Month: April 2013

With the playoffs now but a distant memory, all the Devils had left to finish the 2012-13 season was three home games, two against teams fighting for their playoff lives and one last visit from their Northway rivals. And it was a very good fight to the finish, as they snapped a near month long losing streak and changed the Calder Cup playoff picture. Time for the final weekend recap of the season:

4/19 vs. Connecticut: 3-2 W

Times Union
Hartford Courant

The weekend began with a visit from the Whale, who was in the midst of fighting for one of the bottom two playoff spots. The game also marked the debut of 2012 2nd round draft pick Damon Severson, sporting the cursed #8 (worn by Matt Corrente and Adrian Foster, among others. We all know what happened to them, hence the curse). Unlike recently, the Devils came to play, with only pride and jobs for next season left on the line, as they outshot the Whale 9-5. But Kris Newbury would get the visitors on the board first with a goal halfway through the first. But Harri Pesonen (originally Mattias Tedenby, but the scorer would change it later in the night) would tie it on a power play and both teams scrambling in front of the net. Severson would notch his first pro point with the primary assist. Keith Kinkaid would put on a goaltending clinic early in the second, making quite a few acrobatic stops on the Whale. But Christian Thomas would give Connecticut a 2-1 lead with just over 8 minutes to go in the period. But Pesonen would again match, scoring the tying goal just under 3 minutes later. On ice, it was a quiet third period to start out, as neither side took a penalty. Just after the announcement that the second Boston Marathon bombing suspect was in custody (prompting a celebration from the group of drunk Ranger fans in Section 122 and a few “U-S-A! U-S-A!” chants), it was only fitting that a native of Boston would step up for the home team. Joe Whitney would score his team leading 26th goal with just under 5 minutes to go in regulation for a 3-2 lead. Connecticut would pull the goalie late, but they could not re-tie it, hence ending Albany’s six game losing streak. Kinkaid had a solid night in net in his first appearance since returning from New Jersey earlier in the week, stopping 21 of 23 Connecticut shots. Severson finished at an even plus/minus in his debut, mostly being paired with Jay Leach and playing in all situations. Jon Merrill had another strong outing, adding an assist of his own (paired with Corbin McPherson with Alexander Urbom up in New Jersey). Four other Devils added an assist each.

4/20 vs. Norfolk: 2-0 W

Times Union
The Virginian Pilot

The Devils once again had a chance to play playoff spoiler as they welcomed the Admirals, who were locked in a four way tie for the last two spots in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. It became very obvious early on who the stars of this game were going to be: both goaltenders, as no one could get anything past Jeff Frazee or Admirals goaltender Frederik Andersen. Norfolk would outshoot Albany 12-9 in the first. Second period, it was more of the same, as Frazee stopped all 10 shots and Andersen 8. The other story of the period? The Devils falling victim to quite a few non calls…and two interference calls that left us shaking our heads. The goaltending duel would continue long into the third period…I was expecting them to go into overtime and a shootout scoreless. But finally, finally, someone would solve the goaltending stalemate…with 2:33 to go in regulation, David Wohlberg shot it 5-hole past Andersen for a 1-0 Devil lead. Mike Sislo would add an empty netter with 15 seconds remaining to seal the Devils second straight win…and seriously spoil the Admirals’ chances to defend their Calder Cup title. Frazee was magnificent in his last start of the season, stopping all 31 Norfolk shots in pitching his first shutout all year. Harri Pesonen had the lone assist, and Corbin McPherson and Seth Helgeson lead the way with +2 ratings.

4/21 vs. Adirondack: 4-2 L

Times Union
Glens Falls Post Star

To close out the year, what better than a visit from the neighbors to the north, a Phantoms team the Devils dominated all season (much like their parent counterparts). First period was all Devils, as they outshot the visitors 9-3 and Harri Pesonen would score with 1:32 remaining in the period for a 1-0 lead. But Adirondack would pick up the pace in the second. Marcel Noebels would tie the game with a power play goal 6 minutes in, then a fluke bounce off the goalpost and past Keith Kinkaid would put the Phantoms ahead 2-1. Blake Kessel would increase the lead to 3-1 with 58 seconds to go in the period. He would add a second goal just three minutes into the third for a 4-1 advantage, spelling the end of the day for Kinkaid and a call to the bullpen for Scott Wedgewood. But Albany wasn’t quite done yet…Mike Hoeffel would score shorthanded to cut the lead to 4-2, but that was all the Devils could do, and the season ended on a sour note. Kinkaid stopped 13 of 17 shots, while Wedgewood was a perfect 8 for 8 in just under 17 minutes played. Another good outing for Damon Severson, as he added an assist and finished a +2. Tim Sestito and David Wohlberg also had assists.

