Overtime Winner Extends Albany Devils Winning Streak
December 2, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release
ALBANY, NY -In their first matchup against a Montreal Canadiens affiliate in more than three years, the Albany Devils prevailed, 2-1, Wednesday against the St. John's IceCaps. Paul Thompson scored at 3:56 of overtime to help extend the Devils winning streak to four games.
In the Albany net, Yann Danis made 17 saves to earn his 12th victory of the season as the Devils improved their record to 13-4-3-0. In net for St. John's, Dustin Tokarski stopped 36 Devils shots in the loss, extending the IceCaps point streak to nine games.
The Devils' top ranked power-play started the scoring midway through the first period. Eight seconds into their first power play, Mike Sislo's wrister got past Tokarski to give Albany a 1-0 lead at 11:16. Marc-Andre Gragnani and Corey Tropp registered the assists. The goal was Sislo's 27th career power-play tally, tying him for the franchise record set by Niclas Bergfors between 2006-09.
Albany's lead didn't last long because just 20 seconds later, St. John's Gabriel Dumont tipped a Joel Hanley shot past Danis at 11:36.
In the second period, the Devils penalty kill was the difference. Late in the period, Dan Kelly was given a five minute match penalty and ejected for a hit on Jeremy Gregoire. The Devils penalty killers stood tall to kill off the time and keep the game tied, 1-1. Albany's penalty kill, which is tops in the league with a 90.7 percent success rate, finished the game five-for-five.
After a scoreless third period, Sislo nearly ended the game in the opening seconds of overtime. Right off the opening faceoff, he had a breakaway chance, but was denied by Tokarski. Less than two minutes later, Dumont had a breakaway for the IceCaps, but Danis was equal to the task in net.
The Devils controlled the play in overtime, keeping the puck in the IceCaps end for most of the extra frame. On their fifth shot, they Devils finally broke through.
Coming down the right wing, Thompson's wrist shot beat Tokarski short side to give the Devils the win at 3:56. The goal was Thompson's sixth of the season, extending his point streak to seven games. He was assisted by Gragnani, who earned a multi-point night with a couple of assists.
Riding a four game winning streak, the Devils will look to extend it to five when they host the Rochester Americans on Saturday at 5 pm.
American Hockey League Stories from December 2, 2015
- IceHogs Slip Past Stars in Overtime, 6-5 - Texas Stars
- Impressive Win for Stolarz in Victory at Utica - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Overtime Winner Extends Albany Devils Winning Streak - Albany Devils
- Phantoms Take out the Comets 3-1 - Utica Comets
- IceCaps Nipped 2-1 by Devils in OT - St. John's IceCaps
- Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Brian Hart and Henri Ikonen to Greenville Swamp Rabbits - Syracuse Crunch
- San Jose Barracuda Host Ugly Sweater Day and Winter Clothing Drive - San Jose Barracuda
- Amerks "Star Wars Night" Set for Friday, December 4 - Rochester Americans
- Minnesota Summons Reilly, Assigns Folin - Iowa Wild
- B-Sens Serve Spaghetti to Benefit Toys for Tots - Binghamton Senators
- Syracuse Crunch to Offer Blue Friday Ticket Specials Beginning December 4 - Syracuse Crunch
- Albany Devils Annual Teddy Bear Toss this Saturday - Albany Devils
- Canucks Recall Ronalds Kenins, Reassign Andrey Pedan to Comets - Utica Comets
- Game Day: Albany Devils vs. St. John's IceCaps, 7 pm - Albany Devils
- NHL Network to Air Condors Outdoor Game in Sacramento on December 18 - Bakersfield Condors
- NHL Network to Air First Edition of the Golden State Hockey Rush - Stockton Heat
- Time to "Get Fed" by the Chicago Wolves on Sunday - Chicago Wolves
- Rampage to Host Ugly Holiday Sweater Night Friday - San Antonio Rampage
- Dallas Reassigns Campbell to Texas - Texas Stars
- Avalanche Reassigns Andrew Agozzino to Rampage - San Antonio Rampage
- Rangers Recall Tanner Glass from Hartford - Hartford Wolf Pack
- IceCaps Celebrate Season with Community Events, Prizes - St. John's IceCaps
- Admirals Stumble against the Moose - Milwaukee Admirals
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.
