By Brian Ring
Hartford, CT, December 27, 2011 – The Connecticut Whale defeated the Albany Devils, 3-2, Tuesday night before a crowd of 7,123 at the XL Center in Hartford. The Whale received two goals from Andre Deveaux, as he earned first-star honors, while Kris Newbury scored and added two assists for Connecticut.
The Whale had leapt out to a 3-0 lead by the middle of the second period, and held on to beat the Devils for the second time this season. Eric Gelinas scored and added an assist for Albany.
The win enabled the Whale (18-9-1-3, 40 pts.) to move seven points ahead of Devils for first place in the Northeast Division standings.
“It was an all-around good effort by everyone tonight,” said Whale goaltender Cam Talbot. “A great effort by our big guys.”
The Whale took the early lead on the power-play at 2:20 of the first, as Deveaux tipped a Jonathan Audy-Marchessault pass past Albany goaltender Keith Kinkaid (23 saves). Audy-Marchessault sent a hard feed across the slot to the waiting Deveaux, who redirected the puck around the left pad of Kinkaid. Newbury also assisted on the goal.
Newbury would extend the Whale lead to 2-0 with just 54 seconds remaining in the first, as his wrist shot from the slot beat Kinkaid. Aaron Voros’ shot had deflected off the glass to Newbury in the high slot, allowing him to corral the puck and bury his tenth of the season.
Deveaux would push the Connecticut lead to 3-0 with his second goal of the night at 6:08 of the second period, again on the power-play. The set-up was nearly the same as Deveaux’s first, as Newbury fed Audy-Marchessault, whose shot was redirected through Kinkaid.
Albany’s power-play took over later in the period, as Gelinas’ blast from the right point beat Talbot (34 saves) to get the Devils on the board at 8:19. Brandon Burlon and Steve Zalewski assisted on the goal.
The Devils struck again on the power-play at 16:52, as Albany benefited from an extended five-on-three situation. Stephane Veilleux tipped a Gelinas shot past Talbot to get Albany within 3-2.
Talbot helped the Whale to preserve their 3-2 lead and withstood Devils’ pressure throughout the night, in a game in which Connecticut was outshot by a 36-26 margin.
“We were able to maintain our lead and we got our win tonight,” said Whale head coach Ken Gernander.
After a visit to Worcester on Friday, the Whale return to home-ice action on New Year’s Eve, this Saturday, December 31, taking on Springfield. That game has a special holiday start time of 5:00, and all upper-level tickets are discounted to $5 each. Also, in celebration of New Year’s Eve, the Hartford Parking Authority is offering free parking at the Morgan Street garage and $2 parking at both the Church Street and MAT garages.
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Albany Devils 2 at Connecticut Whale 3
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Albany 0 2 0 – 2
Connecticut 2 1 0 – 3
1st Period-1, Connecticut, Deveaux 9 (Audy-Marchessault, Newbury), 2:20 (PP). 2, Connecticut, Newbury 10 (Voros), 19:06. Penalties-Gelinas Alb (interference), 1:52; Harrold Alb (elbowing), 10:52; Corrente Alb (roughing), 13:11; Thuresson Ct (roughing), 13:11.
2nd Period-3, Connecticut, Deveaux 10 (Audy-Marchessault, Newbury), 6:08 (PP). 4, Albany, Gelinas 5 (Burlon, Zalewski), 8:19 (PP). 5, Albany, Veilleux 4 (Gelinas, Anderson), 16:52 (PP). Penalties-Mills Alb (tripping), 5:09; Baldwin Ct (hooking), 6:35; Owens Ct (major – boarding), 13:17; Nightingale Ct (cross-checking, unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:49.
3rd Period- No Scoring. Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-Albany 12-11-14-37. Connecticut 6-8-13-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Albany 2 / 4; Connecticut 2 / 3.
Goalies-Albany, Kinkaid 8-8-0 (27 shots-24 saves). Connecticut, Talbot 8-5-0 (37 shots-35 saves).
A-7,123
Referees-T.J. Luxmore (47), Geno Binda (22).
Linesmen-Kevin Redding (16), Jim Briggs (83).
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