2008-09 Season in Review: December
Records fall as an All-Star emerges

lowelldevilshockey.com – Though the Lowell Devils’ loss in their final November game ended a five-game winning streak, the team was still able to carry momentum into December.  Buoyed by the assignments from New Jersey of last year’s leading scorer, Petr Vrana, and dynamic defenseman, Anssi Salmela, the Devils looked to start off the new month on the right foot.
They would do exactly that on December 3 against the Springfield Falcons.  The line of Ryan Murphy, Patrick Davis and Rod Pelley had a fantastic outing, combining for seven points (2g-5a).   A three-goal third period helped the Devils pull away and take the 6-4 decision. 

Lowell next battled the Providence Bruins on the road on December 5.  Jeff Frazee was perfect on all but one of the Bruins’ 30 shots and the Devils were victorious, 3-1.  Chad Wiseman scored for the sixth-straight game, setting the club record for consecutive games scoring a goal.  Meanwhile, Frazee’s win was his sixth in a row and set the Devils’ team record for consecutive victories, while also breaking the team mark for games without a regulation loss at seven (6-0-1).  Despite starting the season in the ECHL with the Trenton Devils, Frazee was making the most of his time in the American Hockey League.  Placing his name in the Lowell Devils’ record book would be the first of several honors for the rookie goaltender in 2008-09. 

December 6 brought a home match for the Devils versus the Portland Pirates. While Lowell’s Benoit Mondou opened the scoring at 6:02 of the first with his first goal of the season, Colton Fretter’s hat trick would lead the way for a 5-2 Pirates victory. The loss ended a run for the Devils that saw them win seven of their last eight games. 

Lowell was unable to right the ship the next night against Bridgeport, but did manage a point in a 4-3 shootout loss.  The Devils grabbed the lead at 4:42 of the opening frame on Ryan Murphy’s marker and would maintain the edge until the final minutes of the match.  With 2:38 left in regulation, Bridgeport’s Jack Hillen tied the game, 3-3, to force an eventual shootout.  Patrick Davis could not match Jeff Tambellini’s goal in round five as the Sound Tigers pulled out the win. 

Frazee suffered his first regulation loss since November 8 – a span of nine starts – as the Providence Bruins blanked the Devils, 3-0, at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on December 12.  The Bruins notched a goal per period and goalie Tuukka Rask needed to only make 20 saves for the shutout. 

Having gone three games without a victory, Lowell was starting to slide down a slippery slope.  The offense and defense that worked like a well-oiled machine coming into December had fallen on hard times.  Captain and defenseman Jay Leach headed to Newark at the beginning of the month for what would be an almost permanent assignment with the New Jersey Devils.  With Stephen Gionta already out of the line-up, injuries to Benoit Mondou and Michael Swift affected the Devils’ depth down the middle and team’s goal production. 

The following night against the Worcester Sharks, Petr Vrana picked up his first goal for Lowell since being sent down on December 1 and tied the game at 1-1 in the first period.  This would be one of just two goals that Lowell managed on the evening as the Sharks skated away with a 4-2 win.  The Devils’ winless streak now stood at four with a road trip looming on the horizon versus three of the best teams in the AHL. 

Lowell’s first test came against the Philadelphia Phantoms on their December 19.  Again, the Devils scored in the first period on Patrick Davis’ tally two minutes into the game, but could only manage one more goal for the rest of the match and fell, 5-2.  Claude Giroux, Jonathan Kalinski, and Jared Ross each notched a goal and an assist for Philly. 

A pair of goals would be all Lowell could manage for a third straight game as the Hershey Bears toughed out a 4-2 victory on December 20.  The Bears’ Graham Mink opened the scoring just 11 seconds after the opening puck drop as Hershey built a 3-0 cushion through the early moments of the second period.  Jon DiSalvatore and Barry Tallackson got the Devils back within one, but Kyle Wilson’s second of the night on an empty-net goal clinched the win for Hershey.

After a long bus ride through the night to Connecticut, the Devils closed out the weekend on a Sunday afternoon against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.   Lowell just didn’t have the legs to keep up with Bridgeport and were blanked, 4-0.  Though Trevor Smith’s goal was the lone marker for either team through two periods, the Sound Tigers put up three in the final frame to send the Devils away with the loss. 

Lowell totaled only 11 goals over a winless streak that had stretched to seven games.  The team welcomed a much-needed holiday break, looking to regroup and get back into the win column. 

The Devils brought a halt to their slide and then some as they returned from the break on December 27 to rout Providence, 8-1.  Chad Wiseman led all scorers with two goals and two assists as Lowell set the team mark for goals scored in a game and goals scored in a period with a five-goal first frame.  The Devils’ power play went an astounding 4-for-5 and Barry Tallackson added a shorthanded goal for good measure.   In what had been largely a rollercoaster season in terms of wins and losses, the Devils hoped this would be a game that would key their turnaround.

All signs pointed to that being true as Lowell came from behind the next night to defeat the Hartford Wolf Pack, 5-4, at the Tsongas Arena.  After Mike Ouellette broke a 3-3 tie at 1:59 of the third with a shorthanded goal, the Devils answered back on the same power play when Matt Corrente beat goalie Matt Zaba.  Back on the man-advantage 18 seconds later, Tallackson provided the deciding goal as the Devils held on for the win. 

The last game of 2008 for Lowell resulted in a third straight win for the Devils and Frazee’s second shutout of the season.  Frazee blocked all 36 shots he faced and Anssi Salmela slid the only goal of the night past Albany’s Justin Peters at 6:18 of the third period for a 1-0 triumph.