Magnus Hellberg, 8-7-4, 3.15 GAA; Brandon Halverson, 3-4-0, 3.77 GAA
Last Game, Wolfpack: Hartford lost to Springfield 3-2 on the road on Friday night.
Latest News/Notes:
After a four game winning streak, the Wolfpack have dropped their last two games; Hartford is tied with Charlotte for worst points percentage in the AHL; the Wolfpack rank 30th in goals allowed per game (3.77), allowing 117 goals in just 31 games; in today’s Schedule Oddity, the Devils wrap up their visits to Hartford for the season today, but will not host the Wolfpack until April 1st; Albany improved to 12-1 on the season when leading after 2 periods; congrats to Brandon Gormley and the rest of Team Canada, who won the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland with a 5-2 win over HC Lugano.
Last Game, Marlies: Toronto lost to Binghamton 3-1 on the road on Wednesday night.
Latest News/Notes:
The Marlies have dropped their last two straight and four out of their last five games; in the last 9 days, 6 different players have rode the Marlie-Maple Leaf shuttle, including goaltenders Antoine Bibeau and Jhonas Enroth, who have swapped places three times; Wednesday’s loss to the Senators put the Marlies under .500 for the first time since the 2014-15 season; Yohann Auvitu (Tuesday) and Luke Gazdic (Wednesday) were both recalled to New Jersey and appeared in the Devils’ 2-1 shootout win over Washington on Thursday night; the Devils have just 19 healthy skaters going into the weekend: Joe Blandisi and Petr Straka are out for the weekend, but Ryan Kujawinski and Blake Pietila may return at some point; forward Brian Ward was summoned from Adirondack on a PTO Friday afternoon. He has 12 goals and 5 assists in 25 games for the Thunder.
Last Game, Bruins: Providence defeated Utica 3-1 on the road on Wednesday night.
Latest News/Notes:
This is the second game of a five game road swing for the Bruins, who will head to Hartford, Wilkes-Barre, and Hershey later this week to finish off 2016; Providence has earned at least one standings point in 15 of their last 16 games, but due to a tough division only stand in 4th place; forward Peter Cehlarik is tied for second in the league in goals (13), shootout goals (3), and tied for first in game winning goals (4); Seth Helgeson and Luke Gazdic were reassigned to Albany after Friday’s game, but are expected to be back in New Jersey when the parent Devils resume their schedule Tuesday.
Back in the Capital Region to kick off a three game homestand, the Devils would welcome in the Senators for the third time in a span of 17 days. Albany would find themselves in a bit of a situation just 3:58 into the contest, after Ben Thomson was given the early exit after a kneeing major along the boards. The Devils were able to kill off the ensuing 5 minute penalty (after a 4 for 4 for the first 2:00), but found themselves in a 1-0 hole after a goal by Jack Rodewald. Less than three minutes later, Kevin Rooney’s seventh goal of the season would tie things up at 1. Rod Pelley would add his sixth late in the first to put Albany ahead 2-1…and everything just went up from there. In the second, Petr Straka would pick up his second 7:35 in for a 3-1 advantage, a goal that would chase Binghamton goaltender Chris Driedger out of the net in favor of Scott Greenham. Brian Gibbons would welcome him to the game by adding a power play marker for a commanding 4-1 lead. In the third…the floodgates opened and the rout was on. First, Jan Mandat would score his third goal of the season less than two minutes in. Then Blake Coleman, who has been on a tear as of late, would score twice in a 3:54 span. The benefactor of all this offense? Ken Appleby, who only had to stop 18 of 19 shots in picking up his team leading 6th win. Carter Camper would finally return to the lineup for the first time in nearly two months and had two shots. Eleven different skaters would register at least one point, with Coleman (2 G, 1 A) and Mandat (1 G, 2 A) leading the way. It was the biggest offensive output of the season, and the most goals scored by a Devil team since February 27, 2015, when they put up 7 against Syracuse.
