Lowell Returns Home For Two This Weekend

March 17, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


The Lowell Devils' 3-1 win over the Manchester Monarchs on Friday ended a five-game winless streak, but turned out to be their only victory in four games this past week. The Devils complete their four-game road stretch on Wednesday versus the Hartford Wolf Pack. Lowell then begins a three-game home stand on Friday against the Hershey Bears before hosting the Worcester Sharks on Saturday.

Rewind:

Tuesday, DEVILS 1 vs. Sound Tigers 2

Junior Lessard's goal with 2:20 left in regulation broke a 1-1 tie and gave Bridgeport the 2-1 win over Lowell at the Tsongas Arena. The Devils took a 1-0 lead at 8:42 of the first on Rosario Ruggeri's first tally of the season, but Jon Sim would even the match for the Sound Tigers with four minutes left in the second frame. Jeff Frazee stopped 24-of-26 and Lowell's penalty kill was 6-for-6.

Friday, Devils 3 vs. MONARCHS 1

Nicklas Bergfors potted a pair of goals and Jeff Frazee made 33 saves to help the Devils to a 3-1 victory against the Monarchs at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Scott Parse would give Manchester the lead just five minutes in, but Bergfors followed with goals both in the first and second periods to put Lowell on top. Jay Leach added an empty-netter to secure the first win in six games for Lowell.

Saturday, Devils 1 vs. PIRATES 6

Mark Mancari and Nathan Gerbe each registered two goals as Portland downed Lowell, 6-1, at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, ME. Though Barry Tallackson tied it up, 1-1, in the first just 2:09 after Colton Fretter notched the game's first goal, the Pirates would go on to score five unanswered to take control of the contest. Tim Kennedy gathered three assists and helped Portland go 3-for-5 on the power play.

Sunday, Devils 2 vs. BRUINS 6

The Devils saw Zach Hamill and Jeff Penner each put up two goals as they fell to the Bruins, 6-2 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Providence recorded the first six goals of the game to stake a 6-0 lead just past the midway point of the second period. Matt Halischuk and Jon DiSalvatore scored for Lowell, while Nicklas Bergfors assisted on each goal.

In the Standings

With one win in their last nine games, the Lowell Devils have fallen to .500 at 29-29-2-6. They still sit only five points out of the fourth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic, occupied by both the Worcester Sharks (34-30-1-2) and the Portland Pirates (31-26-3-6). Only a point ahead in third place are the Manchester Monarchs with a record of 33-28-0-6. The Providence Bruins and Hartford Wolf Pack have pulled away from the rest of the teams in the division to grab hold of the top two spots. The Wolf Pack (37-25-3-3) own an eight-point cushion on the Monarchs, while Providence (38-24-2-4) leads Hartford by two points. Occupying seventh place are the Springfield Falcons at 20-37-7-4.

Around the Horns

The Devils did not receive a power play on Saturday at Portland...Nicklas Bergfors recorded his team-leading 9th and 10th multi-point games of the season on Friday versus Manchester and Sunday at Providence...Jeff Frazee improved to 15-2-1 when allowing two goals or less.

Coming Up

The Devils will visit the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday for the fifth of their eight-game season series. In their last meeting, Lowell lost in regulation to Hartford for the first time this season, 5-2, on February 20. The Wolf Pack have won 10 of their last 14 and are led by the third leading scorer in the AHL, Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (27g-45a-72pts).

Hershey will make its lone visit of the season to the Tsongas Arena on Friday. The Bears doubled up the Devils in their only previous meeting, 4-2, December 20 in Hershey. Hershey owns the second best record in the AHL at 42-18-1-6 and currently leads the East Division. Alexandre Giroux is the league's active goals (47) and points leader (78).

The Devils and Sharks face off on Saturday for their final regular season game at the Tsongas Arena. Lowell is 3-4-1-0 versus Worcester after falling in overtime to , 4-3 on February 25. Tom Cavanaugh is on a seven-game point streak for the Sharks with four goals and five assists. Worcester will play eight of their next ten games on the road.

Promotions/ In the Community

Wednesday, March 18

Devil Dawg will be making a lunchtime visit to the students at St. Agnes Grammar School in Arlington, MA from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 21 - Devils vs. Worcester Sharks, 7:00 p.m.

The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a Rod Pelley Bobblehead, courtesy of the Pepsi.

The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive Lowell Devils Bang Sticks, courtesy of Mountain Dew.

Leaders for Lowell

Goals: Nicklas Bergfors (18)

Assists: Jon DiSalvatore (29)

Points: Jon DiSalvatore (46)

PIM: Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (178)

Plus/Minus: Vladimir Zharkov (+17)

Wins: Jeff Frazee (23)

G.A.A: Jeff Frazee (2.73)

Save %: Jeff Frazee (.917)



American Hockey League Stories from March 17, 2009


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