anderson moved within one helper of tying the franchise record of 82 career assists. He trails Stephen Gionta atop the list.

- Steve Zalewski, who has assists in the last two games, is third on the team with 38 points, backed by 10 goals and 28 assists. In 374 career AHL games, the Devils center has registered 230 points with 81 goals and 149 helpers.

Harri Pesonen and Tim Sestito have both rejoined the Albany Devils. New Jersey returned Pesonen Saturday and Sestito Sunday. This season in the AHL, Pesonen has 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 55 games, while Sestito has seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points in 57 contests.

Tuesday's game, which will be available on 104.5 "The Team" ESPN Radio or online at ahllive.com, is the makeup date for the originally scheduled Feb. 8 contest. It was postponed due to inclement weather.

Joe Whitney and Brandon Burlon both scored in the Devils return to Albany for the first time in more than two weeks. The IceCaps spoiled the homecoming by a score of 4-2. In goal, Jeff Frazee made 17 saves on 21 shots.

Aaron Gagnon had a pair of goals for the IceCaps and Jason Jaffray compiled three points with a goal and two assists. Eric O'Dell provided the team's other tally. In goal, Mark Dekanich made 21 saves on 23 shots.

Whitney gave the Devils the lead out of the gate at 4:29 of the first period with a one-timer from the right circle. St. John's responded with four straight goals. Jaffray began the scoring at 10:27 of the first and O'Dell gave the IceCaps the lead with a power-play goal 57 seconds into the second. Gagnon put the IceCaps ahead 4-1 with a pair of tallies at 3:20 of the second (shorthanded) and 8:35 of the third (on the power play). Burlon capped the scoring at 15:06.

1st Period-1, Albany, Whitney 23 (Anderson, DeSimone), 4:29 (PP). 2, St. John's, Jaffray 14 (Sawada, Chiarot), 10:27.

2nd Period-3, St. John's, O'Dell 25 (Maxwell, Jaffray), 0:57 (PP). 4, St. John's, Gagnon 9 (Jaffray, Petiot), 3:20 (SH).

3rd Period-5, St. John's, Gagnon 10 (Maxwell, O'Dell), 8:35 (PP). 6, Albany, Burlon 1 (Sislo, Wiseman), 15:06. Shots on Goal-St. John's 7-10-4-21. Albany 11-5-7-23.

Power Play Opportunities-St. John's 2 / 7; Albany 1 / 6.

Goalies-St. John's, Dekanich 13-12-0 (23 shots-21 saves). Albany, Frazee 7-11-4 (21 shots-17 saves).

Fri., Mar. 29: Albany 5 vs. Hershey 3 (Times Union Center)

Teams 1 2 3 F

Hershey 1 1 1 3

Albany 1 2 2 5

The Devils knocked off the Bears, 5-3, Friday at Times Union Center. Leach recorded the first two-goal performance of his career, Cam Janssen had his first multi-point game and Jon Merrill registered his first professional point. Joe Whitney potted his career-high 24th goal and Darcy Zajac netted his career-best ninth tally. Additionally, J.S. Berube tallied his first point of the season with an assist. In goal, Keith Kinkaid stopped 28 shots on 31 attempts.

Peter LeBlanc got the Bears on the board first with a power-play goal at 4:20 of the first, but the Devils responded with three consecutive goals. Janssen erased the Bears lead after 68 seconds and Zajac and Leach put the Devils ahead with a pair of goals in the second at 3:18 and 7:04, respectively.

Casey Wellman cut into Albany's lead at 12:36 of the second, but Whitney restored the two goal advantage, beating Dany Sabourin over the left shoulder from a tight angle at 1:33 of the third. Joey Crabb brought the Bears back within one at 5:04 of the third until Leach added an empty-netter at 19:17 of the third.

1st Period-1, Hershey, LeBlanc 9 (Kane, Stoa), 4:20 (PP). 2, Albany, Janssen 1 (Berube), 5:28.

2nd Period-3, Albany, Zajac 9 (Urbom, Janssen), 3:18. 4, Albany, Leach 3 (DeSimone, Merrill), 7:04. 5, Hershey, Wellman 15 (Crabb), 12:36 (PP).

3rd Period-6, Albany, Whitney 24 1:33. 7, Hershey, Crabb 1 (Taffe, McNeill), 5:04. 8, Albany, Leach 4 (Zalewski), 19:17 (EN). Shots on Goal-Hershey 12-10-9-31. Albany 3-8-5-16.

Power Play Opportunities-Hershey 2 / 8; Albany 0 / 5.

Goalies-Hershey, Grubauer 10-6-2 (7 shots-4 saves); Sabourin 9-11-3 (8 shots-7 saves). Albany, Kinkaid 19-15- 5 (31 shots-28 saves).

Current Streaks

Joe Whitney - 6 game point streak (3g-4a)

Jay Leach - 2 game point streak (2g-1a)

Jon Merrill - 2 game point streak (3a) Steve Zalewski

- 2 game point streak (2a)

Upcoming Milestones

Keith Kinkaid - 18 games away from 100 career AHL games

Jay Leach - 10 away from 500 career AHL games

Chris McKelvie - 1 away from 100 career AHL games

Joe Whitney - 7 away from 100 career AHL points

Recent Milestones

Reid Boucher - 1st career AHL goal; vs. HER (Mar. 29)

Jon Merrill - 1st career AHL game; vs. HER (Mar. 29) - 1st career AHL point; vs. HER (Mar. 29)

Brandon Burlon - 100th career AHL game; at BNG (Mar. 22)

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)

Incredible Moments. Instant Memories.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS

Sat., Mar. 30: Albany vs. Portland (Times Union Center) Teams 1 2 3 OT SO F

Portland 2 1 1 0 1 5

Albany 1 3 0 0 0 4 Mike Sislo tied a career high with two goals and Reid Boucher contributed a goal and two assists in his first game of the season, but the Devils fell, 5-4, in a shootout Saturday against the Pirates. The Devils led 4-3 until Portland's Andy Miele tied the game with 5:48 remaining in the third period.