Lines:
John Quenneville-Carter Camper-Ben Sexton
Blake Pietila-Blake Coleman-Brian Gibbons
Jan Mandat-Kevin Rooney-Petr Straka
Ben Thomson-Rod Pelley-Max Novak
Defense:
Steve Santini/Reece Scarlett
Vojtech Mozik/Yohann Auvitu
Josh Jacobs/Karl Stollery
Ken Appleby/Mackenzie Blackwood
Scratches: Seth Helgeson, Andrew MacWilliam, Joe Blandisi, Ryan Kujawinski, Scott Wedgewood, Brandon Gormley
Power Play: 1 for 3. Penalty Kill: 3 for 3. Penalty Minutes: 29. Shots on Goal: 25. Shots Allowed: 19.
3 Stars: 1. Blake Coleman; 2. Jan Mandat; 3. Brian Gibbons
Highlight Reel:
Thursday: You may have noticed Seth Helgeson was scratched for Wednesday night’s game. Well, he had a good reason why: he was recalled to New Jersey on Thursday and suited up for the parent Devils’ 4-0 win at The Rock over the Flyers. And…he was quite busy:
My Player of the Week:
We have a repeat winner this week! You cannot help but notice Blake Coleman’s progress as this season has gone on. Still considered a rookie per the AHL, he has recently broke into the league top 10 in rookie scoring (tied for 8th at press time).
Team Leaders:
Goals: Blake Pietila (10)
Assists: John Quenneville (15)
Points: John Quenneville (23)
+/-: Vojtech Mozik/Blake Coleman (+13)
Penalty Minutes: Ben Thomson (52)
Wins: Ken Appleby (6)
GAA: Ken Appleby (1.78)
Save Percentage: Ken Appleby (.929)
Up North With the Thunder:
Before Adirondack went on their holiday break, they first had to hit the road for a pair of games against Elmira and Reading. On Thursday night in western New York, the Thunder would take a 3-0 lead in the first period, only to have the Jackals rally to tie the game late in the third. But with just :04 left in overtime, Greg Wolfe would pick up the game winner and Adirondack escaped with a 4-3 win. Wolfe and Patch Alber each had two assists. Friday night in Pennsylvania, the Thunder would drop a 5-2 decision to the Royals. Wolfe and Alex Wall had assists. After an 8 day layoff, the Thunder will ring in the New Year at home, hosting Reading.
This Week’s Schedule:
Once the Devils get back from Christmas, it’s going to be a busy week heading into the start of 2017. First, a Monday night day after Christmas matchup against Providence. Then Toronto pays their last visit of the regular season on Friday evening. Saturday, the Devils will finish the 2016 portion of the schedule in Connecticut, as they take on Hartford. Finally on Sunday, it’s back on home ice for a special New Year’s Day game against Bridgeport.
Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas! Or whichever holiday you choose to celebrate.
Albany: 15-12-0-1, 31 points, .554, 2nd place in North Division
Binghamton: 10-15-2-1, 23 points, .411, 6th place in North Division
Senators Leading Scorers/Goaltending:
2 tied with 15 points
Chris Driedger, 3-3-2, 2.97 GAA; Scott Greenham, 0-1-0, 7.00 GAA
Last Game, Senators: Binghamton defeated Rochester 4-1 in western New York on Monday.
Latest News/Notes:
This is the last game for both teams until after the Christmas break; a two game winning streak has pulled the Senators out of the division and league basement; goaltender Matt O’Connor was recalled by Ottawa on Tuesday; Blake Coleman is tied for second among AHL rookies with 3 game winning goals; Binghamton ranks third in the AHL in average shots allowed (27.04), Albany is right behind them in fourth (27.14); the Devils will be on home ice for 5 of their next 6 games; defenseman Brandon Gormley is off to Switzerland to join Team Canada for the annual Spengler Cup tournament, which begins next week.
A much better stretch this week for the Devils, as they got back on track on the road against two division rivals, and managed to snag 4 out of 6 points and jump back into second place in the North.
