Devils Get Chances But Fall to Hershey
March 18, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The Albany Devils out-chanced the Hershey Bears Sunday in front of 4,193 at the Times Union Center. However, the Bears capitalized on their opportunities, handing the Devils a 4-1 setback.
"I can't fault the guys for the way they played," said head coach Rick Kowalsky. "If we score a couple of those last night and again we score in the second period tonight on some good opportunities - I think it's a different story."
The loss moves the Devils to 27-26-6-5, while the Bears improve to 33-20-4-6.
Playing in their third game in as many nights, the Devils received a goal from Vladimir Zharkov at 17:41 of the first period to make the score 2-1.
The Bears had established their lead with goals from Patrick McNeill at 11:42 and Maxime Lacroix at 16:31.
Zharkov's tally was his 13th goal of the season and featured a zone-to-zone play that was finished by a wrist shot from the right circle.
The Bears capitalized on a power-play opportunity late in the second. Boyd Kane redirected a shot through the legs of Jeff Frazee with 54 seconds remaining.
"I really liked the way we played in the second period," Kowalsky said. "I kept saying, 'it's going to come, it's going to come' and then you have guys just throwing their heads in the air wondering what we have to do to score."
Kane added an empty net goal with 11 seconds remaining.
Frazee finished the game with 19 stops on 22 tries. For Hershey, Dany Sabourin made 24 saves on 25 shots.
"We don't have anyone but ourselves to blame," said assistant captain Brad Mills. "It's just one of those things that you have to move forward from and focus on the next one. There's nothing you can do about it at this point."
Next up, the Devils host the Worcester Sharks for a crucial Eastern Conference matchup on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Fans who can't make it to the Times Union Center can follow on 104.5 "The Team" ESPN Radio or online at ahllive.com.
*****
Notes: Vladimir Zharkov netted his 13th goal, which ranks tied for third on the team. He ended an eight-game goal drought. His last tally came at Manchester on Feb. 25 ... Three Stars: 1. Maxime Lacroix (HER), 2. Vladimir Zharkov (ALB), 3. Dany Sabourin (HER).
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