Friday, March 14, 2008

Devils Chomped by Sharks, 6-1
Lowell faces Manchester at home on Sunday

LOWELL, MA - The Lowell Devils saw Brad Staubitz and Riley Armstrong each record a goal and two assists as the Worcester Sharks skated away with a 6-1 win Friday night at the Tsongas Arena.

Already holding a 2-1 lead coming out of the first intermission, the Sharks pulled away during a 4:47 span in the second period that saw them post a trio of goals.   With Worcester skating 5-on-4, Tom Cavanaugh put his team up by two at 9:10, banging home a rebound under a sprawled Dave Caruso. 

The Sharks then made the score 4-1 in their favor on their second power play of the period.  This time, it was Graham Mink with the redirect on top of the crease off a near-boards feed from Mike Iggulden at 12:22.  Brad Staubitz gave Worcester a comfortable four-goal cushion 1:35 later when he threw a turnaround shot from the left face-off dot that banked off Caruso and into the net. 

The first goal of the contest came just 1:06 after the opening face-off as the Sharks’ Lukas Kaspar cut across the Devils’ blueline and fired a wrister that snuck under Caruso.  Worcester furthered its lead to 2-0 six minutes later when Marc Busenburg’s point shot deflected off of a stick and through the five-hole of Lowell’s netminder. 

Ryan Murphy got Lowell on the board at 15:37 of the first with his seventh goal of the season.  Stephen Gionta circled out from behind the net and sent a feed across the crease to the near post that Murphy knocked over the shoulder of Patzold.   The Sharks’ goalie would go on to make 27-of-28 saves in the game. 

Riley Armstrong completed the scoring for the Sharks with 3:41 left in regulation.  Caruso finished with 24 saves.  The Devils were 0-for-6 on the power play and 3-for-5 on the penalty kill. 

It’s Guns N’ Hoses Night on Sunday, March 16 as the Devils battle the Manchester Monarchs at 4:05 p.m.  Local firemen and policemen will be skating in a special pre-game to raise money for the Boston Shriners and the Massachusetts Chapter of COPS.  Stick around after the Devils game for a free post-game skate presented by Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union and an autograph session with the Lowell Devils players.  Tickets start at just $10; Call the Devils office at (978) 458-PUCK for more information or visit www.lowelldevilshockey.com.  You can also listen to all of the action live on 980AM-WCAP as Ryan Johnston brings you all of the play-by-play action.

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