ALBANY, NY — Goals from Ben Thomson, Reid Boucher and Joseph Blandisi lifted the Albany Devils to a 3-2 win against the Utica Comets Friday night at the Times Union Center in Game 1 of the Division Semifinal. The game was the sixth one-goal contest between the two teams this season.
The Devils held Utica without a shot in the second period. In his first career postseason appearance, Scott Wedgewood finished with 12 saves for his third consecutive win (4/13-4/22).
Boucher’s goal extended his goal and point streak to six games (7g-1a), while Jim O’Brien (1g-2a), Vojtech Mozik (4a) and Pavel Zacha (1g-3a) recorded a point for the third consecutive game, each contributing an assist. Mike Sislo, Nick Lappin and Matt Lorito each added a helper for the Devils.
Thomson redirected a Mozik point shot past Richard Bachman at 6:27 of the first to open the scoring. Boucher doubled the lead with a power-play goal at 4:27 of the second.
Darren Archibald pulled one back for Utica 27 seconds into the third, but Blandisi converted on a breakaway at 10:31, netting what proved to be the game winner. Jordan Subban scored the game’s final goal at 15:41 with a point shot through traffic.
• The Essentials
Shots: Albany 29, Utica 14
Power Play: Albany 1-5, Utica 0-2
Three Stars: 1. Reid Boucher (ALB), 2.Joseph Blandisi (ALB) 3. Ben Thomson (ALB)
• Next Up
The Devils host the Comets in Game 2 of the best-of-five series Saturday at 5 pm.
