Whale defeat Albany

Published on February 3, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release


Hartford, CT - The Connecticut Whale defeated the Albany Devils, 3-2, Friday night at the XL Center in Hartford to snap an eleven-game winless streak. Kris Newbury, Jonathan Audy-Marchessault and Wojtek Wolski all scored for the Whale, while Mats Zuccarello and Brendan Bell added two assists apiece.

"It's a good feeling in here right now, the guys are happy," said Newbury. "The good news is we get to get right back at it and try to have a good weekend."

Albany staked themselves to an early 1-0 lead, as Eric Gelinas' shot from the right point was ripped past Whale goaltender Chad Johnson (20 saves) just 1:39 into the opening period. Stephane Veilleux and Darcy Zajac each assisted on the goal.

The Whale would strike back just over a minute later, as Newbury tied the game in his return to the lineup after missing the last two games due to injury. The puck hit off the end boards to the left of Albany goaltender Keith Kinkaid (21 saves) and out to a streaking Zuccarello, who hit Newbury with a quick one-time pass. Bell would also assist on the equalizer.

Jonathan Audy-Marchessault would give the Whale a 2-1 lead that they would carry into the first intermission with a power-play goal, his 16th tally of the season, at 18:30. Audy-Marchessault managed to sneak a bad angle shot past Kinkaid, as the Whale All-Star had gathered the puck up and fired at the Devils' goal line to the right of the cage. Bell recorded his second assist of the game on the score, with Andre Deveaux earning the secondary assist.

The Whale would extend their lead to 3-1 with 3:47 remaining in the second period, as Wolski tallied Connecticut's second power-play score of the night for the eventual game-winner. Wolski fed Zuccarello for a quick give-and-go passing play, depositing the return pass in the top right corner of the Devils' net. The goal came in Wolski's first tilt with the Whale after he joined the team from the New York Rangers on a conditioning assignment, with fellow assignee Jeff Woywitka notching the secondary assist.

Joe Whitney would close the Albany deficit to 3-2 5:21 into the third period, as he stuffed a loose puck past Johnson. Zajac and Veilleux both collected their second assists of the night on the goal, Whitney's team-leading 12th.

The Whale, however, would hang on in the third period to preserve their first win since Dec. 31.

"We need to build off of this win and keep it rolling in here for tomorrow," said Newbury.

Connecticut now heads to Hershey to face the Bears Saturday night at the Giant Center (7:00 PM).

The Whale will return home on Tuesday, when they host the Syracuse Crunch in their only visit to the XL Center this season (7:00 PM).

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American Hockey League Stories from February 3, 2012


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