River Rats Rally to Drop Devils in OT, 5-4

Published on November 6, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


ALBANY, NY - Stephen Gionta scored twelve seconds into the game and the Lowell Devils held a 3-0 lead after the first 11:10 of play, but the Albany River Rats stormed back, eventually claiming a 5-4 overtime victory at the Times Union Center on Friday night.

Following Gionta's early goal, the Devils were able to cash in twice more in the first period thanks to a pair of 5-on-3 man advantages. Matt Corrente put the Devils up 2-0 when his slap shot from inside the blue line found a way through a screen and past River Rats goaltender Mike Murphy. Tyler Eckford and Alexander Vasyunov each picked up an assist on the tally. At 11:54, with Albany again down two men, Michael Swift found the back of the net when he buried a deflection to put the Devils up 3-0.

Albany wasted no time stealing momentum coming out of the break when Nicolas Blanchard deflected a slap shot past Mike McKenna to get the River Rats on the board just after the Devils successfully killed off a penalty. The River Rats would further cut into the Devils' lead just under three minutes later when Drayson Bowman lifted a rebound over a sprawling McKenna to make it a 3-2 game. Lowell was out shot 14-6 in the period.

At 3:19 of the third, the River Rats finally erased the lead when Nick Dodge capitalized on an advantageous ricochet off the boards and knocked the puck home to tie the game, 3-3. Four minutes later, after successfully killing off their fifth penalty of the game, the Devils' Tim Sestito found Matt Taormina in the slot and the Devils' leading scorer whistled it home to give Lowell a 4-3 lead. Albany would tie it once again at 14:02 when Chris Terry tipped in Jamie McBain's shot from the blue-line. Neither team pulled ahead in the final six minutes, and the game headed to overtime deadlocked 4-4.

In the extra session, it was another early goal making all the difference. With Gionta in the penalty box for holding, McBain's second goal of the season, a wrister from the left circle at 1:02, ended the game and gave Albany a 5-4 victory.

Three Devils finished with multiple points in the game: Vasyunov (0-2-2), Eckford (0-2-2), and Matt Corrente (1-1-2). Lowell finished the game 2-for-5 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill. Mike McKenna saved 30-of-35 shots in the loss.

The Lowell Devils return home for a Saturday night showdown with the Providence Bruins at the Tsongas Arena. The puck drops on the second Bruins/Devils game of the season at 7:00 p.m. Lowell will also be kicking off their annual Food Drive at the game. All fans that donate non-perishable food items at the game will receive a ticket voucher, good for a free ticket to an upcoming game. For tickets or information, call (978) 458-PUCK or visit www.lowelldevilshockey.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 6, 2009


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