We have reached April and the homestretch.
And if the Devils are not careful…as shown by a 1 win out of 3 weekend (hey, at least the winless streak is over!)…it may be an earlier goodbye to the Capital District than any of us have prepared for.
A critical weekend began in Rhode Island on Friday night, as Albany looked to avenge its 5-0 loss to the Bruins from Saturday. But it would be Providence picking up right where they left off. Jordan Szwarz, in his first game back from injury, would get the home team on the board less than 5 minutes into the first period with his 18th goal on a power play. A penalty shot goal by Sean Kuraly would double the Bruin lead midway through the opening frame. Jake DeBrusk would add his 15th goal of the season 6:21 into the second period for a 3-0 Providence advantage. Austin Czarnik would add to the Bruins lead with a power play goal, his 6th of the season, early in the third period for a 4-0 lead. Finally, the Devils would find a way to get a goal, as a shorthanded tally by Yohann Auvitu, his 4th, would make it a 4-1 game. Once again, Albany could not get their offense in gear despite putting 37 shots on net, and would extend the winless streak to 7 games. Mackenzie Blackwood would stop 31 of 35 shots in the loss. Austin Cangelosi would pick up his first pro point, an assist, in his debut.
Lines:
Brian Gibbons-Carter Camper-Nick Lappin
Austin Cangelosi-Blake Pietila-Shane Harper
Jan Mandat-Kevin Rooney-Ben Thomson
Luke Gazdic-Rod Pelley-Greg Wolfe
Defense:
Karl Stollery/Vojtech Mozik
Seth Helgeson/Yohann Auvitu
Andrew MacWilliam/Viktor Loov
Mackenzie Blackwood/Ken Appleby
Scratches: Josh Jacobs, Ben Sexton, Ryan Kujawinski, Max Novak, Scott Wedgewood, Sam Kurker, Petr Straka, Jacob MacDonald, Evan Cormier
Power Play: 0 for 5. Penalty Kill: 3 for 5. Penalty Minutes: 15. Shots on Goal: 37. Shots Allowed: 35.
3 Stars: 1. Austin Czarnik; 2. Alex Grant; 3. Zane McIntyre.
Highlight Reel:
AHL Live has the highlights here.
As the calendar turned to April, the Devils looked to finally get back on track as they hosted the Wolfpack. And the home team would get off to a good start, as a Max Novak goal 4:41 into the opening period would give Albany a 1-0 lead. Nicklas Jensen would tie things up late in the period with his 28th goal. The Devils would have a much needed strong middle period, as a Kevin Rooney shorthanded goal would put them ahead 2-1. Blake Pietila, in his second game back from New Jersey, would score his 16th goal during a late 4:00 power play chance for a two goal Devil lead heading into the third. The Wolfpack were not about to go away just yet, however…Matt Carey would pick up his 19th goal 7:26 in to cut the Albany lead to one goal. But just 24 seconds later, Pietila would respond with his second power play goal of the game to extend the Devil lead again to two. Hartford would respond with a power play goal from Taylor Beck with 8:26 remaining for a 4-3 game. Despite a 6 on 4 shorthanded situation late, the Devils were able to hold off Hartford and finally snap a seven game winless streak. It was also a much needed good outing for Ken Appleby, who stopped 30 of 33 shots and snapped a personal three game losing streak. Jacob MacDonald, back in the lineup after sitting out Friday’s game, contributed three assists, while Novak and three others had one helper each.
Lines:
Austin Cangelosi-Blake Pietila-Shane Harper
Brian Gibbons-Carter Camper-Nick Lappin
Jan Mandat-Kevin Rooney-Max Novak
Luke Gazdic-Rod Pelley-Ben Thomson
Defense:
Seth Helgeson/Yohann Auvitu
Vojtech Mozik/Jacob MacDonald
Andrew MacWilliam/Viktor Loov
Ken Appleby/Mackenzie Blackwood
Scratches: Karl Stollery, Josh Jacobs, Ben Sexton, Ryan Kujawinski, Scott Wedgewood, Petr Straka, Sam Kurker, Evan Cormier, Greg Wolfe
Power Play: 2 for 6. Penalty Kill: 5 for 6. Penalty Minutes: 14. Shots on Goal: 30. Shots Allowed: 33.
