2:00, January 16, 2012
Times Union Center, Albany, NY

  • albany Devils

    Albany 5

    17-13-5-3

  • Adirondack

    Adirondack 3

    20-16-1-1

1 2 3 T
Devils 2 3 0 5
Adirondack 0 1 2 3
  • Highlights
  • The Devils win pulls them even with Adirondack in the Time Warner Cable Cup
  • Nathan Perkovich scored for the second-straight game
  • Jeff Frazee made 32 saves winning his third-straight game

DEVILS ROLL PHANTOMS IN KEY DIVISIONAL GAME

by Kevin Zalaznik // 1.16.2012 // Recap

ALBANY, N.Y. -- In a 60 minute game, the Albany Devils only needed 28 minutes to build a large enough lead to hold on for a 5-3 win against the Adirondack Phantoms Monday afternoon at the Times Union Center. The victory evens the Time Warner Cable Cup series, 2-2, and moves Albany within two points of the top spot in the Northeast Division.

“We really haven’t had consistency and that’s our game,” said head coach Rick Kowalsky. “I thought we did a good job through two periods where we put pressure on them and sensed the momentum.”

The Devils (17-13-5-2) extended their point streak to six games with the help of five different goal scorers: Nathan Perkovich, Matt Anderson, Jacob Josefson, Tim Sestito and Brad Mills. Between the pipes, Jeff Frazee made 32 saves for his third-consecutive victory and seventh of the season.

Frazee“We battled hard and buried our chances,” Frazee said. “They had some chances in front and some chances to get rebounds and the defenseman cleared out guys. We played well as a team, but we have to watch those little lapses.”

“He was aggressive,” Kowalsky said of Frazee. “When he is out challenging and out top of the crease and really challenging the shooter is when he is at his best. He certainly did that tonight.”

The Phantoms (20-16-1-1) goals came off the stick of Jason Akeson, Garrett Roe and Eric Wellwood after the Devils have secured a commanding 5-0 lead during the first half of play.

Albany's special teams set the tone early as Perkovich extended his scoring streak to two games with a power-play tally 4:09 into the game. Perkovich, who also added an assist, now has three goals and an assist in the last two games.

“The power play is huge and that is where you win games,” Perkovich said. “We grabbed the momentum with a goal. Our power play has been clicking lately and that’s a big part of our game recently.”

Albany is now 11-3-0-1 when scoring at least one power-play goal

Matt Anderson followed with a shorthanded tally at 16:06. The goal was the Devils fourth of its kind this season.

“It’s nice when you get shorthanded goals,” Perkovich said. “Those are always a plus and you build on it. Those two goals helped lead to the third goal, the fourth goal and the fifth goal. That shorthanded goal was huge for us.”

In the second, Josefson scored on a rebound at 5:02 and Sestito followed with a diving goal at 5:56. Brad Mills concluded Albany's five-goal run at 7:11.

On Wednesday, the Devils host the Norfolk Admirals for a 7 p.m. contest. Fans can follow the action on ahllive.com.

*****

Notes: Albany has scored five or more goal in a single game four times this season. The other three were: against Adirondack (W, 5-2) on Oct. 22, at Hershey (W, 6-5 SO) on Nov. 19 and at Norfolk (W, 5-4 OT) on Jan. 6 … The Devils are 10-6-0-1 when scoring the first goal of the game and 6-0-0-0 when leading after the first period … Albany is now 11-3-0-1 when scoring at least one power play goal … Nick Palmieri returned to Albany's lineup after being returned on loan by New Jersey earlier in the day. Entering the contest, Palmieri had three goal and an assist in 15 AHL outings …Jacob Josefson, who was loaned to Albany by New Jersey Tuesday, netted his first AHL goal since scoring a pair at Bridgeport on Jan. 25, 2011 … In his 14th AHL game of the season, Tim Sestito scored his third goal and 40th of his AHL career … Brad Mills registered his first goal since scoring on Dec. 2. Since then he has played in 16 games … Three Stars: 1. Jeff Frazee (ALB), 2. Nathan Perkovich (ALB), 3. Garrett Roe (ADK).

» View Complete Box Score

Adirondack Phantoms 3 at Albany Devils 5 - Status: Final
Monday, January 16, 2012 - Times Union Center

Adirondack 0 1 2 - 3
Albany 2 3 0 - 5

1st Period-1, Albany, Perkovich 6 (Sislo, Gelinas), 4:09 (PP). 2, Albany, Anderson 7 (Harrold), 16:06 (SH). Penalties-Harper Adk (boarding), 2:38; Sestito Adk (interference), 13:35; Josefson Alb (tripping), 15:19.