The week began in Utica, where the Devils were looking to break a rare two game losing skid against the Comets. Both teams would trade goals within 32 seconds of each other in the first–Blake Pietila would give the Devils a brief 1-0 lead with his 9th goal of the season, only to have Alexandre Grenier quickly tie things up. In the second period, a similar turn of events, as the teams would trade goals within 57 seconds. Ben Sexton would pick up a rare Albany power play goal, his fifth, for a 2-1 Devil lead, only to see Pascal Pelletier tie it back up on a power play shortly thereafter. A very quiet third period would send the game into overtime, where the Devils would put up 7 shots on Comets goaltender Thatcher Demko, who had defeated Albany in his last two starts. He was not about to get a third win, though, as on the 7th shot Pietila would score his second goal of the game with 40 seconds remaining to break a three game skid for the Devils. Mackenzie Blackwood snapped a personal three game losing streak, stopping 19 of 21 shots and picking up his 5th win. Four Devils would have one assist each, while Yohann Auvitu made his Albany debut.
Lines:
Ben Sexton-Kevin Rooney-Jan Mandat
Blake Coleman-Blake Pietila-Brian Gibbons
John Quenneville-Joe Blandisi-Petr Straka
Ben Thomson-Rod Pelley-Max Novak
Defense:
Seth Helgeson/Steve Santini
Reece Scarlett/Yohann Auvitu
Karl Stollery/Vojtech Mozik
Mackenzie Blackwood/Ken Appleby
Scratches: Andrew MacWilliam, Josh Jacobs, Carter Camper, Ryan Kujawinski, Scott Wedgewood, Brandon Gormley
Power Play: 1 for 3. Penalty Kill: 1 for 2. Penalty Minutes: 9. Shots on Goal: 33. Shots Allowed: 21.
For the first time since last May, when they were eliminated in Game 7 of the Division Finals, the Devils found themselves in Toronto. But…instead of playing at Ricoh Coliseum, they found themselves at the home of the Maple Leafs, Air Canada Centre, as they had an early afternoon puck drop against the slumping Marlies. The first period was probably one of the best periods the Devils have played all season…they held Toronto to four shots, all during the second half of the first, and Brian Gibbons would strike twice, the second coming via a power play goal for a 2-0 Albany lead. In the second, Blake Coleman would extend his scoring streak to five games with his 7th goal of the season to put the Devils up 3-0. Andreas Johnsson would break up Ken Appleby’s shutout bid with 3:42 to go in the second to cut the lead to two. Toronto had a chance in the third to cut the lead to 3-2 when Colin Smith was awarded a penalty shot, the first one against a Devils goaltender this season, and Appleby would come up with the save. The Devils would find themselves down 6 on 5 for the last 4:11 of the contest, as goaltender Antoine Bibeau was pulled quite early for an extra attacker, but were able to prevent any chance of a Marlies comeback, and they would pick up their second straight win. Appleby had an outstanding day in net, stopping 34 of 35 shots. Joe Blandisi added two assists, while Gibbons, Coleman, and two others had one helper each.
Lines:
John Quenneville-Joe Blandisi-Petr Straka
Blake Coleman-Blake Pietila-Brian Gibbons
Kevin Rooney-Jan Mandat-Ben Sexton
Ben Thomson-Rod Pelley-Max Novak
Defense:
Reece Scarlett/Yohann Auvitu
Seth Helgeson/Steve Santini
Karl Stollery/Vojtech Mozik
Ken Appleby/Mackenzie Blackwood
Scratches: Andrew MacWilliam, Carter Camper, Ryan Kujawinski, Scott Wedgewood, Brandon Gormley
Power Play: 1 for 5. Penalty Kill: 4 for 4. Penalty Minutes: 15. Shots on Goal: 25. Shots Allowed: 35.
