Devils top Bears in AC

by Kevin Zalaznik // 2.24.2013 // Recap

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ -- Five Albany Devils registered multiple point games, including Matt Anderson and Phil DeSimone, who each had three points, in a 6-4 victory against the Hershey Bears Sunday at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. Anderson posted a goal and two assists, while DeSimone registered a season-high three helpers.

Mike Sislo and Joe Whitney both chipped in two goals and Steve Zalewski had a pair of assists. Mike Hoeffel was Albany’s other goal scorer and Keith Kinkaid made 22 saves for his 17th victory of the season, equaling his total from last year.

Hershey received a pair of goals and an assist from Casey Wellman and markers from Ryan Potulny and Ryan Stoa. In goal, Philipp Grubauer, who was coming off a 40-save, shutout performance Saturday, made 24 saves on 30 attempts.

Albany jumped out to a three-goal lead with first period tallies from Hoeffel at 9:55 and Whitney at 12:54. Sislo began the second with a breakaway goal only nine seconds into the period. The Bears answered with Potulny’s power-play tally 44 seconds later and Wellman’s goal at 6:43. Before the intermission, Whitney struck again this time on the power-play at 18:41.

In the third, Sislo extended Albany’s lead to 5-2 at 3:35 before Wellman pulled the Bears back within two at 4:35. Stoa made the score to 5-4 with a man-advantage tally at 7:24. Anderson sealed the win for the Devils at 13:07 of the third with his second goal of the game.

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Game Notes 
- Albany’s six goals tied a season high, which was also accomplished on Dec. 12 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

- Matt Anderson and Phil DeSimone both extended their scoring streaks to three games. Anderson, who leads the team with 34 points (11g-21a), has a goal and five assists during the span, while DeSimone has a goal and five helpers.

- With his fourth two-goal game of the year, Whitney has four goals in two games and five points in four contests. He is tied for second on the team with 31 points and tied for first with 16 goals.

- Mike Sislo registered his fifth and sixth goals and extended his scoring streak to three games (4g-1a). Since Jan. 13, he has posted five goals and seven assists.

- Steve Zalewski’s two-assist night ties him for second on the team with 31 points (10g-21a). He is riding a four-game point streak with three goal and two assists.

- With his first goal since Oct. 24 against Connecticut, Mike Hoeffel registered his third goal of the season and 10th of his career. He now has seven points on the year.

- Before the game, the New Jersey Devils placed Ryan Carter on injury reserve, retroactive to Feb. 18. Additionally, they recalled Jacob Josefson from Albany and reassigned Harry Young to Albany from Trenton (ECHL).

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Lineup 
Goaltenders: Keith Kinkaid, Jeff Frazee
Defensemen: Brandon Burlon, Eric Gelinas, Raman Hrabarenka, Dan Kelly, Corbin McPherson, Alexander Urbom
Forwards: Matt Anderson, Phil DeSimone, Mike Hoeffel, Cam Janssen, Chris McKelvie, Harri Pesonen, Tim Sestito, Mike Sislo, Joe Whitney, Chad Wiseman, Darcy Zajac, Steve Zalewski

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Next Up
The Devils travel to face the Syracuse Crunch Friday at 7:30 pm. Fans can follow the action on 104.5 “The Team” ESPN Radio or online at ahllive.com.

Hershey Bears 4 at Albany Devils 6 - Status: Final
Sunday, February 24, 2013 - Boardwalk Hall

Hershey 0 2 2 - 4
Albany 2 2 2 - 6

1st Period-1, Albany, Hoeffel 3 (Zajac), 9:55. 2, Albany, Whitney 15 (DeSimone, Anderson), 12:54. Penalties-Sislo Alb (slashing), 10:25.

2nd Period-3, Albany, Sislo 5 (McPherson, Zalewski), 0:09. 4, Hershey, Potulny 10 (DiSalvatore, McNeill), 0:53 (PP). 5, Hershey, Wellman 9 (LeBlanc), 6:43. 6, Albany, Whitney 16 (DeSimone, Anderson), 18:41 (PP). Penalties-Anderson Alb (hooking), 0:42; Pope Her (fighting), 2:12; Janssen Alb (fighting), 2:12; Sislo Alb (delay of game), 3:42; Brouillette Her (tripping), 14:28; Oleksy Her (delay of game), 17:23.

3rd Period-7, Albany, Sislo 6 (Zalewski, Pesonen), 3:35. 8, Hershey, Wellman 10 (Kane, Potulny), 4:35. 9, Hershey, Stoa 10 (Wellman, Taffe), 7:24 (PP). 10, Albany, Anderson 11 (Gelinas, DeSimone), 13:07. Penalties-Burlon Alb (cross-checking), 5:40; Gelinas Alb (cross-checking), 14:23.

Shots on Goal-Hershey 6-6-14-26. Albany 8-11-11-30.
Power Play Opportunities-Hershey 2 / 5; Albany 1 / 2.
Goalies-Hershey, Grubauer 6-4-1 (30 shots-24 saves). Albany, Kinkaid 17-11-5 (26 shots-22 saves).
A-3,999
Referees-Mark Lemelin (41), Graham Skilliter (48).
Linesmen-Matt McNulty (26), Luke Murray (92).

by Kevin Zalaznik // 2.24.2013 // Preview

Follow the Action
Online: ahllive.com
Twitter: @albanydevils, @albanydevilspr, #adevils

Storyline
During the fourth and final game of their set at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, the Albany Devils host the Hershey Bears. Both teams are coming off wins last night. Albany defeated Binghamton, 5-3, and Hershey knocked off Adirondack, 3-0.

Notables
- The Devils are third in the Northeast Division and 11th in the Eastern Conference at 21-19-1-9 (52 pts.), including an 8-10-0-5 home mark. The Bears are fourth in the East Division and seventh in the conference at 25-20-3-5 (58 pts.) with a 13-7-0-3 road record.

- With a pair of goals last night, Joe Whitney is the Devils active leader with 14 goals. In 40 contests, he has 29 points and a team-leading plus-13 rating. For his career, Whitney has 74 points with 29 goals and 45 helpers.

- Phil DeSimone, who had a goal and an assist against Binghamton, has five points in his last five games. For the year, he has 10 points, including six goals and four assists, in 21 outings.

- Hershey’s Philipp Grubauer earned his first career shutout with 4- saves against Adirondack. He has appeared in 11 games, going 6-3-1 with a 1.73 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage.

- Jeff Taffe and Jon DiSalvatore lead the Bears with 46 and 34 points, respectively. Taffe has 12 goals and a team-best 34 assists, while DiSalvatore has a club-high 14 goals to go with 20 helpers.

Last Meeting
Dec. 29, 2012: Albany 3 at Hershey 2
Keith Kinkaid made 34 saves in the Devils 3-2 win against the Bears at Giant Center. Bobby Butler and Harri Pesonen each registered a goal and an assist and Jacob Josefson posted a pair of helpers. The trio had a hand in the game-winning goal, which came at 11:58 of the third period. Tim Sestito also scored for the Devils, while Jon DiSalvatore and Zach Hamill scored for the Bears. The Devils, who have only won one other time at Giant Center, were outshot, 36-29. Both teams went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

All-time Series 
All-Time: 5-14-0-1
Home: 3-6-0-0
Away: 2-8-0-1
2012-13: 1-1-0-0

Puck Drop
Two of the Devils three games at Boardwalk Hall have ended in a shootout. They dropped games against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Nov. 25 and against Adirondack on Jan. 20.