Devils Hit 40 Wins Heading Into Postseason

Published on April 19, 2014 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


ALBANY, NY - The Albany Devils are heading into the 2014 Calder Cup Playoffs riding a five-game winning streak, which was capped by a 5-2 victory against the Springfield Falcons Saturday at Times Union Center. Albany concludes the regular season with 40-23-5-8 -- the team's first 40 win season.

"I think it's a testament to the coaching staff, the players, guys who have been in and out of the lineup, guys who have been up and down," said assistant captain Tim Sestito. "We've had guys contribute the whole year. It's exciting, but that's all wiped clean now and we're looking forward to playoffs."

Depending on the outcome of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Utica game, the Devils will either be the fifth or sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. They will either match up against third-seed Binghamton or fourth-seed St. John's.

Against Springfield, Harri Pesonen registered a goal and an assist. David Wohlberg, Scott Timmins, Joe Whitney and Brandon Burlon all scored. The Devils finish the season with 220 goals for, averaging 2.89 goals-per-game.

"They haven't all been pretty, but you find a way to win hockey games," said Head Coach Rick Kowalsky. "We have some guys now with some confidence that maybe two weeks ago we were concerned about. Pesonen has played well, [Reid] Boucher has his step back, Timmins is still inside, Whitney comes in and has a strong game today with [Mike] Sislo."

Wohlberg opened the scoring just seven seconds into the game -- the fastest goal to start a game all season. His tally was part of a four-goal outburst that included a first period goal from Timmins at 8:08 and second period tallies from Whitney and Burlon.

Springfield responded with back-to-back goals in the third. Jake Hansen scored at 7:55 and Darryl Boyce at 11:27.

Pesonen capped the scoring with an empty net tally at 16:32.

"The first goal gave us some life and got some life in the building," Kowalsky said. "I thought we were solid through two periods. Then they started to play some of their energy guys and made a bit of a push. We got a little sloppy and made it a little interesting. It's 40 wins, 24 at home, it's still a big two points."

The Devils improved to 24-7-2-1 at Times Union Center this season, moving their winning percentage to 0.750.

In goal, Scott Wedgewood made 20 saves for his 15th victory of the season.

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