After a playoff race that went right up to the end of the season, the Albany Devils’ first round, divisional semifinal has been set.
The A-Devils clinched their playoff spot about two weeks ago with a 46-20-8-2 record, finishing second in the North Division of the AHL. But their opposition came down to the wire to clinch their spot. They could have faced several teams, all of whom were still in the running to finish as the Devils’ opponents, but in the end it was the Utica Comets who came out on top. The Comets are the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks.
According to an article written on TheAlbanyDevils.com by Kevin Zalaznik, the series is previewed. Games one, two and a possible fifth game will be played at Albany’s Times Union Center. Games three and a possible fourth will be played at the Utica Auditorium. All games are at 7 PM except for games two and five, which will have a 5 PM puck drop. The series will take place from April 22 to April 30.
Albany won the season series 6-0-2-0 and Jim O’Brien had eleven points (seven goals and four assists) and Matt Lorito had seven points (three goals and four assists) to pace all Devils skaters against the Comets. The A-Devils goaltenders, Scott Wedgewood and Yann Danis both went 3-0-1 in the 2015-16 season against Utica.
The Utica Comets finished third in the North Division with a 38-26-8-4 record. PK Subban’s brother, Jordan, was the Comets’ leading scorer against Albany, scoring six points (one goal and five assists). In goal, Richard Bachman had a 2.77 goals against average and a .889 save percentage against the Devils while Joe Cannata had a 3.45 GAA and a .892 save percentage. All of this information came from the Zalaznik article.
Good luck to the Albany Devils as they begin their quest for the Calder Cup.
On the topic of the A-Devils, congratulations to Mike Sislo, who was named to the AHL’s Second All-Star team. This was voted on by the “coaches, players and media in each of the league’s 30 member clubs” according to another article by Zalaznik on the A-Devils’ official website.
Sislo played for the New Jersey Devils this season, 17 games, netting three goals and one assist for four points.