There was a Obligatory Fight Of The Week out of Cam, however no video proof has surfaced as of press time. So in its place, what we kind of wished happened on Saturday:

Conference Standings:

When all was said and done, the Devils finished 6 points out of the playoffs, landing in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. They landed one point behind Bridgeport for 11th, and 2 points ahead of 13th place Worcester. Just to show how strong the East Division is in comparison to the Atlantic and Northeast: that division landed 4 out of 5 playoff spots, with Norfolk the lone team on the outside (which means we’ll have a new Calder Cup champion come June). Springfield was the only Northeast Division team to get in, while the Atlantic Division has three teams out of five.

Notes:

-As mentioned earlier, Keith Kinkaid returned to Albany on Tuesday after Johan Hedberg returned to backup duty. He did not see any time in net in his latest callup. Alexander Urbom was recalled on Wednesday under emergency conditions, but has yet to make an appearance in a game.

-Raman Hrabarenka returned to the lineup Friday evening after being out since St. Patrick’s Day. Mattias Tedenby suffered a cut finger during Friday night’s game and was held out the final two games. Matt Anderson, Dan Kelly, both Zajacs, Chad Wiseman, and Stefan Stepanov all sat out the final weekend with assorted injuries.

Looking Ahead:

Well…what’s left?

The parent Devils have 3 games to go in the regular season. After that, it’s going to be a very long offseason for the organization. I’ll be keeping an eye on the Calder Cup playoffs, since many of my AHL counterparts will be involved.

Also this week? My annual 3 part Season in Review. You’ll see those on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. After that, I’ll be updating on here as needed. I do plan on a draft entry and will be doing the annual Free Agent Tracker as well starting in July.

As the weekend began, the Devils needed a lot of help from not just themselves, but a few other teams, if they wanted any chance of extending their season beyond the regular season finale. Well…that didn’t happen. The losing streak was extended to six, and for the third straight year, no postseason hockey in the Capital Region. Looking back:

4/12 at Binghamton: 5-3 L

Times Union
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

The weekend began with the last road trip of the season in Binghamton, kicking off a home and home series with the Senators. Unlike recent games, the Devils had their chances in the first, actually putting up 13 shots, with only a disallowed goal to show for it. Cole Schneider would put Binghamton on the board late in the period just after a 4 on 4 expired. David Dziurzynski would make it a 2-0 advantage just as the second period got underway. But Albany would then mount a rally. Steve Zalewski would put Albany on the board and cut the deficit in half. Then the struggling penalty kill was put to the test, as J.S. Berube would get a match penalty and a game for the ever popular kicking infraction (and I did see replay, it was a legit call unfortunately, even though it was purely accidental). Not only did the Devils kill off the entire 5 minutes, they even got a beautiful short handed goal out of Chris McKelvie to tie the game at 2. But less than a minute after the major penalty was killed, Binghamton would take back the lead on a Mark Stone goal. In the third, the Sens would put the game away on goals just 1:26 apart from Schneider (on a power play) and Corey Cowick. Eric Gelinas would make it 5-3 1:25 later, but that was all Albany could muster, and in turn they dropped their 4th in a row and fell further behind in the standings. Jeff Frazee would stop 34 of 39 shots in taking the loss. Three Devils added assists, one being a franchise record: with his 83rd career assist in a Devil uniform, Matt Anderson is now your all time Lowell/Albany Devils leader, passing Stephen Gionta.

