Devils Look to Rebound In Second Half

January 29, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


Rewind:

Wednesday, Penguins 3 vs. DEVILS 2

Goals scored forty-two seconds apart in the third period by Mark Ardelan and Joe Jensen gave the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins the 3-2 lead and the eventual win over the Lowell Devils. Benoit Mondou opened the scoring at 14:51 of the first period with his seventh goal of the season. Though Kurtis McLean's power play goal in the second tied the score, Lowell was able to go up 2-1 heading into the second intermission on Jason Ryznar's tally with 21.6 seconds remaining in the period. Frank Doyle made 31 saves in the loss.

Friday, MONARCHS 4 vs. Devils 0

Goaltender Danny Taylor registered 32 saves as the Manchester Monarchs defeated the Lowell Devils, 4-0. Gabe Gauthier notched a goal in both the first and second periods to give Manchester a 2-0 lead heading into the final period. Brian Boyle put the game out of the Devils' reach with a shorthanded marker with 3:22 left in regulation, while Lauri Tukonen added an even-strength goal in the dwindling seconds of the contest.

Saturday, PIRATES 2 vs. Devils 0

The Devils were once again searching for goals in a 2-0 loss on Saturday on Portland's home ice. J.P. Levasseur stopped all 21 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season. Drew Miller provided the only goal the Pirates would need, scoring with the power play at 5:33 of the first period. Jason King added some insurance 3:34 into the final frame. Devils goalie Frank Doyle stopped 30-of-32 in the loss.

In the standings

Unable to record a point this week, the Lowell Devils fell ten points behind the sixth-place Worcester Sharks in the standings. The Manchester Monarchs could not widen their four-point gap over the Sharks, but they sit only one point back of the Springfield Falcons. The top three teams in the Atlantic Division are starting to pull away from the pack as the third-place Hartford Wolf Pack lead the Falcons by twelve points. One point separates the Wolf Pack and the Portland Pirates, while the Providence Bruins lead the division by eight.

Coming Up

The Lowell Devils have only one game on the docket this week to try and end their eight-game winless streak (0-6-1-1). The Springfield Falcons are making their final visit to Tsongas Arena on Saturday, February 2 for game eight of the ten-game season series. The Devils have been defeated via the shootout in the last two tilts against the Falcons and have fallen to 1-4-0-2 in the head-to-head match-up this year. Springfield has also fallen on tough times with one win in their last eight games, including an active four-game winless streak (0-1-1-2). The Falcons have scored the second fewest first-period goals (27), but continue to have a potent power play that! ranks 5th in the AHL at 19.3% (43-for-233).

Promotions/In the Community

- Thursday, January 31

- Devil Dawg will be making a lunchtime visit to the Francis Wyman School in Burlington, MA from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

- Saturday, February 2 - Devils vs. Springfield Falcons - Super Bowl Weekend Celebration

- Wear your favorite team's football jersey and enter into a raffle to win a Lowell Devils jersey

- New England Patriots merchandise giveaway courtesy of Modell's

- Sports memorabilia silent auction presented by Gridiron Authentics

- SodaPop the Clown will be on hand to create balloon characters for all children who visit the Kid's Corner, located behind Section T.

Around the Horns

Frank Doyle notched 30-plus saves in both of his starts this week to bring his season total of games with 30-saves-or-more to 14.

Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre recorded his first multi-point game of the year with 2 assists on Wednesday.

Lowell is 11-1-2-3 when scoring three or more goals.

Leaders for Lowell:

Goals: Tallackson (13)

Assists: Vrana (28)

Points: Vrana (36)

PIM: Fraser (70)

Plus/Minus: Bergfors (+3)

Wins: Doyle (9)

G.A.A: Doyle (2.99)

Save %: Doyle (.907)

Last Week:

Wed 1/23 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3 vs. DEVILS 2

Fri 1/25 MANCHESTER MONARCHS 4 vs. Devils 0

Sat 1/26 PORTLAND PIRATES 2 vs. Devils 0

This Week:

Sat 2/2 DEVILS vs. Springfield Falcons (20-18-4-5), 7:05 p.m.



American Hockey League Stories from January 29, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central