Devils Late Fight Isn't Enough

February 22, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


SPRINGFIELD, MA - The Albany Devils capped off a three-in-three weekend with a 4-2 loss over the Springfield Falcons Sunday at MassMutual Center. Only one of the six goals scored in the contest came at full strength.

The Falcons had a 3-0 lead over the Devils for 54:55 but Springfield netminder Scott Munroe's shutout bid was spoiled with back-to-back power play goals by Raman Hrabarenka and Kelly Zajac in the final minutes.

The Devils move to 23-22-4-5 on the season while the Falcons improve to 30-19-6-0.

Brian Gibbons (2g-1a) led Springfield with three points. Austin Madaisky registered two assists and Munroe turned aside 39 of 41 shots faced. Thomas Larkin and Sean Collins also scored for the Falcons.

Special Teams

The Devils found themselves in trouble early. Larkin's shot made it through traffic and beat Clemmensen after a turnover in the Devils own end just 42 seconds into the contest. The goal would be the only tally of the game that came while playing five-on-five.

The Falcons made it 2-0 after a double minor was called on Mike Sislo for attempted spearing 7:53 into the period. Albany killed off the first half of the penalty and a majority of the second but Springfield's Collins redirected a T.J. Tynan shot in front of the slot with 54 seconds remaining on the advantage. The goal came at 10:59 of the opening frame.

Gibbons' first of the night came 35 seconds into a two-man advantage in the second period. His second power-play goal would secure the win for the Falcons, doubling their lead with 2:08 to go.

A late surge by the Devils pulled them within one. With 5:05 left in the third period, Seth Helgeson blasted a shot from the point and Hrabarenka tipped it in for his fifth of the season. The goal came just 12 seconds after Springfield's Larkin was called for roughing. Helgeson picked up his second assist in as many games.

Springfield found themselves in penalty trouble again less than a minute later when Zajac slammed home Joe Whitney's rebound at 16:11 of the third. The goal was Zajac's second of the weekend.

Not Without Chances

The Devils set a new season record after registering 41 shots. Prior to Sunday's game, the season-high was 39 which Albany hit three times prior, on Oct. 17 and Nov. 9 against Bridgeport and Nov. 26 against Hartford.

Albany posted 12 shots in both the first and second periods and 17 in the third.

Notables

Chris McKelvie celebrated his 30th birthday Sunday ... The Devils went 2-9 on the power-play and 4-7 on the penalty kill ... Scott Clemmensen made back-to-back starts for the Devils this weekend. The loss moves him to 5-8-1 on the season ... Both teams are 3-0-0-0 while playing at their home arena and meet again at Times Union Center on Mar. 15 and at MassMutual Center on Apr. 3 to finish off the season series.

Next Up

The Devils continue their five-game road swing with a game Friday against the Syracuse Crunch at War Memorial at Oncenter. Puck drop is slated for 7 pm. Fans can stream the game live online or on mobile devils at ahllive.com. Additionally, the game will be broadcast on 104.5 "The Team".



American Hockey League Stories from February 22, 2015


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