Devils Fall to Pirates

Published on December 6, 2014 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


ALBANY, NY -- The Albany Devils point and winning streaks came to an end Saturday at the hands of the Portland Pirates at Times Union Center. A pair of second period tallies and three in the third were too much for the Devils in a 6-1 setback. Albany entered the game on a five game point streak, including three straight wins. Portland earned their sixth consecutive victory.

"We knew they were playing well and they have a little more depth on the back end," said Head Coach Rick Kowalsky. "Mike McKenna's been playing well for them. Two of the key points for us tonight were managing the puck and winning races and battles, and we didn't do any of those things."

Reid Boucher's power-play goal at 2:27 of the second period tied the game, 1-1, but Portland answered with tallies at 7:12 and 8:40. Eric Selleck scored first on a breakaway and Evan Oberg followed on an odd-man rush.

"After the goal we had a string of good shifts in their zone," Boucher said. "They had a couple of lucky bounces and it was 3-1 before we knew it. I don't know what happened we just couldn't get back into the game."

In the third, Corey Trivino, Darian Dziurzynksi and David Schlemko each scored to produce the final result.

"When you get down and try to push to make things happen, we just lacked all of our fundamentals," said alternate captain Tim Sestito. "You have to stick to the system; when you try to do too much that's what happens."

"I think it's a little bit of pride too," Kowalsky said. "that's what I told them after. You have to keep playing. I don't necessarily think we quit."

The Pirates had established a lead late in the first period. Tyler Gaudet scored on a rebound at 18:20.

Scott Wedgewood suffered the setback despite making 21 saves on 27 shots. At the other end, former Devil netminder Mike McKenna earned his ninth win. He had 25 stops on 26 tries.

Notes

Albany moved to 11-7-1-4 overall and 7-3-1-2 at home, while Portland improved to 14-9-0-0 overall and 6-7-0-0 on the road ... Reid Boucher netted his fourth goal of the season and second in the last four games ... Brandon Burlon had the primary assist on Albany's goal. He has four assists in the last four outings and eight overall ... Joe Whitney's point streak ended at five games (3g-7a) ... The Devils finish the season series against the Pirates with a 1-2-1-0 record ... The Devils have at least one power-play goal in six consecutive outings.

Next Up

The Devils wrap up their three-in-three weekend with a 3 pm game against the Adirondack Flames at Times Union Center. Tickets can be purchased at the Times Union Center box office or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Fans can also buy tickets via charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at ticketmaster.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2014


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