Friday, January 4, 2008

Devils Edged Out By Phantoms, 3-2
Rematch next Wednesday at Tsongas Arena 

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Peter Zingoni’s two-goal game and Brian Boucher’s 35 saves were enough for the Philadelphia Phantoms to hold off the Lowell Devils, 3-2, on Friday night at the Wachovia Spectrum.       

Down by two heading into the second period, Lowell got on the board as Trevor Kell picked up his third point in just his second AHL game.  Kell found a loose puck in the near corner and pushed a pass toward the crease where Ryan Murphy chopped it home at 7:44 for his third goal of the season.  The Devils were denied a chance to tie the score at the end of the frame when Boucher stopped Noah Clarke on a penalty shot with 31 seconds until the break. 

That save changed the complexion of the game as it allowed Philadelphia to retake their two-goal lead on a power play at 4:32 of the third.  Alexandre Picard threw a shot from the blueline toward Frank Doyle and it was Peter Zingoni digging the puck out of the resulting scrum to notch his second goal of the night.  The only blemish on a 5-for-6 performance by the Devils’ penalty kill, Zingoni’s marker would hold up to be the eventual game-winner.

Lowell got back within one goal on a two-man advantage as Noah Clarke’s one-timer from the high slot soared into the top of the net at 10:16.  Barry Tallackson and Olli Malmivaara assisted on what was Clarke’s 13th goal of the year.   

Though the Devils doubled the Phantoms on shots in the first period, 14-7, it was Philadelphia leading 2-0 after the first twenty minutes of play.  The Phantoms went up 1-0 at 8:28 of the opening period when Ryan Potulny flipped a waist-high pass from the far corner that Zingoni was able to whack past Frank Doyle.  Darroll Powe’s helped his team the lead to two almost four minutes later with a deflection of a point shot by Oskars Bartulis.  

Doyle made 21 saves in the loss, while Lowell went 1-for-5 on the power play. 

Lowell completes its road weekend on Saturday, January 5 at 7:05 p.m. versus the Hartford Wolf Pack.  Listen to all of the action live on 980AM-WCAP as Ryan Johnston brings you all of the play-by-play. The Devils return home for Dollar Dawg Night on Wednesday, January 9 as they face the Phantoms at 7:05 p.m.  All hot dogs are $1 for all fans in attendance.  Call the Devils office at (978) 458-PUCK for more information or visit www.lowelldevilshockey.com.

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