The Devils made it through another 3 in 3 weekend.
And it was a 3 out of 6 point weekend, with some ground gained in the division and a few offensive performances to remember as well,
The weekend began with a reunion of sorts, as former Devil Joe Whitney made his first visit to the Capital Region wearing the orange and blue of the Sound Tigers. It didn’t take very long–1:25, in fact–for the visitors to take a 1-0 lead on an Alan Quine goal. But on the Devils first shot of the contest…off the crossbar and in…Vojtech Mozik scored his first North American goal to tie the game up at 1 apiece. Mike Sislo would pick up his 3rd goal on a power play for a 2-1 Devil lead. The amazing part of that? All of the scoring was on just 3 shots in the first period. Bridgeport would tie the game up midway through the second period off a Justin Vaive tally. Third period saw the Sound Tigers finish the rally, as Bracken Kearns would break the tie (with an assist from Whitney) early in the third. The Devils would try to tie the game back up, but time ran out, giving Albany their first loss on home ice. Doug Carr drew the start and stopped 17 of 20 shots in the loss. Four different Devils each had assists.
The Lineup:
Blake Pietila-Jim O’Brien-Corey Tropp
Joseph Blandisi-Matt Lorito-Mike Sislo
Blake Coleman-Graham Black-Ben Thomson
Chris McKelvie-Rod Pelley-Pierre-Luc Leblond
Dan Kelly/Raman Hrabarenka
Marc-Andre Gragnani/Reece Scarlett
Seth Helgeson/Vojtech Mozik
Doug Carr/Yann Danis
Out: Scott Wedgewood, Paul Thompson (both inj), Brandon Burlon, Corbin McPherson, Max Novak, Reid Boucher (ill), Ryan Kujawinski
Power Play: 1 for 4. Penalty Kill: 4 for 4. Penalty Minutes: 8. Shots on Goal: 17. Shots Allowed: 20.
Highlights:
What better way to celebrate Halloween than hosting the defending Western Conference (but now over in the East) champs? It was a rather quiet first period…until Ben Thomson’s first goal of the season with 48 seconds to go for a 1-0 Devil lead. Mike Sislo would double the lead with his fourth goal early in the second. Then during a 5 on 3 opportunity, Matt Lorito would score his second for a 3-0 advantage. The Comets, who took until late in the second to even reach double digit shots, would break up Yann Danis’s shutout bid on a power play goal by Taylor Fedun to cut the lead to 2. But the Devils would turn up the offense in the third, thanks to two milestones. The first of those would come midway through the period, as Ryan Kujawinski scored his first as a professional for a 4-1 lead. Sislo would add his second of the day less than two minutes later to make it 5-1. Finally, the cherry on top…Blake Coleman would score his first pro goal with just over two minutes remaining in the contest for a 5 goal Devil win. Danis had a fairly easy day until the third period, only having to stop 20 of 21 shots (including 10 third period saves). Also with a career day…rookie Joseph Blandisi, who notched 4 assists. Lorito would add two assists, while Rod Pelley, Thomson, Sislo, Vojtech Mozik, and Marc Andre Gragnani all had one helper each.
The Lineup:
Blake Pietila-Jim O’Brien-Corey Tropp
Matt Lorito-Joseph Blandisi-Mike Sislo
Max Novak-Blake Coleman-Chris McKelvie
Ryan Kujawinski-Rod Pelley-Ben Thomson
Reece Scarlett/Marc Andre Gragnani
Seth Helgeson/Vojtech Mozik
Brandon Burlon/Dan Kelly
Yann Danis/Doug Carr
Out: Scott Wedgewood, Paul Thompson, Corbin McPherson, Raman Hrabarenka, Pierre-Luc Leblond, Reid Boucher, Graham Black
Power Play: 1 for 5. Penalty Kill: 3 for 4. Penalty Minutes: 15. Shots on Goal: 24. Shots Allowed: 21.
Highlights:
To finish off the homestand, the Devils took on the Marlies for the third time in 2 weeks. It didn’t take long for the home team to get on the board in the first, as Reid Boucher scored on the power play in his first appearance in a week. Toronto would tie the game up midway through the period on an Andrew Campbell shot. But exactly two minutes later, Mike Sislo would strike again on the power play, scoring his fourth goal of the weekend to put the Devils back up by a goal. Then the Marlies would tie the game up again thanks to Mark Arcobello, just down from the Maple Leafs. After that…nothing across for the next two periods, as both teams would each put up 16 shots on net. It was on to overtime for the second time this season, and it didn’t take long to settle things…on the first shot of the extra frame, just 20 seconds in, Arcobello would get the game winner past Yann Danis for the win. Outside of the deflating goal, it was not a bad day in net for Danis, as he stopped 18 of 21 shots. Boucher and three other Devils added assists.
The Lineup:
Reid Boucher-Blake Coleman-Corey Tropp
Matt Lorito-Joseph Blandisi-Mike Sislo
Max Novak-Graham Black-Blake Pietila
Ben Thomson-Rod Pelley-Ryan Kujawinski
Dan Kelly/Marc Andre Gragnani
Brandon Burlon/Corbin McPherson
Seth Helgeson/Vojtech Mozik
Yann Danis/Doug Carr
Out: Scott Wedgewood, Paul Thompson, Jim O’Brien, Chris McKelvie, Reece Scarlett, Raman Hrabarenka, Pierre-Luc Leblond
Power Play: 2 for 5. Penalty Kill: 3 for 3. Penalty Minutes: 6. Shots on Goal: 22. Shots Allowed: 21.
Highlights:
My Player of the Week:
Quite a few could earn this honor this weekend, but…with 4 goals (2 coming via the power play) and 1 helper, Mike Sislo gets the nod. Honorable mention goes to Joseph Blandisi for his 5 assist effort over the weekend as well.
Team Leaders:
Goals: Mike Sislo (6)
Assists: Marc Andre Gragnani (8)
Points: Mike Sislo (9)
+/-: Vojtech Mozik (+5)
Penalty Minutes: Corey Tropp (21)
Wins: Yann Danis (4)
GAA: Yann Danis (2.12)
Save Percentage: Yann Danis (.918)
The Vault:
Going back to the summer of 2012 for this one…when a pair of junior teammates were interviewed by Matt Loughlin at development camp.
Up North with the Thunder:
Adirondack is now off to the best start in Glens Falls pro hockey history at 6-0 after wins against Orlando at home on Wednesday and in Wheeling on Friday. Ken Appleby drew one start this week, stopping 31 of 32 shots in a 4-1 win over the Nailers on Friday. He is currently 4-0-0 with a 1.99 GAA and a .935 save percentage. Joe Faust got an assist on Friday, he has 3 points in 6 games. Camp invitee Gunnar Hughes scored his first as a professional on Friday as well. Alexandre Carrier also notched an assist on Friday, his second in 5 appearances. Adirondack’s road swing continues this week with three games: Kalamazoo on Wednesday morning, Cincinnati on Friday, and Toledo on Saturday.
This Week’s Schedule:
After wrapping up a 5 game homestand, the Devils take to the road for the next 5, with 2 games coming up this week. Friday night they head west on Interstate 90 to Syracuse for the first matchup of the season against the Crunch. Then it’s the opposite direction on Saturday, heading east (well, then south) to Hartford to face off against the Wolfpack.
Thoughts Inside The Box 