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Devils Host Wolf Pack Friday

WOLF PACK (1-1-0-0) at DEVILS (0-1-0-0)
Times Union Center – Oct. 15 – 7 p.m.

Watch: AHLLive.com
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Tickets: Ticketmaster

The Series: Albany is 16-13-2-1 against Hartford all-time, including an 8-7-1-0 record at home. Last season while playing in Lowell, the Devils posted a 3-4-1-0 mark against the Wolf Pack. In the last regular-season game between the two squads, the Wolf Pack took a 5-2 decision on Apr 2, 2010 in Hartford. The Devils last win against the Wolf Pack came on Feb. 28, 2010 in Lowell, Mass. Goals from Nick Palmieri, Michael Swift, Matt Halischuk and Ben Walter gave the Devils a 4-3 win. Hartford’s Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau record a hat trick. Frazee earned the win with 27 stops and Johnson turned away 23 saves.

Big Story: The New Jersey Devils-New York Rangers rivalry carries over into the AHL as these two teams meet for the first time since the Devils left Lowell and the Atlantic Division for their new home in Albany and the East Division.

Team Scope:
Albany: Matt Corrente, Jacob Josefson and Tim Sestito, three members of the Devils team who were on the Opening Night roster, will be absent for Friday’s game after being recalled to New Jersey. Albany added Pierre-Luc Letrouneau-Leblond on Tuesday when he was assigned to the AHL.

Olivier Magnan, who was named an assistant captain prior to opening night, registered an assist on Stephen Gionta’s breakaway goal against Adirondack. Magnan’s long pass that sprung the scoring opportunity and gave the Sherbrooke, Que native his 48th career AHL point. Magnan has appeared in 247 games for New Jersey’s top developmental team.

Hartford: The Wolf Pack are coming off a 4-2 win against Charlotte on Oct. 9 and a 4-3 loss against Worcester on Oct. 10. Kelsey Tessier leads the team with four points, including two goals and two assists. He registered two assists on opening night and added two goals against the Sharks. Dane Byers (1g-2a), Kris Newbury (0g-3a) and Wade Redden (0g-3a) are tied for second on the team with three points. In goal, Chad Johnson made back-to-back starts, posting a 3.04 goals-against average and a  .880 save percentage.

Stat Pack: Four Devils have experience playing professionally in the Times Union Center. Patrick Davis, Stephen Gionta and Pierre-Luc Letrouneau-Leblond each made their pro debuts with the Albany River Rats during the 2005-06 season. Chris Murray played 13 games for the River Rats in 2007-08.

Puck Drop: Head coach Rick Kowalsky is in pursuit of his first win as an AHL bench general. Kowalsky was hired to lead New Jersey’s top developmental team on Aug. 10 after spending four years with Trenton. His accolades there include being the recipient of the 2009 John Brophy Award as the ECHL’s top coach.