Devils Weekly

Devils Weekly #22
Lowell Takes Five of Six Points to Finish February
Devils home versus Senators before starting season-high five-game road stretch

Last Week:
Fri., 2/26 - Devils @ MANCHESTER MONARCHS – W 3-2
Sat., 2/27 - Devils @ ADIRONDACK PHANTOMS – SOL 2-3
Sun., 2/28 - DEVILS vs. Hartford Wolf Pack – W 4-3

This Week:
Wed., 3/3 - DEVILS vs. Binghamton Senators, 7:00 PM
Sat., 3/6 - Devils @ SPRINGFIELD FALCONS, 7:00 PM
Sun., 3/7 - Devils @ PROVIDENCE BRUINS, 4:00 PM

The Devils posted a 2-0-0-1 record over their three-game, three-day weekend to finish a rough February on a positive note. Lowell continued its dominance of Manchester with a 3-2 road win on Friday, but could not squeeze past Adirondack in a 3-2 shootout loss on Saturday. The Devils returned home on Sunday to register a 4-3 victory over Hartford.

Lowell will host the Binghamton Senators for their first visit to the Tsongas Center since Nov. 29, 2006. The Devils then begin a season-long five-game road stretch with contests against Springfield on Saturday and Providence on Sunday. With a record of 32-22-4-4, the Devils have recorded 72 points and sit just one point behind the third-place Monarchs.

Rewind:
Friday, Devils 3 vs. MONARCHS 2
Stephen Gionta and Ben Walter each beat Jonathan Bernier over a span of 39 seconds in the first two minutes of the third period to help Lowell rally a for a 3-2 win over Manchester at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Matt Corrente’s fourth of the season gave the Devils a 1-0 lead two minutes into the second. The Monarchs would answer at the end of the second on goals 31 seconds apart by Scott Parse and John Zeiler. Mike McKenna made 40-of-42 saves for his 18th win of the year.

Saturday, Devils 2 vs. PHANTOMS 3 (SO)
The Devils battled back from a two-goal deficit, but couldn’t complete the comeback in a 3-2 shootout loss to Adirondack at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Jason Ward and Stefan Legein helped the Phantoms to a 2-0 lead in the first before Matt Taormina got Lowell on the board with a 5-on-3 goal 16.2 seconds before the break. Stephen Gionta’s 13th of the season tied the game in the second and forced an eventual shootout. Patrick Maroon would seal the win for Adirondack with his goal in round five.

Sunday, DEVILS 4 vs. Wolf Pack 3
Ben Walter’s power play goal with 0.6 seconds left in the second period proved to be the game-winner as Lowell defeated Hartford, 4-3, at the Tsongas Center. The Devils used a 2-for-6 effort on the man-advantage to counter a hat trick by the Wolf Pack’s Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau. Tied 1-1 after one, Matt Halischuk and Michael Swift scored less than three minutes apart to open the middle frame and allow Lowell to take the lead for good. Nick Palmieri opened the scoring with his team-leading 19th goal of the year. Jeff Frazee made 27 saves for his first win since Jan. 31 at Worcester.

Around the Horns
With their come-from-behind victory on Friday, the Devils handed Manchester its first loss on home ice when leading after two periods…Lowell’s last four games have all been decided by one-goal (2-1-0-1)…The Devils finished February with a record of 3-5-1-3, their first losing month of the season…Matt Taormina has a goal and seven assists in five contests since missing four games due to injury…Tallying three power play points over the weekend (1g-2a), Taormina upped his total to 27 to lead all defensemen and pulled into a tie for the rookie lead with Portland’s Tyler Ennis…Mike McKenna allowed just seven goals during five consecutive starts (2-1-2), recording a 1.14 GAA, a .955 save percentage and one shutout.

Coming Up
Binghamton comes to Lowell on Wednesday for the fourth ever meeting between the two teams. The Devils made it 3-0-0-0 all-time versus the Senators with a 3-2 win on Jan. 8 in Binghamton. Mike McKenna made a team season-best 25 saves in the third period to help Lowell to the victory. The Senators are in the midst of a seven-game winless streak (0-5-1-1) that has put them at 22-30-4-3 and in seventh place in the East Division. Six of the seven games have been decided by one goal. Binghamton has the second-highest third period goal total in the AHL with 74.

The Devils and Falcons renew their rivalry for the first time since Jan. 3 when they meet on Saturday in Springfield. Lowell leads the ten-game season series with a record of 4-2-0-0. The Falcons begin a four-game homestand after going 2-2-0-1 on a five-game road trip. Springfield has recorded one win in its last six home contests. The Falcons are in eighth place in the Atlantic Division with 52 points (20-32-9-3). Charles Linglet ranks fourth in the AHL in points (17g-45a-62pts) and assists (45).

Lowell makes its final trip of the regular season to Providence, battling the Bruins on Sunday at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The Devils have won three straight against the Bruins including two in Providence. At 29-28-3-0 with 61 points, the Bruins are currently tied for sixth in the division standings with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Providence is tied with Bridgeport for the most wins (7) when trailing after two periods.

Saturday, March 6

Devil Dawg will be at appearing the Larry Fournier Memorial Tournament at Graf Rink in Newburyport, MA from 10:00AM – 12:00PM.

Sunday, March 7

Devil Dawg will be at the O’Brien Rink in Woburn, MA from 12:00PM – 2:00PM to skate with children from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Transactions
Feb. 24, 2010 – G Anthony Felice released from professional try-out agreement.

Leaders for Lowell