Lowell Wraps Up Homestand This Week

Published on March 30, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


The Lowell Devils (36-28-4-6) continue their seven-game homestand with three contests on the schedule this week. The Devils fell to the Manchester Monarchs, 2-1, on Wednesday, but rebounded on Friday with a dramatic 4-3 shootout victory over the Springfield Falcons. Lowell could not fend off Bridgeport on Sunday, losing 4-2 and dropping into a tie for fourth place in the Atlantic Division standings with the Sound Tigers.

Lowell completes its 12-day stretch on home ice, taking on the Monarchs for the second Wednesday in a row. The Devils then head into the weekend with a road match-up against the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday before coming home to battle the Worcester Sharks on Saturday. Lowell's magic number stands at nine. Any combination of nine points gained by the Devils or lost by the Norfolk Admirals will clinch a berth in the Calder Cup playoffs.

Rewind:

Wednesday, DEVILS 1 vs. Monarchs 2

Dwight King's power play goal at 8:21 of the second was the game-winner in Manchester's 2-1 victory over the Devils. Lowell struck first when Michael Swift potted his 20th goal of the season 7:26 into the game, becoming the third Devil this season to tally 20 or more goals. Justin Azevedo tied the game three minutes later after picking off a pass at the redline and firing a slapshot into the top corner. Mike McKenna took the loss despite stopping 29-of-31 shots.

Friday, DEVILS 4 vs. Falcons 3 (SO)

It took a third-period rally and an eleven-round shootout, but Lowell was able to triumph, 4-3, over the Falcons at the Tsongas Center. A 1-1 tie midway through the third period was broken on a power play goal by Springfield's Chad Wiseman. Lowell evened the score on a man-advantage after Ben Walter hit Nathan Perkovich in front of the net at 14:09. Springfield capitalized on a Devils turnover and took the lead again on Chris Minard's goal with 3:54 left in regulation. Lowell evened things up again just over a minute later on David McIntyre's first professional goal. The game headed to a shootout, where Mike McKenna denied six Falcons skaters in a row to give Brad Snetsinger the chance to secure the win in round 11. McKenna made 20 saves through OT and stopped 8-of-11 overall in the shootout round.

Sunday, DEVILS 2 vs. Sound Tigers 4

After the Devils erased a two-goal lead for the Sound Tigers, Bridgeport's Greg Mauldin put his team ahead for good en route to a 4-2 win. Down 2-0 in the second, Brad Mills started the rally when he notched his 10th goal of the season cut Bridgeport's lead in half at 6:26. The Devils then knotted the game at two on Michael Swift's power play goal at 3:15 of the third period. Bridgeport responded when Mauldin beat McKenna for his 24th goal of the year. Sean Bentivoglio put the game out of reach after receiving a long pass from Matt Martin and slipping in a backhand shot. McKenna stopped 30-of-34 shots for Lowell in the loss.

Around the Horns

Friday night's eleven-round shootout against Springfield tied the longest in franchise history set on Feb. 24, 2008 in a win against the Hartford Wolf Pack...Lowell has never won at home this season when trailing after the first period (0-8-0-0)...Devils rookie David McIntyre scored his first professional points this past Friday against the Falcons with an assist and a game-tying goal in Lowell's 4-3 shootout win...With a goal on Sunday against Bridgeport, Michael Swift extended his home point streak to eight games (8g-4a), while posting a six-game point streak overall (7g-3a)...With assists in Friday and Sunday's games, Matt Taormina upped his point total to 46 (10g-36a), placing him in a tie for sixth among AHL defensemen. He is also tied for the lead among blueliners with 30 power play points (8g-22a).

Coming Up

Lowell welcomes Manchester to the Tsongas Center on Wednesday night for the final meeting of the season series. The Monarchs took the last game, 2-1, behind a 33 save performance from Jonathan Bernier. The win was the first of a four-game winning streak which has propelled Manchester to the third spot in the Atlantic Division with 87 points (39-26-3-6). Two wins for the Monarchs this week would secure a spot in the postseason.

The Devils will travel down to the XL Center in Hartford to take on the Wolf Pack for their final game of the season series. The Devils have dropped three straight to the Wolf Pack after a 6-2 loss on Mar. 13 in Hartford to go to 3-3-1-0 in the season series. Corey Locke has posted 11 points (3g-8a) in seven games versus Lowell and ranks third overall in the league in scoring with 80 points (29g-51a). Hartford sits in sixth place in the division with a record of 31-31-6-5. Lowell finishes up the week on Sunday against the division-leading Worcester Sharks. The Sharks' 6-5 shootout win on Mar. 21 was the fourth win in their last five meetings with the Devils and dropped Lowell's record in the season series to 4-4-0-1. Michael Swift has tallied four goals and seven assists in nine games against Worcester. The Sharks have won nine of their last 11 games to go to 46-22-2-3.

Transactions

None

Leaders for Lowell

- Goals: Nick Palmieri, Michael Swift (21)

- Assists: Matt Taormina (36)

- Points: Ben Walter (52)

- PIM: Louis Robitaille (272)

- Plus/Minus: Rob Davison, Tyler Eckford (+10)

- Wins: Mike McKenna (22)

- GAA: Mike McKenna (2.40)

- Save %: Mike McKenna (.923)

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American Hockey League Stories from March 30, 2010


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