3 Stars: 1. Blake Pietila; 2. Jacob MacDonald; 3. Nicklas Jensen.
Highlight Reel:
Sunday: According to the Bergen Record, the New Jersey brass has decided to start sending reinforcements back to Albany sooner rather than later, with just four games left on the parent club’s schedule. Sunday, they came through, returning John Quenneville, who had appeared in the Devils’ 3-0 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday night.
Less than 24 hours later, it was back downtown as the Devils looked to build on Saturday’s win against Rochester. On Albany’s first power play opportunity of the game, John Quenneville made his successful return, scoring his 13th for a 1-0 lead. Former Devil ATO Paul Geiger would tie the game with his third goal with 5:28 to go in the first. Early in the second, Andrew MacWilliam would get a four minute high sticking call. The Amerks would take full advantage–and a 2-1 lead–on Derek Grant’s 8th goal. The two goals were all rookie goaltender Jonas Johansson would need, as he would stop 27 of 28 Devil shots in his third AHL start. Mackenzie Blackwood did not have much to face, only stopping 15 of 17. Carter Camper and Jacob MacDonald had the lone helpers.
Lines:
John Quenneville-Carter Camper-Nick Lappin
Jan Mandat-Kevin Rooney-Max Novak
Austin Cangelosi-Blake Pietila-Brian Gibbons
Ben Thomson-Rod Pelley-Shane Harper
Defense:
Seth Helgeson/Jacob MacDonald
Karl Stollery/Yohann Auvitu
Andrew MacWilliam/Viktor Loov
Mackenzie Blackwood/Ken Appleby
Scratches: Josh Jacobs, Ben Sexton, Luke Gazdic, Ryan Kujawinski, Vojtech Mozik, Petr Straka, Sam Kurker, Greg Wolfe, Scott Wedgewood, Evan Cormier
Power Play: 1 for 5. Penalty Kill: 4 for 5. Penalty Minutes: 15. Shots on Goal: 28. Shots Allowed: 17.
3 Stars: 1. Derek Grant; 2. John Quenneville; 3. Mat Bodie (announced, but Mackenzie Blackwood listed in boxscore).
Highlight Reel:
My Player of the Week:
We’re splitting it this week between Jacob MacDonald (with 4 helpers on the weekend) and Blake Pietila (2 power play goals in Saturday’s win). Honorable mention to Austin Cangelosi for a point in his pro debut.
Team Leaders:
Goals: Ben Sexton (19)
Assists: John Quenneville (29)
Points: John Quenneville (42)
+/-: Vojtech Mozik (+13)
Penalty Minutes: Andrew MacWilliam (100)
Wins: Ken Appleby (17)
GAA: Scott Wedgewood (2.18)
Save Percentage: Scott Wedgewood (.912)
Division Update:
When the weekend was done, here’s where everyone stands in the North:
- Toronto, 83 points, .593, 6 games left
- Syracuse, 81 points, .579, 6 games left
- St. John’s, 76 points, .543, 6 games left
- Albany, 75 points, .536, 6 games left
- Utica, 75 points, .536, 6 games left
The Devils get the tiebreaker with Utica due to more ROW (32-31). Albany’s magic number to clinch sits at 13, which means they will need help to get that number down.
This week’s important matchups: Toronto-St. John’s on Tuesday; Syracuse-Albany on Wednesday; St. John’s-Albany, Toronto-Utica, Syracuse-Binghamton on Friday; Hershey-Toronto, Albany-Syracuse, St. John’s-Binghamton, Utica-Rochester on Saturday; and St. John’s-Utica and Rochester-Toronto on Sunday.
Up North with the Thunder:
At least one team around here is going to the postseason! Congrats to the boys in Adirondack, who clinched a spot in the Kelly Cup playoffs with a 5-4 win over Orlando on Tuesday night at home. They followed that up with a 3-2 win over Elmira on Friday night, then a 3-0 shutout of Norfolk on Saturday.
Adirondack finishes out the regular season this week, with their last home game on Tuesday night against Manchester. They then hit the road for a two game set against Elmira, the Jackals last hurrah before folding as a franchise, on Friday and Saturday. Their magic number to clinch the North Division title is 4.
This Week’s Schedule:
As shown earlier, this is a humongous big three game week. One that could determine how much longer this team exists.
It starts Wednesday night at home against Syracuse, followed by a visit from St. John’s on Friday. Then on the road to Syracuse on Saturday.
Thoughts Inside The Box 