Devils get past Wolf Pack in shootout win
October 15, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release
Albany, NY - Stephen Gionta's goal in the sixth round of the shootout gave the Albany Devils a 3-2 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack Friday night at the Times-Union Center, in the Wolf Pack's first road game of the 2010-11 season.
Mike McKenna made 31 saves in net, and stopped five of six in the shootout, to get the win for Albany, which got goals from Vladimir Zharkov and former Wolf Pack Chad Wiseman. Mats Zuccarello and Wade Redden scored for the Wolf Pack, and Chad Johnson made 29 saves.
The Wolf Pack now stand at 1-1-0-1 in three games on the year.
All of the offense in the game came in a span of 4:49 in the first period, starting with Zuccarello's first North-American pro goal at 8:42.
Capitalizing on a great forechecking shift by a line of Ryan Garlock, Chris McKelvie and Justin Soryal, the Norwegian import Zuccarello came off the bench on a line change and scored off of a scramble in front of the Devils' goal. Zuccarello's shot hit the goalpost behind McKenna, then went off of McKenna's leg and in.
That lead lasted only 24 seconds, as Zharkov came back to tie the score for Albany at 9:06, on a close-range shot in front of Johnson. Then just 1:26 thereafter, Wiseman gave the Devils a 2-1 lead, taking advantage of a defensive breakdown by the Wolf Pack. The slot was left open for Wiseman to charge down from near the blue line, and he ripped a shot past Johnson.
Hartford tied it back up on a power play at 13:31, with Redden notching the first minor-pro goal of his career. With Tyler Eckford off for slashing, Redden one-timed a Jeremy Williams pass from the right point, and with Dale Weise screening, the Redden shot found its way past McKenna.
The second period was scoreless, despite a 12-4 Albany shots advantage. That edge was helped by four Devil power plays, including a 16-second two-man advantage and a double-minor created by tripping and unsportsmanlike conduct calls against Weise at 13:04.
The Wolf Pack then had the better of the power-play opportunities in the third session, with three to Albany's one, but neither goaltender would bend, and the tie carried through the end of regulation and overtime.
In the shootout, Zuccarello scored on the Wolf Pack's first shot on a nifty move, but McKenna would stop the next five Wolf Pack shooters. Mattias Tedenby was the only one of Albany's first five shooters to solve Johnson, but, with the shootout in extra rounds, Gionta nailed the winner with a slap shot over Johnson's glove.
The Wolf Pack continue a three-game road trip Saturday night in Bridgeport (7:00 faceoff) and Sunday at Providence (4:05), before their next home game Wednesday, October 20 vs. the Norfolk Admirals (7:00).
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