Devils Weekly #12
Lowell Heads into Break in Tie for Second Place
Devils winners of four of their last five

Last Week:
Tue., 12/15 – DEVILS vs. Springfield Falcons – W 6-1
Fri., 12/18 – DEVILS vs. Albany River Rats – W 3-2
Sat., 12/19 – Devils @ MANCHESTER MONARCHS – L 0-2
Sun., 12/20 - Devils @ PROVIDENCE BRUINS – W 2-1

This Week:
Sat., 12/26 – DEVILS vs. Providence Bruins, 7:00PM
Sun., 12/27 - Devils @ WORCESTER SHARKS, 3:05PM

The Lowell Devils gathered three wins over a four-game, six-day stretch to remain in a tie for second place in the Atlantic Division with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  The Devils began the week by trouncing the Springfield Falcons, 6-1, on Tuesday.  Lowell then edged Albany on Friday, 3-2, but fell the following night, 2-0, to Manchester.  The Devils got the better of Providence on Sunday, 2-1, to head into the holiday break on a winning note. Lowell sits at 18-12-3-0 and with 39 points is just six points behind the first-place Manchester Monarchs.

The Devils return from the holiday break to host the Providence Bruins on Saturday.  Lowell will then travel to Worcester on Sunday to battle the Sharks. 

Rewind:
Tuesday, DEVILS 6 vs. Falcons 1
Lowell scored five power play goals and Cory Murphy recorded a team season best four assists in a 6-1 drubbing of the Springfield Falcons at the Tsongas Arena.  Not lost in all the scoring was Alexander Vasyunov’s first hat trick in North America. Tied up, 1-1, after one, the Devils pulled away with three man-advantage goals in the second by Brad Snetsinger, Matt Halischuk and Vasyunov.  Mike McKenna made 25 saves for the win.

Friday, DEVILS 3 vs. River Rats 2
Alexander Vasyunov scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period to help Lowell to a 3-2 win over Albany at the Tsongas Arena.  Nick Palmieri scored 4:42 into the first only to see Zach Boychuk and Jamie McBain light the lamp and put the River Rats on top in the second.  The Devils would tie things up with 4:27 left before the second intermission on Ben Walter’s eighth of the year.  Mike McKenna made 34 saves for his 11th victory of 2009-10.

Saturday, Devils 0 vs. MONARCHS 2
Jonathan Bernier stopped all 34 shots he faced as Manchester blanked Lowell, 2-0, at the Verizon Wireless Arena.   Oscar Moller’s goal scored 22 seconds into the second proved to be the game-winner as Scott Parse sealed the match on an empty-net goal late in regulation.  Mike McKenna suffered the loss despite making 29 saves on 30 shots.    

Sunday, Devils 2 vs. BRUINS 1
Rob Davison’s power play goal at 8:10 of the third was the deciding tally in Lowell’s 2-1 win over Providence at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.  Ben Walter drew first blood for the Devils at 7:23 of the first before Levi Nelson knotted the score in the second period for the Bruins.  Jeff Frazee picked up his first win since Dec. 2 with his 30-save performance. 

Around the Horns
The Devils have won four of their last five at home and overall…Cory Murphy’s four assists and Lowell’s five power play goals recorded on Tuesday against Springfield both tied the team records set by Olivier Magnan and the Devils on Feb. 26, 2008 at Manchester…Lowell has allowed just one power play goal in their last eight road games (23-for-24)…All three of Rob Davison’s goals this season have been game-winners. 

Coming Up
Lowell will face Providence on Saturday at the Tsongas Arena for game six in the ten-game season series.  Since winning seven of eight, the sixth-place Bruins have dropped four of their last five while only registering six goals on offense.   Providence has an 11-5-0-0 record when Brad Marchand and Trent Whitfield are in the line-up.  The Devils are 16-13-2-4 all-time versus the Bruins with a 10-5-0-2 record at the Tsongas Arena. 

The Devils complete the weekend with a Sunday matinee versus the Worcester Sharks.  The meeting will be the fifth out of ten for the two squads.  Lowell has won three straight versus Worcester, outscoring them 19-9 in the process.  Ryan Vesce has compiled 11 points (4g-7a) in his last seven games.  Logan Couture leads the league with six game-winning goals.  The Sharks sit in fifth place in the Atlantic Division, five points behind the Devils. 

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Upcoming Promotions/In the Community

• Saturday, December 26 – Devils vs. Bruins, 7:00PM
• $9 tickets for all in attendance.
• The first 2,000 fans will receive a Devil Dawg Bank, courtesy of Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union.

Leaders for Lowell

• Goals:                   Nick Palmieri, Tim Sestito, Ben Walter (9)
• Assists:                 Ben Walter (16)
• Points:                  Ben Walter (25)
• PIM:                    Louis Robitaille (135)
• Plus/Minus:          Tyler Eckford (+13)
• Wins:                    Mike McKenna (11)
• Save %:                Mike McKenna (.925)