Devils Outlast Crunch in High-Scoring Battle

Published on February 27, 2015 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


SYRACUSE, NY -- In the highest scoring battle for either team, the Albany Devils outlasted the Syracuse Crunch, 7-6, Friday at War Memorial Arena at Oncenter. In all, 14 players had multiple games: seven for Albany and seven for Syracuse.

Mike Sislo and Kelly Zajac led the way with three points each. Sislo had two goals and a helper, while Zajac produced a goal and two assists. It was the other Zajac, Darcy, who played a big role in the third period when the Devils were trailing, 5-4. He setup David Wohlberg for a shorthanded tally at 1:03. Zajac then netted the game-winning goal, redirecting Seth Helgeson's point shot at 6:51.

Other multi-point performances included: Wohlberg (1g-1a), Helgeson (2a), Reid Boucher (2a) and Raman Hrabarenka (2a).

Maxime Clermont, who was reassigned by New Jersey to Albany from Orlando (ECHL) Thursday, entered the game midway through the second period. He made 10 saves, including nine in the third period to improve to 5-0-0-0 in the AHL this year.

Jonathan Marchessault and Cody Kunyk paced the Crunch. Marchessault had two goals and an assist and Kunyk had two tallies. Netminder Kristers Gudlevskis was chased after making 16 saves on 23 shots and Allen York made all four saves in just over 12 minutes of play.

Special Teams Battle

The team's combined for a total of seven power-play goals and one shorthanded marker. Sislo, Timmins, K. Zajac and Stefan Matteau helped Albany to a season-high four man-up tallies (4-for-5). Syracuse's power-play tallies (3-for-5) came from Vladislav Namestrikov, Yanni Gourde, Kunyk and Marchessault.

Fittingly, the Crunch had a chance to force overtime when Reece Scarlett was called for boarding with 56 seconds remaining. With York on the bench for the extra attacker, the Devils were able to fend off the Crunch's hectic surge to hold on for their first win against the Crunch this season.

Season High Goals/PPG

The contest marked the highest scoring game for either team this season. The Devils and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers combined for ] 11 goals on Jan. 3. Additionally, Albany had scored seven goals two other times this season -- on Oct. 24 at Hartford and during that Jan. 3 contest at Bridgeport.

Entering the game, the Devils had netted three power-play goals four times: Nov. 9 at Bridgeport, Dec. 19 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Jan. 17 at Hershey and Jan. 21 against Bridgeport.

Notables

Timmins returned to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 7 against the Adirondack Flames. He had missed 30 consecutive games with a lower-body injury ... Helgeson, who had a game-high +3 rating, extended his point streak to three games ... Albany owned a 27-26 shot advantage and are 1-2-1-2 against Syracuse this season ... Mike Sislo moved into sole possession of second on the franchise's all-time goal list with 61 tallies.

Next Up

The Devils complete their five-game road trip Saturday with a 7 pm outing against the Hershey Bears at Giant Center. Albany fans are invited to cheer on the team at Recovery Sports Grill in Guilderland, NY for a Watch Party. Additionally, the matchup can be followed online or on mobile devices at ahllive.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 27, 2015


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