Two last road games on the Devils six game trip. Two buildings that have not been kind to the team in the past. Six regulars on recall to New Jersey. This had the makings of a possibly disastrous weekend. But four points later…
3/10 at Binghamton: 3-2 W (SO)
The weekend began in the future digs, as the Devils came into Binghamton for the last time as a visitor (which they had no problem of reminding everyone over and over as the night went on). And they were treated quite rudely by the current tenants in the first period. Jason Akeson would score 1:14 into the contest for a fast 1-0 lead. Then, of all the people, former Devil Brandon Gormley would score in his Senator debut midway through the period for a 2-0 Binghamton lead. After 20 minutes, it looked like another case of the Broome County curse would strike the Devils…but then came the middle period. Not only would Albany only allow just 2 shots, they would rally to tie things up. Ryan Kujawinski would break the Devils scoreless drought 2:59 in with his 6th goal of the season to cut the Senators lead in half. Jacob MacDonald, in his first game under his shiny new AHL contract, would celebrate by tying the game up with 1:19 to go in the period with his 5th goal, a power play marker. In the third, Albany would again dominate play by outshooting Binghamton 15-4, but neither side could get that go ahead goal. After overtime was unable to determine the winner, it was on to the shootout. Carter Camper and Shane Harper were unsuccessful in the first two rounds, while Mackenzie Blackwood was able to stop chances from Akeson, Gabriel Gagne, and Marc Hagel. It was all up to John Quenneville in the third round, and he would connect, giving Albany the much needed win. Blackwood didn’t have much to do all night, only needing to stop 14 of 16 shots through the first 65 minutes. Four different Devils would have one assist each. After being outshot 8-5 in the first, Albany would hold the Senators to 8 shots the rest of the way, outshooting them 44-16 overall.
Lines:
John Quenneville-Carter Camper-Shane Harper
Blake Pietila-Max Novak-Brian Gibbons
Ryan Kujawinski-Jan Mandat-Petr Straka
Luke Gazdic-Rod Pelley-Ben Thomson
Defense:
Seth Helgeson/Jacob MacDonald
Karl Stollery/Vojtech Mozik
Andrew MacWilliam/Josh Jacobs
Mackenzie Blackwood/Andy Iles
Scratches: Ben Sexton, Scott Wedgewood, Yohann Auvitu, Greg Wolfe, Viktor Loov
Power Play: 1 for 4. Penalty Kill: 1 for 1. Penalty Minutes: 7. Shots on Goal: 44. Shots Allowed: 16.
Shootout: Carter Camper N, Shane Harper N, John Quenneville Y; Jason Akeson N, Gabriel Gagne N, Marc Hagel N.
3 Stars: 1. Ryan Kujawinski; 2. Matt O’Connor; 3. Jacob MacDonald.
Highlight Reel:
AHL Live has your highlights here.
Saturday: Another day, another callup. With Travis Zajac away from the team due to the birth of his third child and Devante Smith-Pelly out due to injury, it was Blake Pietila’s turn to rejoin the New Jersey lineup. Ken Appleby was sent back down after backing up for one game.
It was off to southern Connecticut on Saturday, as the Devils made their last visit to Bridgeport to face a struggling Sound Tigers squad. And it didn’t take long for the visitors to get on the board…25 seconds into the game, Carter Verhaeghe took a penalty. Nine seconds later, John Quenneville was scoring his 12th on the ensuing power play for a 1-0 lead. Bracken Kearns would match that with a power play goal midway through the period for a 1-1 tie. But in a 1:11 span late in the first, Petr Straka (4th) and Greg Wolfe (1st) would put Albany ahead 3-1, chasing starter Jaroslav Halak in favor of Eamon McAdam. After a scoreless second period, the Devils would put the game away in the third. Brian Gibbons would score his 12th with 4:03 remaining to seal the Devils second straight victory and finish off a perfect week. Mackenzie Blackwood was strong between the pipes, stopping 25 of 26 shots. Wolfe and 5 other Devils would each have one assist. Viktor Loov, acquired from Toronto back on February 18th, would finally make his Devil debut.
Lines:
John Quenneville-Carter Camper-Shane Harper
Brian Gibbons-Max Novak-Petr Straka
Ryan Kujawinski-Jan Mandat-Greg Wolfe
Ben Thomson/Rod Pelley
Defense:
Karl Stollery/Vojtech Mozik
Seth Helgeson/Jacob MacDonald
Viktor Loov/Josh Jacobs
Andrew MacWilliam
Mackenzie Blackwood/Andy Iles
Scratches: Ben Sexton, Luke Gazdic, Scott Wedgewood, Yohann Auvitu, Ken Appleby
Power Play: 1 for 3. Penalty Kill: 3 for 4. Penalty Minutes: 8. Shots on Goal: 21. Shots Allowed: 26.
3 Stars: 1. Greg Wolfe; 2. Mackenzie Blackwood; 3. Petr Straka.
Highlight Reel:
Sunday: With Ken Appleby back in the fold, Andy Iles was released from his PTO and returned to Elmira.
My Player of the Week:
This week, it’s all about the PTOs. Well, one former one anyway: the edge goes to Jacob MacDonald for being rewarded for his good work with a new contract, then contributing a goal and an assist on the weekend. Honorable mention to Greg Wolfe for filling in admirably on Saturday and taking home #1 star honors.
Team Leaders:
Goals: Ben Sexton (19)
Assists: John Quenneville (29)
Points: John Quenneville (41)
+/-: Vojtech Mozik (+13)
Penalty Minutes: Andrew MacWilliam (85)
Wins: Ken Appleby (16)
GAA: Scott Wedgewood (2.18)
Save Percentage: Scott Wedgewood (.912)
Division Playoff Update:
After Sunday afternoon’s action, here’s where we stand in the North Division playoff race:
- Syracuse, 71 points, .582
- Albany, 70 points, .574
- Toronto, 67 points, .549
- Utica, 65 points, .533
- St. John’s, 66 points, .532
Albany’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot sits at 25 going into this week’s action. Toronto visits Manitoba on Tuesday, while Syracuse visits Lehigh Valley on Wednesday. There may be some changes in store before Albany takes the ice again on Friday.
Up North with the Thunder:
It was quite an interesting, high scoring week for the other team in red, as they went 2-2.
After losing 6-3 to Kalamazoo on Sunday afternoon to finish a disastrous Midwest swing, Adirondack started the weekend off with a 5-0 shutout of Manchester, as Brian Ward scored in his first appearance in almost a month. They would follow that up with a 6-4 win over the Monarchs on home ice Saturday, as captain Peter MacArthur picked up a hat trick. The Thunder would then lose a wild 9-7 game to Brampton on Sunday afternoon, despite a Ward hat trick. Adirondack currently sits in fourth place in the North Division with 72 points, one point behind third place Manchester and four behind first place Reading, which would qualify them for the Kelly Cup playoffs (like the AHL, the ECHL also has a divisional format for the first two rounds).
A 3 in 3 home weekend is upcoming, as the Thunder will host Wheeling on Friday and Saturday, then Atlanta on Sunday.
This Week’s Schedule:
Bad news: it’s a 3 in 3 weekend. Good news: it’s not much travel. Friday, the Devils finally return home to take on Springfield. But then it’s right back on the road for a pair: a big matchup in Syracuse on Saturday night, followed by a trip to western Massachusetts on Sunday afternoon to finish off the series with the Thunderbirds.
Also, if Mother Nature is forgiving (then again the way the 2017 portion of the season is going…), the final Awards Banquet with the team is on Tuesday. I will have a post up about that for my midweek update if it takes place.
Thoughts Inside The Box 