Devils Weekly #7
Lowell Extends Winning Streak To Five
Top-ranked offense helps tie franchise mark for consecutive wins

Last Week:
Wed., 11/11 – Devils @ WORCESTER SHARKS – W 7-3
Fri., 11/13 – DEVILS vs. Worcester Sharks – W 5-1
Sat., 11/14 - DEVILS vs. Providence Bruins – W 5-3

This Week:
Wed., 11/18 – Devils @ SPRINGFIELD FALCONS, 7:00PM
Fri., 11/20 – DEVILS vs. Norfolk Admirals, 7:00PM
Sat., 11/21 - DEVILS vs. Manchester Monarchs, 1:30PM

Rewind:
Wednesday, Devils 7 @ SHARKS 3
Seven different players found the back of the net as the Lowell Devils ran away with a 7-3 win over the Worcester Sharks at the DCU Center.  It was the second time in as many games versus Worcester that the Devils posted seven goals on the Sharks’ home ice. Nathan Perkovich led Lowell’s offense with a goal and two assists, while Jeff Frazee gathered his second win in a row with 30 saves on 33 shots.

Friday, DEVILS 5 vs. Sharks 1
Tyler Eckford scored twice on the power play and the Lowell Devils wrapped a sweep of a home-and-home series with the Sharks. Alexander Vasyunov (1g-1a) and Vladimir Zharkov (1g-1a) also posted multipoint games and Jeff Frazee picked up his third win in his last three starts. With his team up 3-1 in the third, Eckford helped the Devils pull away with two power play goals exactly two minutes apart.  Lowell has won five out of the last six games versus Worcester dating back to last season.

Saturday, DEVILS 5 vs. Bruins 3
The Devils went 3-for-5 on the power play and Tyler Eckford registered his second straight three-point game in a 5-3 defeat of the Bruins at the Tsongas Arena.  Lowell staked a 3-0 lead in the first thanks to Nathan Perkovich’s first of the night and goals on the man-advantage from Patrick Davis and Olivier Magnan.  After Providence scored twice on the power play to pull within one, Perkovich notched his second of the game to give Lowell some breathing room.  Mike McKenna made 26 saves for his sixth win of the year. 

Around the Horns
The Devils have won five straight, averaging 4.6 goals per game during the winning streak and outscoring opponents, 23-9…Lowell has had a 35.4% success rate on the power play over their last six games (11-for-31)…The Devils are 5-1-0-0 in the second game of back-to-back contests…Lowell is 9-0-1-0 when allowing three goals or less…Jeff Frazee has won three consecutive starts, allowing just four goals…Ben Walter is on a five-game point streak (4g-3a)…Stephen Gionta played in his 200th game as a Lowell Devil on Saturday versus Providence…Nathan Perkovich (5g-3a) and Vladimir Zharkov (1g-7a) each have 8 points in their last five games. 

Eckford Named Reebok/AHL Player of the Week
The American Hockey League announced today that Lowell Devils defenseman Tyler Eckford has been named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 15, 2009. Eckford notched two goals, five assists and a plus-6 rating in three games as the Devils tied a franchise record by extending their winning streak to five games.  Eckford’s week featured two three-point nights. He notched an assist on Wednesday afternoon in Lowell’s 7-3 win at Worcester. He then scored two power-play goals and assisted on the game-winner in Friday’s 5-1 victory to complete a home-and-home sweep of the Sharks, and dished out three more assists on Saturday as Lowell raced past Providence, 5-3.

Coming Up
The Devils travel to Springfield on Wednesday to face a Falcon team that has points in four straight and is 4-1-1-0 in the month of November.  The Falcons are tied for third place in the Atlantic Division with the Hartford Wolf Pack and are just three points behind the Devils.  LW Charles Linglet is fourth in scoring in the AHL with 20 points (7g-13a).  Lowell leads the eight-game season series, 2-1-0-0. 

Friday’s game will mark the first of four meetings this season between the Devils and Norfolk Admirals.  Tied for fourth place in the East Division at 8-8-1-0, the Admirals had won five of six before dropping their last two.  Norfolk is in the midst of an eight-game road trip that will span 13 days.   G Riku Helenius is 6th in the league with a 1.80 GAA.  Lowell is 3-8-1-0 all-time versus Norfolk.

Lowell will battle their interstate rival, the Manchester Monarchs, on Saturday afternoon at the Tsongas Arena.  The Monarchs lead the division with a record of 11-4-1-1. Manchester is 7-1-0-0 at the Verizon Wireless Arena, but just 4-3-1-1 on the road.  The Monarchs have gone 2-2-1-1 after winning nine of their first 11 matches.  G Jeff Zatkoff has won four starts in a row while allowing seven goals and registering one shutout. 

Transactions
Nov. 11, 2009 –   D Matt Corrente recalled from loan to Lowell by New Jersey (NHL).
D Chris Murray and F Jeff Prough recalled from loan to Trenton (ECHL).

Upcoming Promotions/In the Community

• Saturday, November 21 vs. Providence Bruins
• New England Patriots defensive lineman Jarvis Green will be signing autographs during the first intermission.  Fans can get an autograph from the two-time Super Bowl Champion with a $5 donation to the Jarvis Green Foundation, which provides support to single working mothers in disadvantaged, low-income areas.

Leaders for Lowell

• Goals: Tim Sestito (7)
• Assists: Vladimir Zharkov (17)
• Points: Vladimir Zharkov (13)
• PIM: Louis Robitaille (98)
• Plus/Minus: Rob Davison, Tyler Eckford, Nathan Perkovich, Vladimir Zharkov (+9)
• Wins: Mike McKenna (6)
• G.A.A.: Mike McKenna (2.41)
• Save %: Mike McKenna (.921)