3 Stars: 1. Brian Gibbons; 2. Ken Appleby; 3. Blake Coleman.
For the rematch on Sunday afternoon, a few changes: first, the venue switched from Air Canada Centre to Ricoh Coliseum. The Devils also made a few lineup changes: going with an 11 F/7 D setup, Joe Blandisi and Vojtech Mozik, who were both banged up during Saturday’s win, came out in favor of Andrew MacWilliam and Brandon Gormley, seeing their first action of the week. Mackenzie Blackwood would draw the start in net, hoping to build upon Wednesday’s win in Utica. Unfortunately, it would be the Marlies getting off to a hot start in the first period. Byron Froese and Rinat Valiev (on a power play) would pick up goals less than three minutes apart midway through the period for a 2-0 lead. Toronto would make it 3-0 midway through the second on Froese’s second of the contest, and a power play tally to boot. Albany would finally get on the board late in the second as Jan Mandat would pick up his second goal of the year to cut the lead to 3-1. The Marlies would seal the two game split late in the third on an empty netter off the stick of Dmytro Timashov. Blackwood finished with 29 saves on 32 shots.
Lines:
Ben Sexton-Brian Gibbons-John Quenneville
Blake Pietila-Blake Coleman-Petr Straka
Jan Mandat-Kevin Rooney-Max Novak
Ben Thomson-Rod Pelley- (rotating)
Defense:
Reece Scarlett/Yohann Auvitu
Seth Helgeson/Steve Santini
Karl Stollery/Andrew MacWilliam/Brandon Gormley
Mackenzie Blackwood/Ken Appleby
Scratches: Joe Blandisi, Carter Camper, Ryan Kujawinski, Vojtech Mozik, Scott Wedgewood
Power Play: 0 for 4. Penalty Kill: 2 for 4. Penalty Minutes: 20. Shots on Goal: 30. Shots Allowed: 33.
It’s split between the two Blakes this week. Pietila with two goals and one assist, Coleman quietly having a nice comeback season after a one goal/two assist week.
Team Leaders:
Goals: Blake Pietila (10)
Assists: Joe Blandisi (14)
Points: John Quenneville (21)
+/-: Vojtech Mozik/Blake Coleman (+10)
Penalty Minutes: Andrew MacWilliam (48)
Wins: Scott Wedgewood/Ken Appleby/Mackenzie Blackwood (5)
GAA: Ken Appleby (1.88)
Save Percentage: Ken Appleby (.928)
Up North with the Thunder:
It was a rough week for the boys in Adirondack, as they dropped two of three against division rival Brampton. The Thunder and Beast split a two game set in Canada on Thursday morning and Friday evening. The Beast would take a 5-2 win on Thursday, as Adirondack was unable to climb out of a 4-0 hole midway through the contest. Greg Wolfe would score his third, while Ty Loney added one assist. The Thunder would get their revenge in a big way on Friday with a 7-3 win, as Alex Wall had two assists and Patch Alber added a helper. Then back in Glens Falls on Saturday, the Beast would shut out the Thunder 3-0 (and it was Adirondack’s Teddy Bear Toss night…awkward).
It’s a busy week leading up to Christmas for Adirondack, as they host Reading on Tuesday, then hit the road on Thursday to take on Elmira, and finally finish the week in Reading on Friday.
This Week’s Schedule:
One game on the docket before the Devils and the rest of the AHL go on break for the holiday…a home game on Wednesday against Binghamton, the third time in December the Senators will be paying a visit to the Capital Region.
Last Game, Marlies: Toronto lost to Albany 3-1 at Air Canada Centre Saturday afternoon.
Latest News/Notes:
The Marlies are without their leading scorer, Brendan Leipsic, due to injury; this is the first visit by the Devils to Ricoh Coliseum since their Game 7 loss to Toronto in last season’s division finals in May; this is the Marlies’ last game until after Christmas, they host St. John’s on December 26th; Josh Jacobs was reassigned to Albany Saturday after making one appearance for Adirondack; if Ken Appleby was qualified–he’s currently just under 3 minutes short–he would rank fifth in the AHL in goals against average (1.88).
Last Game, Marlies: Toronto lost 5-2 to Rochester in western New York on Wednesday night.
Latest News/Notes:
The Marlies have struggled as of late, going 3-6-1 in their last 10 games; this is the second game for Toronto on their parent club’s home ice this season, they defeated Utica 4-1 on November 26th; the Marlies have four veteran goalies at their disposal, including NHL vet Karri Ramo, who was signed to a PTO on December 6th; defenseman Josh Jacobs was reassigned to Adirondack on Friday, and finished a +2 in the Thunder’s 7-3 win over Brampton on Friday night.
