Frazee, Devils stop Crunch

by Kevin Zalaznik // 3.1.2013 // Recap

SYRACUSE, NY – Jeff Frazee kept the game scoreless during the first 49 minutes and then the Albany Devils offense took over. Chris McKelvie and Darcy Zajac scored within 62 seconds of each other, helping Albany to a 3-1 victory against the Syracuse Crunch Friday at War Memorial at OnCenter.

The Devils victory gives them three consecutive wins, while halting the Crunch’s eight-game winning streak.

Frazee, who has three 35-plus save wins in his last four starts, made 14 saves in the first, 12 in the second and 11 in the third. He left his mark by stopping Ondrej Palat on a breakaway midway through the second and robbing Brett Connolly down low before the end of the period.

In the third, McKelvie cashed in on an Alexander Urbom rebound at 9:04 and Darcy Zajac followed by taking advantage of a Syracuse miscue at 10:06.

Connolly pulled the Crunch within one at 17:45, but Zajac capped his two-goal night with an empty netter at 19:14.

Game Notes 
- Jeff Frazee’s 37 saves tied for his second best performance of the season. He made 42 saves at St. John’s on Nov. 17 and 37 stops at Binghamton on Feb. 10 – both wins. He is now 6-9-4 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.

- Darcy Zajac scored two goals in a game for the second time in his career. The other came at St. John’s on Nov. 17. This year, he has seven goals and six assists for 13 points and a plus-5 rating.

- Chris McKelvie netted his third goal of the season.

- Tim Sestito, who played for New Jersey last night at Winnipeg, was returned on loan to Albany earlier in the day. He centered Chad Wiseman and Chris McKelvie.

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

Next Up 
The Devils three-in-three road trip continues tomorrow with a 7:05 pm start against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Mohegan Sun Arena. Fans can follow the action on 104.5 “The Team” ESPN Radio or online at ahllive.com.

Albany Devils 3 at Syracuse Crunch 1 - Status: Final
Friday, March 1, 2013 - Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter

Albany 0 0 3 - 3
Syracuse 0 0 1 - 1

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-served by Pesonen Alb (bench minor - too many men), 0:37; Oberg Syr (cross-checking), 14:55.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-DeSimone Alb (slashing), 8:24; Zajac Alb (boarding), 17:50.

3rd Period-1, Albany, McKelvie 3 (Urbom, Wiseman), 9:04. 2, Albany, Zajac 6 (Janssen, Hoeffel), 10:06. 3, Syracuse, Connolly 23 (Johnson), 17:45. 4, Albany, Zajac 7 (Janssen), 19:14 (EN). Penalties-Gudas Syr (boarding), 13:55.

Shots on Goal-Albany 5-6-15-26. Syracuse 14-12-12-38.
Power Play Opportunities-Albany 0 / 2; Syracuse 0 / 3.
Goalies-Albany, Frazee 7-9-4 (38 shots-37 saves). Syracuse, Desjardins 11-15-2 (25 shots-23 saves).
A-5,415
Referees-Chris Cozzan (18), Nic Leduc (12).
Linesmen-Fraser McIntyre (94), Brian Lemon (25).

by Kevin Zalaznik // 3.1.2013 // Preview

Follow the Action
Radio: 104.5 “The Team” ESPN Radio
Online: ahllive.com
Twitter: @albanydevils, @albanydevilspr, #adevils

Storyline 
The Albany Devils last loss came against the Syracuse Crunch on Feb. 18. Since then the Devils claimed back-to-back wins at the Binghamton Senators Saturday and against the Hershey Bears Sunday. In the last 11 trips to the War Memorial at OnCenter, the Devils have gone 7-3-0-1, including a 4-3 victory during their last visit on Feb. 9.

Notables 
- The Devils are third in the Northeast Division and tied for 10th in the Eastern Conference at 22-19-1-9 (54 pts.), including a 13-9-1-3 road record. The Crunch are first in the East Division and the conference at 34-14-2-4 (74 pts.) with a 13-8-2-2 home mark.

- Leading scorer Matt Anderson is two points away from reaching 200 career AHL points. In 324 career games, he has registered 74 goals and 124 assists. This season, he has appeared in 49 outings, producing 11 goals and 23 assists.

- With Keith Kinkaid’s recall to New Jersey to fill in for Martin Brodeur (sore back), Jeff Frazee and Maxime Clermont are now the Devils goaltending duo. Frazee is 5-9-4 with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. Clermont, who hasn’t played an AHL games this season, has posted a 5-10-3 record, featuring a 3.25 goals-against average and a.901 save percentage, with Elmira (ECHL).

- The Crunch are on an eight game winning streak and are coming off a 4-1 win at Rochester Tuesday. Ondrej Palat netted a hat trick during that game and Cedrick Desjardins made 26 saves on 27 shots.

- Tyler Johnson leads Syracuse with 53 points, backed by a team-high 28 goals to go with 25 assists. Brett Connolly is second with 49 points, including 22 goals and 27 helpers.

Last Meeting 
Feb. 18, 2013: Albany 3 vs. Syracuse 5 
The Devils suffered a 5-3 setback against the Crunch at Times Union Center. Steve Zalewski had a goal and an assist. Mike Sislo chipped in a goal and Jacob Josefson scored in his return to Albany. Alexander Urbom had a pair of assists and Keith Kinkaid made 20 saves on 24 tries.

For Syracuse, which extended its winning streak to four games, Tyler Johnson netted a hat trick and Dana Tyrell and Brett Connolly added goals. Between the pipes, Cedrick Desjardins stopped 23 shots on 26 attempts for his eighth win of the season and first with the Crunch.

All-time Series 
All-Time: 9-13-1-2
Home: 2-10-1-1
Away: 7-3-0-1
2012-13: 1-4-0-0

Puck Drop 
Fans can follow the action on 104.5 “The Team” ESPN Radio or online at ahllive.com