ON THE MOVE

by Kevin Zalaznik // 3.28.2012 // Recap

ALBANY, N.Y. – With seven of the Albany Devils last nine games at the Times Union Center, the Devils took a step towards the Calder Cup Playoffs with a 2-1 win against the Rochester Americans Wednesday. The contest was part of a special matinee “School Day” game which featured 3,171 on hand for the 11:30 a.m. start.

Albany (29-28-6-5) moved to a tie for ninth in the Eastern Conference and remains at home this weekend for games against Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

“We talked about getting off to a good start in this home stand,” said head coach Rick Kowalsky. “We had to work for that one, but it was a good win.”

The Devils trailed 1-0 after two periods because of a T.J Brennan, 5-on-3 goal at 9:22 of the first. However, Eric Gelinas’ 16th goal of the season evened the score only 38 seconds into the third. His goal was setup by Tim Sestitoand Matt Anderson.

“For us right now, every point is so important,” Kowalsky said. “I was happy with the way we played. Our execution – especially in the second period – we had some two-on-ones and potential breakaways that we didn’t execute. I told the guys to stick with it, keep getting pucks deep, working the corners and keep throwing pucks on net.”

The game-winning goal came off a forced turnover deep in Rochester’s end. Steve Zalewski intercepted a pass and roofed a backhand past David Leggio, who was Zalewski’s teammate at Clarkson University.

“(Stephen) Gionta and (David) Wohlberg did a good job forechecking and I was just kind of hanging, being up high,” Zalewski said. “Their [defenseman] looked up the middle and I read him and was able to pick him off. I just made a quick move on my backhand and put it in.”

The tally was Zalewski’s team-leading 17th and first since Mar. 10 at Adirondack.

“I thought we did a good job of sticking with our game plan,” Zalewski said. “I was able to get another chance in the third and capitalized on that one.”

Jeff Frazee began the game in goal and bared the brunt of the work with 19 saves on 20 shots. A high stick midway through the third sent him to the locker room and Keith Kinkaid into the game. He finished with four saves on four shots and earned the win.

“I thought it was a solid game by both teams defensively,” Kowalsky said. “I thought we did really good job of not giving up those quality chances.”

Leggio’s efforts included 32 saves on 34 shots.

Albany’s three-game home stand begins Friday when the Providence Bruins arrive for a 7 p.m. contest. Follow the action on ahllive.com.

*****

Notes: Steve Zalewski netted his second game-winning goal of the season. Additionally, the tally was his team-leading 17th, which is five away from tying his career record of 22 during the 2009-10 season with Worcester … In the first, Rochester’s T.J. Brennan moved into a first-place tie with Eric Gelinas for the AHL lead for goals by a defenseman. Gelinas reclaimed sole possession of the top spot with his 16th marker … After signing an ATO with Albany Tuesday, David Wohlberg made his professional debut … Dan Kelly returned to the lineup after missing five games with a lower-body injury. He was a plus-2 for the game … Three Stars: 1. Steve Zalewski (ALB), 2. Eric Gelinas(ALB), 3. David Leggio (RCH).

» Click Here For Complete Box Score

Rochester Americans 1 at Albany Devils 2 - Status: Final
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 - Times Union Center

Rochester 0 1 0 - 1
Albany 0 0 2 - 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Whitmore Rch (holding), 10:40.

2nd Period-1, Rochester, Brennan 15 (McNabb, Szczechura), 9:22 (PP). Penalties-Mills Alb (high-sticking), 1:15; McPherson Alb (interference), 8:20; Gionta Alb (roughing), 9:10; Turnbull Rch (fighting), 12:46; Urbom Alb (fighting), 12:46.

3rd Period-2, Albany, Gelinas 16 (Sestito, Anderson), 0:43. 3, Albany, Zalewski 17 15:21. Penalties-Varone Rch (tripping), 1:13; Morrisonn Rch (boarding), 12:43.

Shots on Goal-Rochester 8-9-7-24. Albany 14-10-10-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Rochester 1 / 3; Albany 0 / 3.
Goalies-Rochester, Leggio 24-19-2 (34 shots-32 saves). Albany, Frazee 11-17-2 (20 shots-19 saves); Kinkaid 16-17-3 (4 shots-4 saves).
A-3,171
Referees-Graham Skilliter (48), Jarrod Ragusin (54).
Linesmen-Frank Murphy (29), Mike Emanatian (69).

by Kevin Zalaznik // 3.27.2012 // Preview

Follow the Action
Online: ahllive.com
Tweet: @albanydevils | #adevils

Storyline
The Devils will try and make a move up the Eastern Conference standings with the final non-conference matchup of the season. Albany is 3-3-1-0 against the Western Conference.

Notables
- The competition for the final spots in the Eastern Conference is fierce with eight teams within reach of the seventh and eighth spots. The Devils are four points out and in 14th with a 28-28-6-5 record (67 pts.). The Americans are in a battle of their own in the Western Conference. Rochester is in seven with a 32-23-7-4 mark (75 pts.); they are three points from fourth and four points from 12th.

- Mattias Tedenby is on a three-game point streak with a goal and two assists during that span. His last time out, which was against Norfolk Saturday, he netted his fourth goal of the season and unloaded seven shots.

- On Tuesday, the Devils signed University of Michigan center David Wohlberg to an ATO. He is reunited with former Wolverine Brandon Burlon, who has appeared in 52 games during his rookie season.

- Rochester is 6-2-1-1 in its last 10 games and is coming off a 4-3 shootout victory at Syracuse Saturday.

- Rookie Phil Varone leads the Amerks with 47 points with nine goals and a team-high 38 assists. Additionally, he is tied for the team lead with a plus-4 rating.

All-Time Series
Meetings: 7
All-Time: 3-4-0-0
At Devils: 1-2-0-0
At Americans: 2-2-0-0
2011-12: 1-2-0-0

Devils-Americans Last Meeting
Fri., Dec. 9; Albany 0 at Rochester 3
Drew MacIntyre made 40 stops as the Americans shutout the Devils, 3-0, at the Blue Cross Arena. Marcus Foligno, Alex Biega and Derek Whitmore were the goal scorers for Rochester, which went 2-for-5 on the power play. Jeff Frazee made 21 saves for an Albany team that was without Steve Bernier, Matt Corrente, Stephen Gionta, Jay Leach and Vladimir Zharkov -- all did not dress. Additionally, defensemen Matt Taormina and Alexander Urbom were recalled by New Jersey earlier in the day.

Puck Drop
Wednesday’s game will be the second-to-last midweek game for the Devils this season. They travel to Worcester next Wednesday. This season, Albany is 5-6-0-0 during midweek outings.