Gionta's First of the Year Sinks Senators
Published on November 2, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release
ALBANY, N.Y. - Stephen Gionta waited until the 11th game of the season to net his first goal. It was worth the wait. The Albany Devils captain deflected in an Alexander Urbom shot at 3:09 of the third period, helping the Devils to a 3-2 victory Wednesday against the reigning Calder Cup Champions, the Binghamton Senators.
"It's always nice to get one," Gionta said. "It was a good team game. We got back to our game after the first - I thought we got away from it. Then that was one of our better third periods all year."
The Devils are winners of four of their last five contests and after a 1-5-0-0 start are now 5-6-0-0. The Senators go to 5-5-1-0.
"We've kind of figured out what we need to do to give ourselves a chance to win games," Gionta said. "We've stuck to that game plan as best we could and the results keep coming and that's all we can hope for."
Vladimir Zharkov, who had numerous shorthanded opportunities throughout the game, capitalized with the man advantage. He made a cross-ice pass through three Binghamton defenders to find Urbom at the left point. Urbom threw the puck towards the net, giving Gionta a chance for the redirection.
Gionta, who holds the club record for games played (315), is now two tallies away from passing Michael Swift for most goals (52) in an AHL Devils uniform.
The teams entered the third period tied, 2-2, thanks to Devils goals by Joe Whitney and Steve Bernier and Senators goals by Mark Parrish and Mark Borowiecki.
Parrish opened the scoring with a deflection on the power-play at 5:52 and Whitney followed, converting on a rebound at 8:09. He followed up on rebounds from Chad Wiseman and Steve Zalewski.
Borowiecki scored on a second-chance opportunity at 9:07 of the second. But Bernier responded with his first tally as an Albany Devil. The shorthanded goal developed because of a pass by Darcy Zajac that found a seam through the Senators defense.
"Just before that we got scored on five-on-five and that was frustrating," Bernier said. "It was a big goal for us; a nice pass by Zajac and a great defensive play for everyone in the zone before we scored that goal. It's fun when you score a goal on the [penalty kill]."
Netminder Keith Kinkaid made 31 stops in his return to the Capital Region. Kinkaid, who was recalled by New Jersey on Oct. 18, was returned to Albany Monday. The win was his second of the season.
"I figured he's been practicing enough why wait until Friday," said head coach Rick Kowalsky. "It was good to get him in; for the most part I thought he looked comfortable. There were a couple of rebounds up high he lost at times off his shoulders, but other than that he made some big saves when we needed him to make them."
At the other end, former Devil, Mike McKenna, had 27 saves in his third-consecutive start.
The Devils play game three of their five-game home stand on Friday against the top team in the Eastern Conference, the Norfolk Admirals. The 7 p.m. contest kicks off the Devils/Price Chopper Food Drive to benefit the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern NY. All fans who donate a nonperishable food item will receive a free ticket voucher to a future Devils game.
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Notes: Stephen Gionta's goal was his 51st for the AHL Devils. He is two goals away from passing Michael Swift for the all-time team lead ... Vladimir Zharkov now has a point in his last five contests (1g-4a) ... Keith Kinkaid made a season-high 31 saves ... Jay Leach, Alexander Ubrom and Darcy Zajac were all a plus-2 ... Chad Wiseman returned to the lineup for the first time since Oct. 15. He had missed six-consecutive games with a lower-body injury ... The Devils have gone 6-for-21 (28.6%) ... Three Stars: 1. Stephen Gionta (ALB), 2. Steve Bernier (ALB), 3. Mark Borowiecki (BNG).
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