ALBANY, NY — Despite a pair of Jim O’Brien goals, the Albany Devils lost, 4-2, against the St. John’s IceCaps Friday. The setback was only the third in regulation for the Devils at Times Union Center this season.
Box Score | Highlights & Postgame Reaction
Albany moves to 23-10-6-0 overall and 15-3-2-0 at home, while St. John’s improved to 18-14-6-3, extending their point streak to three games (2-0-1-0).
O’Brien, who has five goals and three assists during his last seven AHL games, netted his eighth and ninth goals of the season. Between the pipes, Yann Danis made 13 saves and moved to 16-7-4 on the season.
St. John’s received goals from Morgan Ellis, Nikita Scherbak, Charles Hudon and Sven Andrighetto. Goaltender Zachary Fucale turned aside 25 shots for his 10th victory (10-8-3).
The IceCaps’ netminder was busy early as the Devils had the game’s first nine shots on goal. The sixth was the one that got them on the board first. Mike Sislo picked up a rebound off O’Brien’s wrist shot. The AHL All-Star circled the net and got the puck back to O’Brien, who fired a wrist shot into the upper left corner at 4:21.
Albany carried that lead into the first intermission, but Ellis tied the game at 3:20 of the second on a point shot through a screen.
O’Brien came right back, scoring on a breakaway 18 seconds later.
Twenty-two seconds after that Scherbak scored on a backhand attempt in the slot. Less than four minutes later, Hudon converted on a one-timer from the right faceoff dot while working a 5-on-3 power play at 7:48.
Albany’s lineup continued to evolve for the meeting between these North Division rivals. Before the game, Ben Johnson was reassigned by New Jersey from Adirondack and Seth Helgeson was recalled by the NHL Devils. Matt Lorito — the team’s leading scorer — missed the contest with a lower-body injury and Paul Thompson did not play because of the AHL’s veteran rule.
• The Essentials
Shots: Albany 26, St. John’s 17
Power Play: Albany 0-2, St. John’s 1-5
Three Stars: 1. Sven Andrighetto (STJ), 2. Zachary Fucale (STJ), 3. Jim O’Brien (ALB)
• Next Up
These two teams square off again Saturday at 2 pm. The first 1,500 fans to arrive will receive a Rod Pelley Bobblehead courtesy of Yankee Trails World Travel.