Thatcher Demko, 7-5-1, 2.59 GAA; Michael Garteig, 0-1-1, 3.36 GAA
Last Game, Comets: Utica lost 4-3 in a shootout to Syracuse on the road on Saturday.
Latest News/Notes:
Rookie goaltender Thatcher Demko, who defeated the Devils in back to back starts on December 2nd & 3rd, was recalled to Vancouver on Saturday, but sent back on Tuesday; 6 of the Comets next 7 games are on home ice, with a trip to Binghamton on Saturday mixed in; Jordan Subban is tied for 5th in scoring among AHL defensemen; the Devils find themselves with twelve healthy forwards and nine defensemen on their roster after Luke Gazdic was recalled to New Jersey and Yohann Auvitu was sent down this morning; Albany’s power play struggles have resulted in them falling to 26th in the league on the man advantage at 15%.
Apparently slumping is contagious within the Devil organization?
While New Jersey has had its issues during their last 10 games (3-4-2-1), it has trickled down to the farm, as the AHL version is also in a slump. 0-3 this week, and just 3 wins since Thanksgiving. That 5-0 start seems like years ago now.
Three days after Albany broke a three game skid against Binghamton, the Senators returned on Wednesday night for the rematch, looking to break a seven game skid of their own. Much like in November, Binghamton would get off to a quick start in the first period, as they took a 1-0 lead 5:09 in on a Max McCormick goal. Casey Bailey would double the lead 8 minutes later on a power play goal. Things would not improve for the Devils in the second, as a power play goal by Kyle Flanagan would put them in a 3-0 hole after 40 minutes. After having to kill off a Blake Pietila boarding major to start the third period, the Devils would finally start showing some signs of life. Rod Pelley would pick up his fifth goal to cut the Senators lead to 3-1. Then with under 6 minutes remaining in regulation, the power finally came back on, as Brian Gibbons would pick up Albany’s first power play goal in 4 games to get to within 3-2. Despite having a 6 on 4 opportunity late in the contest, the Devils were unable to get that tying goal late, and suffered just their third home loss of the season. It was another trying night for Mackenzie Blackwood, as he stopped 18 of 21 shots. Four Devils, including John Quenneville in his first game back from New Jersey, would each have an assist.
Lines:
Blake Pietila-Joe Blandisi-Ben Sexton
John Quenneville-Brian Gibbons-Petr Straka
Ben Thomson-Kevin Rooney-Jan Mandat
Luke Gazdic-Rod Pelley-Blake Coleman
Defense:
Seth Helgeson/Steve Santini
Andrew MacWilliam/Reece Scarlett
Josh Jacobs/Karl Stollery
Mackenzie Blackwood/Ken Appleby
Scratches: Max Novak, Carter Camper, Ryan Kujawinski, Scott Wedgewood, Brandon Gormley, Vojtech Mozik
Power Play: 1 for 4. Penalty Kill: 3 for 5. Penalty Minutes: 15. Shots on Goal: 23. Shots Allowed: 21.
On a snowy Friday night, it was due west on the Thruway to Syracuse, where the Devils looked to avenge their last second loss to the Crunch from November. Things got off to a good start for the visitors, as John Quenneville picked up his 8th goal of the year 8:08 into the game for a 1-0 advantage. Tanner Richard would tie the game up late in the first. Blake Coleman would help the Devils regain the lead in the second with his 6th goal of the season, and after two periods it looked like Albany had a good chance of taking this one, considering they were 9-0 on the season when leading after 40 minutes. But…the Crunch had other plans. In the third, with Vojtech Mozik in the box, Adam Erne would pick up a power play goal to tie the game up at 2. Then with 5:24 remaining in regulation, a wrap around goal off the stick of Yanni Gourde would give the Crunch a 3-2 lead. The Devils would pull Ken Appleby late in an attempt to tie it up, but Erik Condra would get an empty netter with 1:18 remaining to seal the comeback win for the Crunch. Appleby would stop 28 of 31 shots in the loss, while Jan Mandat and Blake Pietila added assists.
