Location: Times Union Center, Albany, NY.
Time: 7:00 PM.
Season Series: Albany leads 1-0.
Standings:
Albany: 21-15-0-1, 43 points, .581, 2nd place in North Division
Springfield: 14-13-5-2, 35 points, .515, 6th place in Atlantic Division
Thunderbirds Leading Scorers/Goaltending:
Chase Balisy, 21 points (7 G, 14 A); Mackenzie Weegar, 15 points (9 G, 6 A); 3 players tied with 13 points
Reto Berra, 8-6-2, 2.23 GAA; Mike McKenna, 6-7-5, 3.10 GAA
Last Game, Thunderbirds: Springfield lost to Albany 3-2 in overtime at home on Wednesday.
Latest News/Notes:
We’ll call this the alumni edition, as several T-Bird personnel have ties to Albany:
This is the first appearance in the Capital Region for former River Rat Geordie Kinnear as a head coach, he will be making his first visit to the area since 2011 when he was an assistant coach in Charlotte; also on his staff as an assistant is former Rat Michael Ryan (from the Carolina affiliation); forward Graham Black has one goal and one assist in eight appearances, but has been out since November due to injury; Paul Thompson has 15 points in 20 games, and was recalled to the Panthers on December 4th (he actually appeared in Monday’s win against New Jersey at The Rock); goaltender Mike McKenna moved with the team from Portland and has 6 wins in 18 appearances.
On the home side: a third PTO, defenseman Justin Agosta (Manchester), is on the Devil roster.
Former Devil Graham Black looks to return for Springfield (Times Union)
AHLOTB: Fan favorite McKenna an AHL fixture (theahl.com)
Geordie Kinnear returns to Albany as a head coach (Times Union)
New Jersey Devils Prospect Update 1/10 (All About the Jersey)
Broadcast Info: AHL Live or WHYN 560 AM
Social: @trace_1114, @AlbanyDevils, @thunderbirdsahl, @KatyLovesHockey
Thoughts Inside The Box 