Marathon Shootout Ends in Devils' Loss
January 2, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release
ALBANY, NY -- Albany Devils netminder Scott Wedgewood went toe-to-toe with Syracuse Crunch goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy in an marathon shootout. In the end, Vasilevskiy received backing from Kevin Lynch after nine scoreless rounds, giving the Crunch a 1-0 shootout win and a 2-1 victory overall.
Coming off a career-high 42 saves on Tuesday, Wedgewood made 24 saves, including five in overtime. He turned away the first nine Syracuse shooters in the shootout.
"That one was fun," Wedgewood said. "It was kind of nerve-racking a little bit watching the guys at the other end, wishing you could help. I have been working on it with [Goalie Coach Johan] Hedberg; I feel comfortable doing that. Unfortunately, I had to make one more."
At the other end, the Devils couldn't solve Vasilevskiy, who was just recognized as the AHL Goaltender of the Month for December. The Syracuse netminder made 35 saves for his 10th win of the season.
The Devils rolled out Paul Thomson, Reid Boucher, Stefan Matteau, Rod Pelley, Reece Scarlett, Graham Black, Ben Johnson, David Wohlberg, Ben Thomson and Brandon Burlon in the shootout.
"He's a big guy and takes away the net," said Head Coach Rick Kowalsky of Vasilevskiy, "I think Matteau had a really good shot. He made a great save, and then Thompson and Black beat him and hit the post. It is a tough one, but certainly a solid effort to start the weekend."
During regulation, Wedgewood wasn't tested until 8:09 of the first period when Syracuse registered its first shot of the game. Unfortunately for Albany, the attempt came on a two-on-one and Vladislav Namestnikov slid the puck between the legs of Wedgewood to grab a 1-0 advantage.
The Devils answered right back less than three minutes later. Thompson swung the puck along the boards to Burlon at the point. Thomson redirected his shot past Vasilevskiy at 10:40.
"I'm just trying to go to the net and create some space for [my linemates]," Thomson said of his goal. "Burlon got a nice shot on net, not too hard, just quick, and luckily enough I got a stick on it. It just took a good bounce and managed to find the net."
The Devils owned a 36-25 shot advantage and both teams went 0-2 on the power play.
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