
Lowell Wraps Up 2008-09 Season
April 13, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release
The Devils went 1-2-0-0 during the final week of the regular season to finish the 2008-09 campaign with a 35-36-2-7 record. Providence got the better of Lowell in a 5-2 win on Wednesday at the Tsongas Arena. The Devils would rebound on Friday at home and took out the Wolf Pack, 3-2, in the shootout. In their last game of the year, the Devils could not overcome the Sound Tigers on Saturday and fell, 3-1, in Bridgeport.
Rewind:
Wednesday, DEVILS 2 vs. Bruins 5
Mikko Lehtonen notched a goal and an assist to lead the Bruins to a 5-2 win over the Devils. Already up 1-0 after one period, Providence extended its lead in the second on first goals of the season by both Jonathan Tremblay and Ryan Stokes. Alexander Vasyunov would get Lowell on the board with 19 seconds left before the intermission to cut the lead to two. The Bruins then took control of the game midway through the third when Jeremy Reich and Lehtonen scored 54 seconds apart. Michael Swift added one in the final moments of the game for Lowell.
Friday, DEVILS 3 vs. Wolf Pack 2 (SO)
Tyler Eckford converted twice during a seven-round shootout to give the Devils the 3-2 victory over the Wolf Pack. After Hartford's Brodie Dupont broke a scoreless tie at 4:39 of the second, Patrick Davis needed only 27 ticks of the clock to even things up for Lowell. The Devils took their first lead of the game 2:18 into the third when Matt Halischuk muscled home a loose puck, but the Wolf Pack would force an extra period when they beat Jeff Frazee with 2:11 left in regulation. Frazee stopped five-of-seven Hartford players in the shootout, while Eckford's two goals and Ryan Murphy's tally clinched the win for Lowell.
Saturday, Devils 1 vs. SOUND TIGERS 3
The Sound Tigers followed Mike Iggulden's two-goal game to a 3-1 triumph versus the Devils at the Arena at Harbor Yard. The Devils gathered the game's first goal on Stephen Gionta's marker at 4:55 of the first. Bridgeport would respond later in the period when Ben Walter and Iggulden found the back of the net just over two minutes apart. Iggulden then provided some breathing room for the Sound Tigers, scoring his second of the night near the midway point of the third.
Transactions
The Devils signed defenseman Justin Pender to an amateur try-out agreement on Wednesday following the completion of his season with the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads. The St. John's, Newfoundland-native's professional debut started on the right note as he picked up an assist in each of the two games he appeared, while also registering a +3 plus/minus rating.
The New Jersey Devils recalled Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond from loan on April 9. He skated that night against Ottawa for his first NHL action since December 10 versus Pittsburgh. During his current stint with New Jersey, he is scoreless with a +2 plus/minus rating in two games.
Season Notes
The Devils finished their season with a 35-36-2-7 record, placing them 6th in the Atlantic Division.
Six Devils players set career highs in points this season: Nicklas Bergfors (22-29-51), Rod Pelley (15-23-38), Patrick Davis (13-17-30), Brad Mills (5-16-21), Matt Spiller (2-11-13) and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (5-5-10).
Lowell finished the season 30-4-2-3 this year when scoring three or more goals.
The Devils had a team-record ten players score in double digits this season: Nicklas Bergfors (22) Jon DiSalvatore (20), Rod Pelley (15), Alexander Vasyunov (15), Matt Halischuk (14), Patrick Davis (13), Michael Swift (12), Pascal Rheaume (11), Barry Tallackson (11) and Vladimir Zharkov (11).
The Devils set the team record for goals in a season with 213, breaking the 2006-07 record by a single goal.
Lowell's five-game winning streaks this season, both overall and at home were also team records.
Jeff Frazee set the team marks for games played (58), minutes (3407), most consecutive games started (12), wins (28) and shutouts (4). He also etched his name further in the record book with a six-game winning streak (Nov. 23 - Dec. 3) and an eight-game unbeaten streak of 6-0-2 (Nov 21 - Dec. 7).
Vladimir Zharkov set the team record for assists (23) and points (34) in a season by a rookie.
Zharkov finished tied for the AHL rookie lead with a +23 plus/minus rating and also recorded the highest plus/minus ever for a Lowell Devils player.
The Devils set an all-time high for goals in a game in an 8-1 win over the Providence Bruins on December 27.
Matt Halischuk's first game as a pro was one for the ages as he notched four goals and an assist, tying David Clarkson's marks for goals and points in a game set on Jan. 17, 2007.
Chad Wiseman's six-game goal scoring streak (Nov. 23 - Dec. 5) was an all-time high for the Lowell Devils.
Leaders for Lowell
Goals: Nicklas Bergfors (22)
Assists: Jon DiSalvatore (33)
Points: Jon DiSalvatore (53)
PIM: Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (216)
Plus/Minus: Vladimir Zharkov (+23)
Wins: Jeff Frazee (28)
G.A.A: Jeff Frazee (2.62)
Save %: Jeff Frazee (.920)
American Hockey League Stories from April 13, 2009
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