Rookies Standout in Albany Devils' First Win

Published on October 14, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


ALBANY, N.Y. - Rookies Keith Kinkaid and Joe Whitney were two bright spots in the Albany Devils, 3-2, shootout victory against the Connecticut Whale Saturday at the Times Union Center.

Kinkaid - in his second professional start - made 30 saves and five more in the shootout, helping the Devils stake their first win of the season.

"The first one is always the hardest," Kinkaid said. "You keep wondering when that is going to come because you can play your best game and still lose. It feels good now."

Whitney's goal began the Devils effort to climb out of a two-goal hole. He made the game 2-1 at 15:56 of the second period after serving a penalty.

"I served [Matt] Corrente's penalty and I was joking around I was going to get a breakaway out of the box," Whitney said. [Stephen] Gionta did a good job on the forecheck and I anticipated the pass and made sure it counted."

The goal helped shift the momentum in the Devils favor.

"I was pretty fired up and I think the bench was pretty excited," Whitney said. "We started to find our game from there."

"I thought we got into it," said head coach Rick Kowalsky. "Whitney's goal was huge in the second. In the third, we tightened up defensively and did a better job of getting pucks deep and force them to turn the puck over."

Matt Anderson tied the game with a one-time blast from the slot on the power play at 5:40. The helpers went to Mike Sislo and Vladimir Zharkov.

The game remained scoreless through the remainder of regulation and overtime.

In the shootout, defenseman Matt Taormina was the lone goal scorer.

The Whale had established its early lead with goals from Andre Deveaux at 18:46 of the first on the power play and from Carl Hagelin at 7:23 of the second.

The Whale's Kris Newbury, who had a hat trick in the season-opening loss at Adirondack on Oct. 8, assisted on both goals. He now has five points in three games.

Chad Johnson had 28 saves for Connecticut.

The Devils hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to the Worcester Sharks for a 7 p.m. matchup tomorrow. The team is back in action at the Times Union Center on Sunday with a 4 p.m. outing against the defending Calder Cup Champions, the Binghamton Senators.

After the game, the team will host an autograph session on the concourse and fans can also bring their own skates for the post-game skate presented by Stanley Steemer.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from October 14, 2011


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.

OurSports Central