Devils Perfect in Week's Pair of Games

Published on February 9, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


Last Week:

Fri, 2/6 - Devils vs. SPRINGFIELD FALCONS, W 4-2

Sun, 2/8 - DEVILS vs. Hartford Wolf Pack, W 5-3

This Week:

Wed, 2/11 - DEVILS vs. Philadelphia Phantoms, 7:00 p.m.

Sat, 2/14 - Devils vs. ALBANY RIVER RATS, 7:00 p.m.

Sun, 2/15 - DEVILS vs. Portland Pirates, 4:00p.m.

The Lowell Devils rebounded from two losses last week by taking both matches over the weekend and keeping pace with the rest of the teams in the Atlantic Division. The fifth-place Devils came from behind on the road to defeat the Springfield Falcons, 4-2, on Friday. Lowell then returned home on Sunday and fended off the Hartford Wolf Pack to win, 5-3. The Devils are only four points back from a third-place tie between the Worcester Sharks and the Portland Pirates.

Lowell will play two of its three upcoming games this week on home ice. The Devils host the Philadelphia Phantoms on Wednesday and the Pirates on Sunday. Before their Sunday matinee game against Portland, the Devils will travel on Saturday to face the Albany River Rats. Rewind: Friday, Devils 4 vs. FALCONS 2 Matt Halischuk's two third-period goals helped the Devils pull away for a 4-2 victory versus the Falcons at the MassMutual Center. Nicklas Bergfors allowed Lowell to hold a 1-0 lead after one with a power play goal at 16:41. After Springfield's Carl Corrazini and Ryan Potulny converted in the second period for a 2-1 edge going into the third, Vladimir Zharkov and Halischuk scored 1:01 apart to put the Devils back on top. Halischuk added an insurance marker on the power play with 47.1 seconds left in the contest.

Sunday, DEVILS 5 vs. Bruins 3 The Devils watched as the Wolf Pack erased a three-goal deficit, but were able to get two late tallies and escape with a 5-3 win at the Tsongas Arena. Lowell jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first when Matt Corrente and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond scored goals separated by 23 seconds and Barry Tallackson added one later in the period. The Wolf Pack would come storming back to tie the game, capped off by Greg Moore's shorthanded goal midway through the third. Lowell responded on the same power play thanks to a tip-in goal by Vladimir Zharkov. Patrick Davis put the game out of reach for the Devils just 47 seconds later.

In the Standings With their two wins this week, the Devils raised their record to 24-21-1-3 and pulled within four points of the Portland Pirates (26-20-1-3) and the Worcester Sharks (27-22-0-2), currently tied for third place. Sitting only a point ahead in second place are the Hartford Wolf Pack with a record of 26-20-2-3. The Providence Bruins (29-19-2-1) have won four in a row and hold a four-point cushion for the top spot in the Atlantic. The Manchester Monarchs are five points behind Lowell at 21-24-0-5. In last place and winless in their last seven games are the Springfield Falcons (16-27-6-1).

Around the Horns Lowell is 21-3-1-2 when scoring three goals or more...This weekend, the Devils recorded multiple power play goals in back-to-back games for the third time this season...Lowell's man-advantage has a success rate of 31.6% (6-for-19) over its last five games...Jeff Frazee is 10-2-2 at home with a 2.32 GAA and a .933 save percentage and has won five of his last six starts...Frazee is 13-0-1 when allowing two goals or less.

Coming Up The Devils will try to avoid a sweep in their season series when they host the Philadelphia Phantoms on Wednesday. The Phantoms have won all three previous meetings this year versus the Devils and seven straight dating back to the 2007-08 season. Philadelphia ended a three-game slide with a 2-1 win over Bridgeport on Sunday. Danny Syvret leads all defensemen with 43 points (7g-36a) and 36 assists. The Phantoms have a 10-2-0-0 record against the Atlantic Division this year.

Lowell will make its final trip of the season to Albany as the Devils and River Rats meet for the third time in the four-game season series. The Devils evened up the series on the road on December 30 with a 1-0 shutout win. Albany is currently in sixth place in the East Division with a record of 21-23-3-2. The Devils are perfect on the penalty kill (10-for-10) through two games against the River Rats.

The Devils and Portland Pirates enter the second half of their ten-game season series when they battle on Sunday at the Tsongas Arena. Lowell has won three in a row against Portland after a 2-1 win at home on January 21. The Pirates have the third lowest winning percentage when scoring the first goal at .583 (13-9-1-1). Jeff Frazee is 4-0-0 versus Portland with a 1.75 GAA and a .954 save percentage. Promotions/ In the Community

Monday, February 9 Devil Dawg will be making a lunchtime visit to the students at the Walton School in Wakefield, MA, from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Friday, February 13 Devil Dawg will be making a lunchtime visit to the students at the Woodland School in Wakefield, MA, from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Sunday, February 15 - Devils vs. Portland Pirates, 4:00 p.m. Post-game team autograph session. Free post-game skate after the Devils game, sponsored by Eastern Bank.

Leaders for Lowell

Goals: Jon DiSalvatore (15)

Assists: Jon DiSalvatore (27)

Points: Jon DiSalvatore (42)

PIM: Matthew Corrente (104)

Plus/Minus: Vladimir Zharkov (+15)

Wins: Jeff Frazee (19)

G.A.A: Jeff Frazee (2.53)

Save %: Jeff Frazee (.925)

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American Hockey League Stories from February 9, 2009


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