After a scoreless third and overtime, Sislo and Mattias Tedenby scored in the first and fourth rounds of the shootout, respectively. Portland received tallies from Chris Conner, Chris Brown and Ethan Werek in the second, fourth and fifth rounds.

Sislo, who also registered an assist, and Boucher were joined by Joe Whitney and Jon Merrill with multi-point performances. Whitney had a goal and an assist to move his point streak to six games and Merrill registered two helpers in his second career outing.

Between the pipes, Jeff Frazee turned away 38-of-42 shots.

1st Period-1, Portland, Miele 15 (Rundblad, Bolduc), 0:55 (PP). 2, Albany, Boucher 1 (Whitney, Merrill), 12:43 (PP). 3, Portland, Johnson 3 (Conner, Rundblad), 18:12 (PP).

2nd Period-4, Albany, Sislo 10 (Boucher, Merrill), 2:05. 5, Albany, Whitney 25 (Sislo, Boucher), 7:34 (PP). 6, Albany, Sislo 11 (Zalewski, Leach), 10:45. 7, Portland, Bolduc 24 (Brown, Miele), 14:27.

3rd Period-8, Portland, Miele 16 (Bolduc, Brown), 14:12.

OT Period- No Scoring.

Shootout - Portland 3 (Rundblad NG, Conner G, Brophey NG, Brown G, Werek G), Albany 2 (Sislo G, Boucher NG, Anderson NG, Tedenby G, Whitney NG). Shots on Goal-Portland 18-9-14-1-1-43. Albany 5-9-6-4-0-24.

Power Play Opportunities-Portland 2 / 4; Albany 2 / 4.

Goalies-Portland, Visentin 13-11-1 (12 shots-8 saves); Lee 7-4-0 (12 shots-12 saves). Albany, Frazee 7-11-5 (42 shots-38 saves).

Apr. 2 Springfield Falcons (MassMutual Center) Springfield is coming off a pair of victories last week, defeating Bridgeport, 5-4, Thursday and Connecticut, 2-1, Saturday. The Falcons, who are on a five-game winning streak, are 5-3-1-1 in their last 10 outings.

Jonathan Audy-Marchessault leads Springfield with 59 points, backed by 19 goals and 40 assists and Nick Drazenovic is second with 49 points, including 17 goals and 32 helpers. Among defensemen, Nick Holden leads the team with 31 points on eight goals and 23 assists.

In goal, Curtis McElhinney has been the work horse, playing 44 games. He is 27-13-3 with a 2.21 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. His nine shutouts lead the AHL.

Apr. 5 vs. Providence Bruins

(Times Union Center)

In three games last week, the Bruins went 2-1-0-0. They began with a 3-2 win at Portland Wednesday and followed with a 3-2 shootout victory at Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Friday. Providence, which is 7-3-0-0 in its last 10 games, concluded the weekend with a 3-2 setback at Hershey Saturday.

Ryan Spooner leads the team with 47 points, including 13 goals and a team-high 34 assists. Jamie Tardif is second with 40 points on a club-best 28 goals and 12 assists and Torey Krug is the leading defenseman with 34 points with 10 goals and 24 helpers.

Michael Hutchinson and rookie Niklas Svedberg have split time in net. Hutchinson is 9-13-3 with a 2.43 GAA and a .908 save percentage, while Svedberg is 32-8-2 with a 2.26 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.

Apr. 6 at WB/Scranton Penguins

(Mohegan Sun Arena)

The Penguins earned five-out-of-six points last week. They defeated Binghamton, 4-2, Wednesday before falling against Providence, 3-2, in a shootout Friday. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton responded with a shootout victory at Binghamton, 3-2, Saturday. The Penguins are 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 contests.

Chad Kolarik, who has played for Connecticut and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, has amassed 57 points with 25 goals and 32 assists. In 27 games with the Penguins, he has 22 points with nine goals and 13 helpers.

In goal, Brad Thiessen and Jeff Zatkoff share responsibilities.Thiessen is 14-11-2 with a 2.64 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. Zatkoff is 22-19-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.

Apr. 7 vs. Rochester Americans

(Times Union Center)

The Americans are coming off a 2-1-0-0 week, which included a 1-0 win against Syracuse Wednesday and a 4-1 loss against Toronto Friday. Rochester rebounded with a 4-2 win at Hamilton Saturday. The Amerks are 6-4-0-0 in their last 10 outings.

Mark Mancari leads the team with 58 points, 20 goals and 38 assists. Defenseman Brayden McNabb is second on the team with 36 points, backed by five goals and 31 assists. Former AHL Rookie of the Year Luke Adam is third with 32 points, including 14 goals and 18 assists.

Goaltender David Leggio leads the league with 57 games played, 35 wins and 1765 saves. On the year, he is 35-21-1 with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. Rookie Nathan Lieuwen is 1-2-0 with a 2.65 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.

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