Monday, September 24, 2007

 

Devils downed in shootout, 2-1

Stephen Gionta lights the lamp for Lowell vs. Philly

VOORHEES, NJ – Stephen Gionta lit the lamp and Dave Caruso stopped 23 shots but the Lowell Devils dropped a 2-1 shootout decision against the Philadelphia Phantoms Monday night in New Jersey.

The game was scoreless through the first 40 minutes of play, but not without action.  Caruso got the nod between the pipes from the start for Lowell, and he was strong early, making 10 saves in the opening frame.  The Devils had three power plays in the first, but couldn’t cash in. 

Caruso, who played junior hockey for the Boston Bulldogs, and the Lowell penalty killers, went to work in the second, facing five Phantoms power plays, including a two-man advantage early in the period.  Philadelphia surged with a 13-8 edge in shots during the frame, only to be denied by Caruso.  Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond got into a late-period tilt with Adam Henrich, and 28 total minutes in penalties were dished out in the stanza.

Jordan Parise took over in net to start the third period, and was victimized for the first goal of the game at 5:15.  Kyle Greentree lit the lamp to give Philadelphia the lead.  Gionta tagged the Phantoms for the equalizer at 8:41 to knot the game up at 1-1.  Both tallies came on the power play.  Just moments later, Greentree would be ejected for a five-minute elbowing major, though despite the penalties, neither team to take the lead through the rest of regulation.

In the shootout, Ryan Murphy scored for Lowell as their first shooter, but Denis Tolpeko and David Laliberte (who scored twice against the Devils in the Phantoms 3-2 win last week) also scored to give the home team the win.

In the lineup for the Devils:
Goaltenders: Dave Caruso, Jordan Parise
Defensemen: Mark Fraser, Olli Malmivaara, Ian Moran, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, Olivier Magnan, Sean Zimmerman
Forwards: Jari Viuhkola, Jason Ryznar, Barry Tallackson, Patrick Davis, Ivan Khomutov, Ryan Murphy, Stephen Gionta, Petr Vrana, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Mike Pandolfo, Benoit Mondou, Joe Rooney

The Devils make their Tsongas Arena debut on Saturday, September 29th against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 6:05 p.m. in the final pre-season match before commencing the regular season.  The New Jersey Devils face off against the New York Islanders in NHL pre-season action at Tsongas Arena on Wednesday, September 26th at 7:00 p.m.

Lowell’s home opener is on Saturday, October 13th when they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 7:05 p.m.  Everyone in attendance will have the chance to win a 61” HDTV, courtesy of Best Buy in Nashua.  The first 3,000 fans will receive free bang sticks, sponsored by Collins Dentistry.  Everyone at the game will receive a magnet schedule, sponsored by Trinity EMS.  Festivities for Opening Night begin at 4:05 p.m. with music from 100.7 WZLX, and moon bounces and entertainment for the kids behind the arena (weather permitting).

For more information or to reserve your tickets, contact the Devils at (978) 458-PUCK (7825) or log on to www.lowelldevilshockey.com.