Friday, April 11, 2008

 

Devils Mauled By Sound Tigers, 6-1
Lowell visits Worcester on Saturday

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Fighting for their playoff lives, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers received a hat trick from Trevor Smith en route to a 6-1 win over the Lowell Devils on Friday at the Arena at Harbor Yard.  Following suit with Smith on offense were Tim Jackman with two goals and an assist and Blake Comeau with three helpers. 

The Sound Tigers took a 1-0 lead at 4:44 of the first period when Comeau intercepted a pass behind the Devils’ net and quickly fed the puck to the front for a snapshot from Smith that beat Dave Caruso to the low side. 

With his team up 3-0 in the third, Smith went to work to make sure the outcome of the contest would not be in doubt.  To that end, Comeau found Smith again at 6:12 of the period for a one-timer that sailed past Caruso.

Jackman picked up his second of the night off of Comeau’s stick as well to make the score, 5-0, in favor of Bridgeport at 9:52. 

Two-and-a-half minutes later, Smith then completed his hat trick with a marker on the man-advantage, tipping in Scott Ford’s slapshot from the near blueline. 

Ryan Murphy foiled the shutout bid of Sound Tiger goalie Mike Morrison when he took a homerun pass from Rosario Ruggeri and scored on the breakaway with just 2:10 remaining in regulation.   Morrison was otherwise perfect with 27 saves on the night. 

Bridgeport furthered its edge to two goals with a power play goal 6:05 into the second frame.  Jeff Tambellini had his point shot blocked by Mike Pandolfo, but the rebound came right back to the Sound Tiger forward and his second effort from the far circle found the back of the net. 

Tambellini then helped put his team up 3-0 with 2:32 left until the second intermission as he circled off the near wall in the Lowell zone and fired a pass to the crease for a redirect by Jackman. 

The Devils’ winless streak stretched to five games (0-4-0-1) with the loss. Caruso stopped 16-of-22 shots. Lowell was 0-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-3 on the penalty kill. 

The Lowell Devils continue their final weekend, visiting the Worcester Sharks on Saturday, April 12 at 7:05 p.m.  The Devils complete their three-day, three-game weekend and the 2007-08 campaign on Sunday, April 13 at 4:05 p.m. versus the Providence Bruins.  Tune into WCAP-980AM to hear Ryan Johnston bring you all of the live play-by-play action.