Sunday, January 13, 2008

Devils Struck Down by Pirates, 5-1
Lowell returns home January 23 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

LOWELL, Mass. - Lowell held Portland to just 21 shots, but the Pirates were still able to strike early and often as the Devils were defeated, 5-1, on Sunday at Tsongas Arena.

Special teams were key as the Pirates scored two power goals over three chances while holding the Devils to a 1-for-8 performance on the man-advantage.  Though they did not receive their first power play until midway through the second period, Portland converted at 12:32 to go up 3-0 when Adrian Veideman’s shot from the blueline ricocheted off a skate in the slot and past Frank Doyle.

The Devils broke through on their fourth power play of the game to get on the board with 2:35 until the second break.  With Darryl Bootland in the box for Portland, Nicklas Bergfors took a pass on the far post and snuck a quick shot over the shoulder of J.P. Levasseur.  Patrick Davis and Olivier Magnan-Grenier had the assists on Bergfors’ fifth of the season, which pulled Lowell within two goals.

Unfortunately for Lowell, Portland repeatedly showed an ability to sprint out of the gate, scoring goals in under two minutes from the start of all three periods.  Carrying over a man-advantage into the third, Bobby Ryan stickhandled around his defender before hitting Andrew Ebbett for a one-timer that made it 4-1 Pirates with 55 seconds off the clock. 

It took just 50 seconds after the opening face-off for the road team to strike as Jason King found paydirt after Doyle made the initial save on a Ebbett wrist shot from the near wall.  Portland then made the score 2-0 in their favor with Andy Schneider lighting the lamp 1:45 into the middle frame.  The Pirate defenseman raced down the left side, had his initial tuck shot blocked, but was able to bank the rebound off the back of the goaltender and across the goal line.

Michal Birner completed the scoring on a 4-on-4 goal with under thirty seconds remaining in regulation.  Lowell right wing Trevor Kell had his five-game point streak (1g, 5a) come to an end. 

The Lowell Devils take to the road for their next two games.  They will face the Providence Bruins on Friday, January 18 at 7:05 p.m. and the Philadelphia Phantoms on Sunday, January 20 at 5:05 p.m.   The Devils return home for Dollar Dawg Night on Wednesday, January 23 as they battled the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.  .Listen to all of the action live on 980AM-WCAP as Ryan Johnston brings you all of the play-by-play. Call the Devils office at (978) 458-PUCK for more information or visit www.lowelldevilshockey.com.

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