Lines:
Note: Albany went with an 11 F/7 D lineup for the first time this year.
Blake Coleman-Blake Pietila-Petr Straka
Ben Sexton-John Quenneville-Jan Mandat
Ben Thomson-Kevin Rooney-Max Novak
Luke Gazdic-Rod Pelley (right wings were rotated on at least two lines)
Defense:
Andrew MacWilliam/Reece Scarlett
Seth Helgeson/Steve Santini
Karl Stollery/Brandon Gormley
Vojtech Mozik
Ken Appleby/Mackenzie Blackwood
Scratches: Joe Blandisi, Josh Jacobs, Carter Camper, Ryan Kujawinski, Scott Wedgewood
Power Play: 0 for 5. Penalty Kill: 3 for 4. Penalty Minutes: 8. Shots on Goal: 27. Shots Allowed: 32.
To finish off the week, it was back to home ice to take on the Bruins, who came into the afternoon on a 10 game point streak. The visitors would come to play in the first period, outshooting Albany 10-2 and taking a 1-0 lead late in the first period on a power play goal by Peter Cehlarik. The Devils would show signs of life in the second, peppering Malcolm Subban with 17 shots and tying the game up thanks to Blake Pietila’s 8th goal of the season. The special teams would fail Albany once again in the third, as former Union Dutchman Wayne Simpson would score on a power play to give Providence a 2-1 lead. Jordan Szwarz would pick up an insurance goal with less than 7 minutes remaining, ensuring a third straight Albany loss. Ken Appleby drew the start for the second straight day and stopped 23 of 26 shots. Blake Coleman would pick up the lone assist. As for the power play? 0 for 4 today, 1 for 13 for the week.
Lines:
Blake Coleman-Blake Pietila-Brian Gibbons
Jan Mandat-John Quenneville-Petr Straka
Ben Thomson-Kevin Rooney-Max Novak
Luke Gazdic-Rod Pelley-Ben Sexton
Defense:
Karl Stollery/Vojtech Mozik
Seth Helgeson/Steve Santini
Andrew MacWilliam/Brandon Gormley
Ken Appleby/Mackenzie Blackwood
Scratches: Josh Jacobs, Joe Blandisi, Carter Camper, Ryan Kujawinski, Reece Scarlett, Scott Wedgewood
Power Play: 0 for 4. Penalty Kill: 1 for 3. Penalty Minutes: 6. Shots on Goal: 28. Shots Allowed: 26.
There was one player who came up offensively in all three games this week…and it’s been a nice stretch lately for Blake Coleman. In his last 5 games, he has scored twice and assisted on two others.
Team Leaders:
Goals: John Quenneville/Blake Pietila (8)
Assists: Joe Blandisi (12)
Points: John Quenneville (19)
+/-: Vojtech Mozik (+9)
Penalty Minutes: Andrew MacWilliam (48)
Wins: Scott Wedgewood (5)
GAA: Ken Appleby (2.01)
Save Percentage: Ken Appleby (.919)
Up North with the Thunder:
It was a good week for the other boys in red, as Adirondack picked up three out of four points in a two game set against Norfolk. Despite outshooting the Admirals 36-18, the Thunder dropped a 4-3 overtime decision on Tuesday. Ty Loney picked up his 10th goal of the season and added a helper, while Alex Wall and Brian Ward each had one assist. The Thunder would dominate in an 8-1 win on Saturday night, with Loney picking up another goal and three assists. Adirondack hits the road to Canada for a pair against Brampton on Thursday and Friday, then return home on Saturday to finish an odd three game series against the Beast.
This Week’s Schedule:
After the annual Holiday Party with the Booster Club on Monday, the Devils hit the road for the next three. Wednesday night they make their second visit in 11 days to Utica to face the Comets. Then it’s off to Canada on Saturday and Sunday for a pair against the Marlies, with Saturday’s contest an early afternoon start at Air Canada Centre.
Thoughts Inside The Box 