LOWELL, Mass. – The Lowell Devils got all of the offense they needed in the first period as they held on to defeat the Portland Pirates, 2-1, on Wednesday at the Tsongas Arena.
Jon DiSalvatore extended his point streak to six games at 7:13 of the first period with the contest’s first goal. While both teams on a change, Nicklas Bergfors skated the puck into Portland zone and drew in the defense before finding DiSalvatore uncovered coming off the bench. DiSalvatore broke in alone before putting a shot top shelf on Jhonas Enroth for his 15th marker of the season.
The Devils upped their lead to 2-0 later in the period with the help of DiSalvatore on the power play. This time it was DiSalvatore wristing a shot from the point that Patrick Davis deflected to the right side of the net with 3:02 left until the first intermission.
The Pirates made things interesting when they got onto the board with 7:37 remaining in regulation. A turnover in their own zone left the Devils scrambling and the Pirates’ Derek Whitmore alone on the near post to put back a rebound over the outstretched glove of Jeff Frazee.
Lowell would hold on for the win as Frazee claimed 15th win of the season with 33 saves on the night.
The Devils travel to face the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday, January 23 at 7:00 p.m. Lowell is back home on Saturday, January 24 to battle the Worcester Sharks at 7:00 p.m. Listen to game live at 980AM-WCAP or online at ahllive.com. For more information about individual tickets and group packages for Devils homes games, call (978) 458-PUCK (7825) or log on to www.lowelldevilshockey.com.