Week 23 Primer

Devils Quick Hits:

-Albany begins the weekend with a 26-23-5-5 mark, good for 62 points.  They stand in 4th place in the Northeast Division (six points behind third place Hartford) and 11th in the Eastern Conference (2 points behind 10th place St. John’s and 8 points out of the 8th playoff spot, currently held by Springfield).

-After a scare Saturday evening in St. John’s, Scott Wedgewood returned to practice with the team on Tuesday.  Everyone with the exception of Cam Janssen (still has 3 games to go on his suspension) will be available for the weekend slate.

-With all the talk of teams moving around (already up to 7 moves with the news of St. John’s moving back to Winnipeg and Hamilton moving to St. John’s as a temporary stop), there is some good news.  Per Fire and Ice yesterday, a new 3 year deal for the Devils to stay put in the Capital Region is nearing completion, but not official.  Stay tuned as this plays out.

3/13, Game #60 vs. Worcester

Where: Times Union Center, Albany, NY.

When: 7:00 PM.

Season Series: Tied at 1.

Standings:

Worcester: 32-21-4-2, 70 points, 3rd place in Atlantic Division, 6th in Eastern Conference

Sharks Leading Scorers/Goaltending:

2 players with 32 points

Troy Grosenick, 18-8-3, 2.71 GAA; Aaron Dell, 8-58-2, 1.98 GAA

Notes:

-The Sharks are finishing up a 3 game road swing, and are 1-1 so far with a loss in Providence on Sunday and a win over Bridgeport on Wednesday.  In a rare scheduling quirk, after tonight they are off until Wednesday evening.

-Not very often that your leading goal scorer is also the team leader in penalty minutes, but the Sharks have just that in former Islander/Ranger Micheal Haley (18 goals/92 PIM).

-This could be the last visit by a Worcester AHL team for awhile, as the Sharks are relocating to San Jose next season as part of the new AHL Pacific Division.  The Worcester IceCats called the Centrum (now the DCU Center) home from 1994-2005 before relocating to Peoria for the 05-06 season.  After sitting out one year, the Sharks arrived from Cleveland starting with the 2006-07 season.

Listen: AHL Live, WTAG 580 AM

Twitter: @trace_1114, @AlbanyDevils, @WorcesterSharks, @SharksAHLInGame

3/14, Game #61 vs. Syracuse

Where: Times Union Center, Albany, NY.

When: 5:00 PM.

Season Series: Syracuse leads 5-1.

Standings:

Syracuse: 33-17-8-0, 74 points, 1st place in Northeast Division, 3rd in Eastern Conference

Crunch Leading Scorers/Goaltending:

Jonathan Marchessault, 47 points (16 G, 31 A); Yanni Gourde, 44 points (22 G, 22 A); Tanner Richard, 31 points (10 G, 21 A)

Kristers Gudlevskis, 18-11-2, 2.89 GAA; Allen York, 1-0-1, 3.92 GAA

Notes:

-Despite losing 4 out of their last 5 games (including the 7-6 loss to Albany on February 27th), the Crunch still hold on to a four point division lead over Springfield.  They host Adirondack on Friday evening before starting a two game road trip in Albany on Saturday.

-A lot of roster turnover since the Crunch last faced the Devils.  At the trade deadline, they swapped former Devil Matt Corrente for San Antonio forward Ryan Martindale, and acquired Bridgeport forward Justin Courtnall on Monday.  They have also lost Vladislav Namestnikov and captain Mike Angelidis to callups, as Tampa Bay is dealing with a rash of injuries.

-It’s going to be a busy afternoon in downtown Albany.  First, a travel advisory if you’re coming in from anywhere outside the Capital Region: Albany’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is earlier in the day, the parade route does go through downtown en route to just north of the city limits, so plan accordingly.  Also going on: Times Union Family Night, featuring $5/$10 tickets with a TU newspaper or special ad (those kind of days always draw extremely well), Spiderman will be on hand, and it’s also Firefighter Appreciation Night.

Listen: AHL Live, ESPN Radio Syracuse

Twitter: @trace_1114, @AlbanyDevils, @SyracuseCrunch

3/15, Game #62 vs. Springfield

Where: Times Union Center, Albany, NY.

When: 3:00 PM.

Season Series: Tied at 3.

Standings:

Springfield: 32-22-6-0, 70 points, 2nd place in Northeast Division, 7th in Eastern Conference

Falcons Leading Scorers/Goaltending:

Luke Adam, 38 points (13 G, 25 A); 2 with 35 points

Oscar Dansk, 7-6-5, 3.49 GAA; Scott Munroe, 5-8-0, 2.78 GAA

Notes:

-The Falcons have dropped three straight, last winning on February 28th (a 3-0 shutout against Bridgeport).  They begin a 8 of 9 stretch at home on Friday evening against Hartford, followed by Providence on Saturday.  The trip to Albany is their only road contest.

-In the six games played so far between the two teams, the home team has won each time.

-Falcons forward Dana Tyrell did something on Sunday no one has been able to do since February 8th: score on Wilkes-Barre goaltender Matt Murray.  He broke Murray’s AHL record shutout streak of 304:11 with a late third period goal in a 4-1 loss to the Penguins.

Listen: AHL Live, WHYN 560 AM

Twitter: @trace_1114, @AlbanyDevils, @TheFalconsAHL