2nd Period-3, Albany, Josefson 1 (Zharkov, Sislo), 5:02. 4, Albany, Sestito 3 (Perkovich), 5:56. 5, Albany, Mills 2 (Palmieri, Wiseman), 7:11. 6, Adirondack, Akeson 10 (Roe), 11:45. Penalties-Eddy Adk (fighting), 12:23; Zajac Alb (fighting), 12:23; Urbom Alb (hooking), 14:55; Holmstrom Adk (tripping), 16:36.

3rd Period-7, Adirondack, Roe 5 (Manning, Akeson), 3:31 (PP). 8, Adirondack, Wellwood 9 (Holmstrom), 8:07 (SH). Penalties-Whitney Alb (tripping), 2:04; Kalinski Adk (hooking), 7:42; Holmstrom Adk (slashing), 8:54; Marshall Adk (fighting), 12:01; Sestito Alb (fighting), 12:01; Gelinas Alb (boarding), 14:46.

Shots on Goal-Adirondack 12-13-10-35. Albany 8-12-6-26.
Power Play Opportunities-Adirondack 1 / 4; Albany 1 / 5.
Goalies-Adirondack, Leighton 14-13-0 (17 shots-13 saves); Bacashihua 6-4-1 (9 shots-8 saves). Albany, Frazee 7-8-2 (35 shots-32 saves).
A-3,119
Referees-Francis Charron (46), T.J. Luxmore (47).
Linesmen-Mike Emanatian (69), Frank Murphy (29).

by Kevin Zalaznik // 1.15.2012 // Preview

Follow the Action
Listen/Watch: ahllive.com
Tweet: @albanydevils | #ADevs

ALB Stats ADK
37 GP 37
16 W 20
13 L 15
5 OTL 1
3 SOL 1
40 P 42
90 GF 110
113 GA 105
13.2 PP% 18.4
77.6 PK% 84.3
Preview Meetings
ALB 1 @ ADK (Dec 31 2011) Final OT
ALB 3 @ ADK 4 (Nov 26 2011) Final OT
ADK 2 @ ALB 5 (Oct 22 2011) Final

Storyline
Despite three games between these two teams already in the rearview mirror, the Time Warner Cable Cup series is just getting started. Today’s game is the fourth of 10 outings between the two clubs this season. The Devils are riding a five-game point streak with a 2-0-2-1 record.

Notables
- Nathan Perkovich netted two goals against the Syracuse Crunch Saturday, giving him five goals and three assists in 27 games this season. For his career, Perkovich has produced 32 goals and 26 assists in 135 AHL games.

“He has been good our past couple games,” head coach Rick Kowalsky said of Perkovich. “He was solid down in Norfolk. He has a pretty good jump and he has that big reach down low. When he protects that puck it’s tough to get it off of him. I think he just needs to focus on what his strengths are and keep playing.”

- Darcy Zajac extended his point streak to three games with an assist on Perkovich's first goal against Syracuse. He had an assist at Norfolk Friday and a pair of helpers against the Admirals Saturday. He now has 13 points on the season (6g-7a). For his career, Zajac has produced 10 goals and 12 assists in 78 AHL outings.

- The Phantoms have won three of their last four games and are coming off a 5-3 win against Manchester Saturday. The team is 5-5-0-0 in the last 10 outings.

- Rookie Jason Akeson leads the team with 29 points backed by nine goals and a team-best 20 assists. Denis Hamelis second with 27 points with a team-high 14 goals and 13 assists.

Devils-Phantoms All-Time Series
Meetings: 29
All-Time: 11-11-4-3
At Devils: 8-3-1-2
At Phantoms: 3-8-3-1
2011-12: 1-0-2-0

Devils-Phantoms Last Meeting
Sat., Dec. 31; Albany 1 at Adirondack 2 (Overtime)
In the third game of the Time Warner Cable Cup, the Phantoms claimed a 2-1 win against the Devils at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Adirondack’s Mike Testwuide netted the game-winner with 2:42 remaining. The Devils trailed 1-0 up untilVladimir Zharkov evened the score with just 4:49 remaining. Stephen Gionta and Alexander Urbom had the assists. In his fifth-consecutive start, Keith Kinkaid made 19 saves.

Puck Drop
The Devils have an opportunity to move within two points of Northeast Division leaders, the Connecticut Whale, with a win against the Phantoms. Albany trails Connecticut by four points.