Devils Weekly #19

Lowell Heads South For Three-Game Swing
Road winning streak snapped, home winless streak continues

Last Week:
Wed., 2/3 – DEVILS vs. Hartford Wolf Pack - OTL 2-3
Fri., 2/ 5 - Devils @ WORCESTER SHARKS - L 0-3
Sat., 2/6 - DEVILS vs. Portland Pirates - SOL 3-4

This Week:
Fri., 2/12 - Devils @ NORFOLK ADMIRALS, 7:15 PM
Sat., 2/13 - Devils @ NORFOLK ADMIRALS, 7:15 PM
Sun., 2/14 - Devils @ HERSHEY BEARS, 5:00 PM

The Devils went winless this past week (0-1-1-1) but gained two points to keep pace in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 29-18-4-2 record and 64 points.  Lowell started the week by hosting the Hartford Wolf Pack at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, but it was the Wolf Pack coming away with a 3-2 overtime win. The Devils then traveled to Worcester to face off against the Sharks and were shut out in a 3-0 loss. Lowell’s league-leading and franchise record seven-game road winning streak was snapped in the defeat. Lowell came home to the Tsongas Arena to take on the Portland Pirates and fell in the shootout, 4-3.

Lowell will start a four-game road trip with back-to-back games in Norfolk on Friday and Saturday. The Devils then head to the Giant Center on Sunday to take on the East Division-leading Hershey Bears.

Rewind:
Wednesday, DEVILS 2 vs. Wolf Pack 3 (OT)
Brodie Dupont netted two goals, including the game winner for Hartford in the 3-2 win. Tim Sestito struck first for Lowell in the first period when he converted on the power play for his 15th of the year. The Wolf Pack evened the score, 1-1, four minutes into the second when Derek Couture slipped a shot past goaltender Mike McKenna. After his team failed to convert on their first six power plays, Dupont tallied his first of the game to gave Hartford the lead midway through the third. The Devils tied the game with only 1:07 left in regulation when Nathan Perkovich redirected a slapshot from Cory Murphy. Dupont would go on to score the deciding goal with only 19.9 seconds left in the overtime period. McKenna made 25 saves in the losing effort. 

Friday, Devils 0 vs. SHARKS 3
Tyler Sexsmith stopped 21 shots en route to his first career shutout when the Sharks stymied the Devils 3-0. Andrew Desjardins scored the first of the game at 1:37 of the second period when he fired a shot past Jeff Frazee’s glove to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead. That was the only goal Frazee would allow as he was pulled late in the game for an extra attacker, and Worcester put home two empty net goals to secure the victory. Frazee stopped 34 of 35 shots in the loss.

Saturday, DEVILS 3 vs. Pirates 4 (SO)
The Portland Pirates extended the Devils’ home winless streak to five games with a 4-3 shootout win. Nick Palmieri struck first with the first of his two goals in the game at 11:38 of the first. Portland opened the second period on goals 80 seconds apart by Kyle Rank and Mark Mancari to take the lead, 2-1.  Kyle Wanvig added some insurance for the Pirates early in the third, but the Devils would rally with markers over a span of 3:20 by Nathan Perkovich and Palmieri.  J.P. Lamoureux denied all four Devils in the shootout and Portland would score two to secure the win. Mike McKenna stopped 26 of 29 shots.

Around the Horns
Lowell is currently on a five-game winless streak at home (0-2-1-2). Their last win at home actually came at the Prudential Center in Newark in a 3-2 victory over Hartford.  The Devils last won at the Tsongas Center on Jan. 3 when they defeated the Springfield Falcons, 5-2…The Devils have the second-best first period goal differential in the AHL at +19 (51-32)…Tim Sestito’s 15th goal of the season, scored on Wednesday versus Hartford, was his first on the power play this year…This weekend marked the first time Cory Murphy had back-to-back games without a point since Dec. 19-20…Nick Palmieri notched his third multi-goal game of the season on Saturday versus Portland.  Thirteen of his team-leading 17 goals have come at home. 

Coming Up
On Friday, Lowell hits the road to take on the Norfolk Admirals on back-to-back nights. The teams have only squared off twice this season, with each side notching a win. The last time the teams met, Norfolk came to the Tsongas Arena and left with a 1-0 victory on a late goal by Dana Tyrell. Norfolk had their nine-game point streak (7-0-1-1) snapped with a 5-1 loss to Hartford on Saturday night.  The Admirals are currently third in the East Division with a record of 24-24-3-1.

The Devils then travel to Hershey to take on the Bears for their third game in three nights. These teams have only met once so far this season – a 5-2 victory for the Bears on Nov. 4, 2009 in Lowell. The Devils are winless all time at the Giant Center (0-3-0-0). The Bears are first in the AHL with a record of 39-9-0-2 and 80 points.  Hershey’s current ten-game winning streak is their second of the season.  The Bears have come out on top in 22 of their last 23 games.

Transactions
Feb. 3, 2010 – Signed D Andrew Thomas to professional try-out agreement.
Feb. 4, 2010 – Released D Andrew Thomas from professional try-out agreement.
Feb. 5, 2010 – RW Patrick Davis returned on loan from New Jersey (NHL).
Feb. 7, 2010 – D Chris Murray returned on loan to Trenton (ECHL).

Leaders for Lowell
  • Goals: Nick Palmieri (17)
  • Assists: Cory Murphy (27)
  • Points: Ben Walter (35)
  • PIM: Louis Robitaille (225)
  • Plus/Minus: Tyler Eckford (+15)
  • Wins: Mike McKenna (16)
  • GAA: Mike McKenna (2.29)
  • Save %: Mike McKenna (.927)
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