Posted by Gayle Simone, Sun Staff
After stopping all 11 shots he faced in the third period against the New York Islanders in the preseason match-up Wednesday night, goaltender Frank Doyle has been placed on waivers by the New Jersey Devils.
The former Maine University goalie had a 20-24-4 record in 49 games last season for Lowell.
Also placed on waivers are defensemen Ian Moran and Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre; forwards Grant Marshall, Noah Clarke and Ryan Murphy. If any of the players clear waivers they will be assigned to Lowell.
Some familiar faces are returning to Lowell for the upcoming AHL season: goaltender Jordan Parise, Mark Fraser, Olli Malmivaara, Jason Ryznar, Barry Tallackson, Stephen Gionta and Petr Vrana.
Andy Greene, Niklas Bergfors, David Clarkson, Rod Pelley and Mike Mottau are all fighting for spots with the parent club.
Lowell is action tonight at the Tsongas for their preseason opener against Bridgeport.
The regular season for the AHL club gets underway on on Oct. 6 when the team travels to Portland to face off against the Pirates.
The Devils host Bridgeport in their home opener on Oct. 13.
Are you happy to see some familiar players returning to Lowell? What are your thoughts on Doyle? Did his play last season warrant him being placed on waivers?
Comments (5)
I wasn't very impressed by Doyle last year. I saw him about the same number of times I saw Parise and I think Parise is the much better prospect. Plus Doyle is getting a little longer in the tooth and they already have Kevin Weekes in NJ to back up Brodeur. No way Doyle was going to beat out Weekes so for him it would be better if a team claims him, I think. A sub-.500 record for a team that didn't let up a whole lot of shots is just not good enough...
The guy that I bet doesn't pass through waivers is Clarke. He's a perfect AHL player so some team will scoop him up and you'll probably never see him play in Lowell.
I see Lowell looking a lot like last year's team- they will stay in just about every game due to their defense but they just won't score enough goals to win on nights their goaltender has an off night. They'll probably hover in the #3-5 spot in their division all year - maybe make the playoffs but not be in the mix with the top teams in the division like Manchester. If they really want to put fans in the building they need to be good enough to beat that team- I don't see it this year- maybe if they keep Clarke they can at least compete with them but I fear the Monarchs have the combination of good, solid veterans (all over the team and in goal) with enough good, young players to fill in the rest of the team...
Posted by dboisver | September 29, 2007 7:49 PM
Posted on September 29, 2007 19:49
It's GRRRRRREAT to see them all on the ice again!
As for the waivers, everybody cleared. It's just standard operating procedure, an NHL team has to put its veteran players on waivers before sending them to the minors.
Posted by Terri | September 30, 2007 1:07 PM
Posted on September 30, 2007 13:07
Gayle I know you dont want to hear this but this is RedSox Nation. Sorry it is NOT Hockey town. Someday I feel confident there will be much buzz about the Black N Gold and hockey in general but now is that that time.
Posted by Shappy | October 4, 2007 1:08 AM
Posted on October 4, 2007 01:08
Shappy - no need to make apologies ... I know hockey is almost off the radar in New England - but I am a true hockey fan and make no apologies for it.
Posted by Lady Bruins Fan | October 4, 2007 1:13 PM
Posted on October 4, 2007 13:13
Lady Bruins Fan well Gayle this has been Fun chatting back and forth about Hockey and Sports with you. I dont mind going to watch Hockey in person once in a while. In fact when the Worcester IceCats first became a Team my wife and used to go a lot and thats how and when she learned a lot about the sport. Like most New Englanders I grew up the RedSox and like you and Hockey well thats me and the RedSox. Enjoy your Hockey...
Posted by Shappy | October 4, 2007 11:56 PM
Posted on October 4, 2007 23:56