Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Devils Best Bears, 4-1
Caruso makes 40 saves for win

LOWELL, MA - Goaltender Dave Caruso was 2:22 from his first AHL shutout, but otherwise made 40 saves to lead the Lowell Devils to a 4-1 win over the Hershey Bears on Wednesday at Tsongas Arena.

In their only contest of the season on the Devils’ home ice, neither team was able to put the puck in the net over the first forty minutes of hockey.  Though Lowell outshot Hershey 12-6 in the first period, Caruso tied a team season-high when he was forced to make 19 saves in the second.

It finally took a Bears’ power play in the third frame to give the Devils a 1-0 lead.  With Lowell killing off the final seconds of a hooking penalty to Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, the defenseman hopped out of the penalty box to take a breakaway pass from Ryan Murphy.  Grand-Pierre snuck the wrister under the arm of Daren Machesney at 6:29 for his second goal of the season. 

The eventual game-winner came only 1:02 later as the Devils worked the puck around the Bears’ zone to Rosario Ruggeri stationed at the blueline. He fired a low wrist shot to the front of the net that Ivan Khomutov tipped into the top corner for his tenth marker of the year. 

The Devils upped their lead to 3-0 on Mark Fraser’s first goal this season, a shot that found its way past a screened Machesney at 13:40. 

Hershey broke up Caruso’s shutout bid at 17:39 when Kyle Wilson banged in a rebound from Andrew Gordon, but Mike Pandolfo put the Devils back up by three when he notched an empty-net power play goal with 29 seconds left in the contest.

Caruso is 4-0-1-0 since being recalled from the Trenton Devils of the ECHL on February 13.  The Devils went 1-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. 

The Devils complete their weekend with two road games:  Friday, March 7 against the Springfield Falcons and Saturday, March 8 versus the Worcester Sharks.  Listen to all of the Devils action from Ryan Johnston on 980AM WCAP or www.b2livetv.com.  The Lowell Devils return home to face the Worcester Sharks on Irish Night on Friday, March 14 at 7:05 p.m.  Fans will have the chance to win Dropkick Murphys concert tickets.  The Devils will also be giving away Boston Celtics tickets to a lucky fan along with complimentary limo service to and from the arena courtesy of Corporate Coach and Limo.  Tickets start at just $10; call the Devils office at (978) 458-PUCK for more information or visit www.lowelldevilshockey.com. 

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