Devils Done In By Pirates, 5-2

December 6, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


LOWELL, Mass. - Colton Fretter's hat trick helped lead the Portland Pirates to a 5-2 win over the Lowell Devils on Saturday at the Tsongas Arena. The Pirates went 4-for-10 on the power play and ended Lowell's four-game home winning streak.

Holding a 1-0 edge going into the second period, the Devils found themselves in some penalty trouble and saw the Pirates erupt for three goals in just over four minutes.

Skating 5-on-4, Fretter gathered his first of the night at 12:17 when he picked up a deflected pass on the near post and snuck a backhander under the pad of Dave Caruso. Almost two and a half minutes later, Portland took a lead they would never relinquish as Fretter waited in the slot for a screen and fired a shot inside the near post.

The Pirates would convert again on the man-advantage with 3:36 left in the period to make the score 3-1. From the point Tom Kennedy sent a pass to the far post for Marek Zagrapan, who quickly pivoted and jammed a wraparound into the net.

In the final frame, the Devils found some life and pulled within one on Anssi Salmela's goal at 10:02. Pascal Rheaume intercepted a pass at the Pirates blueline and found Salmela on the near circle, where he picked the far right corner of the net for his second goal of the season.

Less than thirty seconds later, Salmela would be assessed a checking-from-behind major that helped Portland pull away. Mathieu Darche scored 14 seconds into the ensuing power play with a deflection that put the Pirates back up by two. Fretter then completed the scoring and his hat trick, putting back the rebound of Chris Butler's point shot at 14:24 of the third.

Benoit Mondou put Lowell up, 1-0, at 6:02 of the opening period with his first goal of the season. Dave Caruso finished the contest with 28 saves on 33 shots.

The Devils host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Sunday, December 7 at 4:00 p.m. Listen to all of the action live on 980AM-WCAP and ahllive.com as Ryan Johnston brings you all of the play-by-play. Individual tickets are on sale now for the 2008-09 season. Contact the Devils at (978) 458-PUCK (7825) for more information or log on to www.lowelldevilshockey.com.



American Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2008


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