4/13 vs. Binghamton: 5-0 L

Times Union
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

It was back to the Capital Region on Saturday afternoon to kick off a season ending 5 game homestand, with the second half of the Senators home and home series. The only lineup change saw Scott Wedgewood take Jeff Frazee’s spot in goal for his first start since returning to Albany a week earlier. Despite outshooting the visitors 14-7 in the first, it was Binghamton who took an early 1-0 lead on a Fredrik Claesson shorthanded goal. Things didn’t get any better in the second as the Senators took control of the game. Dustin Gazley would score a power play goal 4 minutes into the period, then Mark Stone would follow up later with a 4 on 4 goal. Newcomer Buddy Robinson would start the third period off on the wrong foot for the hosts, scoring his first as a pro just 13 seconds in to make it 4-0. Finally, to top it off, Corey Cowick would make it 5-0 with less than two minutes to go. Nathan Lawson would stop all 35 Devil shots. Wedgewood had a tough day, only stopping 29 of 34 and not getting much defensive help. The only defensemen to not finish with a negative plus/minus? Corbin McPherson and Seth Helgeson (in his pro debut), both with 0. Helgeson did not fare badly in his first game, mostly paired with McPherson (and later in the game Jon Merrill).

And with the loss, plus Connecticut earning a point in an OT loss to Adirondack, plus Norfolk beating Worcester in overtime…consider Albany officially eliminated from the playoff picture.

4/14 vs. Rochester: 3-2 L

Times Union
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

The weekend concluded with the second straight Sunday visit from the Amerks. Once again, the Devils special teams would struggle in the first, as Zemgus Girgensons would score on a power play late in the period for a 1-0 lead. But like Friday night in Binghamton, they would recover with a strong second period. David Wohlberg would tie the game at 1 4 minutes in. After a missed call from the referee (one of many on the afternoon) on Amerks goaltender Matt Hackett, the Devils would actually still wind up with a full 2 minute 5 on 3 opportunity. And Mike Sislo would take advantage and score for a 2-1 Devil lead. Things were looking good for Albany…then came the third period. Former River Rat Cody McCormick (from the one season of the dual Carolina/Colorado affiliation) would tie the game at 2 just 2 minutes into the third period. Nine minutes later, while on a power play, Mark Mancari scored the go ahead goal for a 3-2 Amerk lead. The Devils tried what they could to get the tying goal, but it would never come, and they would drop their sixth in a row. Another hard luck day for Jeff Frazee, as he stopped 33 of 36 shots. Three Devils would each add an assist, and Joe Whitney would snag his 50th point of the season with an assist on Sislo’s goal.

Finally making a comeback to the recap, it’s your Cam Janssen Obligatory Fight Of The Week:

Conference Standings:

As mentioned earlier, Albany was officially eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday when Norfolk won and Connecticut earned a standings point for an overtime loss. That plus no standings points earned on the weekend leaves the Devils in 12th place in the conference. They stand two points behind Bridgeport for 11th (and also 3rd place in the division), and lead Worcester by 1 point, St. John’s by 2 points, and Adirondack by 4 points. All teams have 3 games left (Bridgeport actually has 4 left) so there’s a chance the battle for the basement could switch around by the end.

Notes:

-On Wednesday Keith Kinkaid was recalled to New Jersey after Johan Hedberg was held out due to soreness. He backed up Martin Brodeur in both losses to Boston on Wednesday and Ottawa on Friday.

-Congrats go out to captain Jay Leach, who was named the Devils IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year and is one of 30 finalists for the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award. The award recgonizes a player’s “outstanding contributions to the local community and charitable organizations” during the course of the season. The league winner will be announced by the AHL on April 18th.

-J.S. Berube was given a two game suspension on Saturday for his match penalty on Friday evening. He sat out for the remaining weekend games.

-Defenseman Damon Severson, a 2012 second round pick, joined the Devils on Sunday after finishing his season in Kelowna (WHL) on Wednesday. And the stats aren’t too bad: he put up 52 points (10 G, 42 A) and was a +43. He’ll likely make his debut next weekend.

-Injury front: Mattias Tedenby returned to the lineup and said he is feeling better (he had been sick for about a week). No updates on Chad Wiseman’s absence. Raman Hrabarenka thinks he’ll be back before the season’s end (per conversation at the STH party Monday evening). Dan Kelly appeared to have reaggravated his ankle injury on Friday night, he sat out the rest of the weekend.

The Week Ahead:

Three home games to close out the regular season. Friday night they play host to the Whale. Then it’s a quick turnaround Saturday afternoon as Norfolk (and PL3) come calling. Sunday is the season finale against who else, but Adirondack, to finish off the Time Warner Cable Cup (well at least the Devils won SOMETHING this year). It’s also Fan Appreciation Day, where you can get your very own Tim Sestito bobblehead!