Whale get a boost from Wolski, Woywitka; snap skid in 3-2 win over rival Devils
Still in search of their first victory in 2012, the Connecticut Whale hosted Northeast Division rival, Albany Devils at the XL Center tonight. With two of three roster additions in tonight’s line-up, the Whale entered the game in good shape.
The game’s first goal came quick, and it was provided off the stick of Devils defenseman Eric Gelinas at 1:39 of the opening frame. It was Gelinas’ eighth goal of the season, and assists were credited to Darcy Zajac and Stephane Veilleux.
Just 80 seconds later, the Whale tied the game on a goal by Kris Newbury, his 16th of the season. Newbury received a cross-zone pass from 2012 AHL All-Star Mats Zuccarello, and tapped the puck past Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid to tie the score at 1-1.
Then, at 18:30 of the period, the Whale scored a power-play goal to take a 2-1 lead. Rookie All-Star Jonathan Audy-Marchessault scored the goal—his 16th of the year—from behind the Devils goal line. Defenseman Brendan Bell shoveled the lead pass to Audy-Marchessault, and was credited with his second assist of the period. Andre Deveaux also received a helper on the goal.
Connecticut killed its only penalty-against in the period, and outshot the Devils 9-5 after 20 minutes.
After killing off an early second period penalty, the Whale received its third power-play chance of the game, and took advantage of it with a goal at 16:13. The goal was scored off of a give-and-go passing play between Zuccarello and Wojtek Wolski, and the result was Wolski’s first tally as a Whale forward. Jeff Woywitka was credited with an assist on the goal, giving him his first point as a Whale defenseman. Both Wolski and Woywitka joined the Whale on Thursday after agreeing to a conditioning stint (two weeks).
Connecticut faced a late penalty-kill in the second period, and after killing it off they took a 3-1 lead into the final frame. The Whale led in shots for the period, 11-6.
The Devils cut the Whale’ lead to 3-2 at 5:21 into the third period, when rookie forward Joe Whitney scored his 12th goal of the season off of a rebound in Chad Johnson’s crease. Zajac and Veilleux recorded the assists on the goal.
Albany pressured the Whale throughout the period, and led in shots 11-4. The Devils earned a late power-play after Francois Bouchard was called for high-sticking at 17:40. Newbury, Zuccarello, Bell, and Woywitka were on the ice for most of the penalty-kill, successfully eliminating Albany’s fourth chance of the game.
And for the first time in 2012, the Whale was victorious, defeating Albany 3-2.
Final Score: Whale 3, Devils 2
Post-game notes
.Newbury and Ryan Bourque were the Whale’ leading shot-getters for the tilt, both tied with four. Six other Whale skaters were tied with two shots, including Wolski and Woywitka.
.Wolski, Newbury, Zuccarello, and Bell were all plus-1’s for the game.
.the Whale power-play went 2-for-3, and the penalty-killing was 4-for-4.
.despite allowing two odd goals, Johnson played solid late in the game and stopped 20 shots in his first win of 2012, and 11th of the season.
.this win propels the Whale back into the top-8 of the Eastern Conference, but they remain a win out of first in the Northeast Division.
.the three stars of the game were: 1. Newbury (1-0-1, plus-1, four shots in the win), 2. Zuccarello (0-2-2, plus-1 in the win), 3. Wolski (1-0-1, two shots, plus-1, game-winning goal in the win)
Next game
The Whale returns to action tomorrow night when they travel to Hershey, PA, to take on the Bears at 7pm (ET).
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