Anderson Leads Devils In Thriller

Published on November 5, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


ALBANY, NY - Matt Anderson played the hero for the Albany Devils in a 3-2 win at Worcester Friday night. First, he forced overtime with just 46.3 seconds remaining and then scored in the fifth and final round of the shootout when all nine skaters failed before him. The Devils, who are victors in two shootouts this season, improve to 6-3-0-0, while the Sharks go to 4-3-1-2.

Albany, with an extra attacker on the ice, seemed to be heading to its second straight loss. However, Anderson's wrist shot from high atop the right face-off circle found a seam past Sharks' netminder Carter Hutton to force overtime. Tim Sestito and Chad Wiseman earned the assists.

In the shootout, the teams participated in four, scoreless rounds before Anderson went five hole to seal the victory. Mike McKenna made five stops during the session and had 25 saves during regulation and overtime. He is now 2-2 (two shootout wins) on the year.

Entering the game, both teams were dealing with some personnel issues. First, the Devils had Patrick Davis, Jeff Frazee, Stephen Gionta and Alexander Urbom recalled to New Jersey over the past two days. The Sharks lost one of their top scorers, Benn Ferriero, to San Jose moments before the game.

Jonathan Cheechoo took the reigns for Worcester, registering a goal and an assist. At the end of the night, he had passed Ferriero for the team lead for points with 13. His tally come from tic-tac-toe passing while on the power-play 3:53 into the third period to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead. James Marcou and Justin Braun were responsible for the helpers.

Marcou and Cheechoo both earned assists on their team's first goal when Albany led 1-0 in the second. Tommy Wingels cashed in on a deflected pass at 12:16 and eventually sent the game into the second intermission at 1-1.

To start, Worcester held a slight momentum advantage in the first, but Albany had some chances early in the second. Anderson was robbed on a back-door pass by the paddle of Hutton. A little later, Vladimir Zharkov was denied on two prime opportunities - both were on rebound tries and both involved the right leg of a sprawling Hutton.

Nick Palmieri finally broke the scoreless tie with the help of a long breakout pass from David McIntyre at 7:36. Palmieri received the feed at the far blue line, skated into the offensive zone unmatched and fired a wrist shot for his first goal of the season.

The second game of Albany's three-games-in-three-nights series is on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. when Rochester comes to the Times Union Center. Fans who come to that game and donate a non-perishable food item will receive a free ticket voucher for a future Devils game.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 5, 2010


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