Garden State Skater Agostino Helps Defeat Devils

Former Yale University and current Calgary Flames forward Kenny Agostino, who hails from Flanders, N.J., drew a penalty last night in his return to his home state that led to the game-winning goal in Calgary’s 1-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark. 

Agostino was in on a breakaway against Devils goaltender Corey Schneider (Boston College) early in the third period when he was slashed by defenseman Jon Merrill (Michigan). Schneider made the save on Agostino's point-blank shot, but the Flames picked up a power play and broke through in the dying seconds of the man advantage on a blast from the right point by  Mark Giordano for the game's only goal.

Agostino netted his first career NHL goal in his fifth game, the game-opener in a 2-1 win at Florida on April 4. He wristed home a loose puck against Panthers netminder Roberto Luongo at 1:34 of the second period to help the Flames to a 2-1 victory. It was also the first NHL point for the 5-foot-11, 195-pound forward.

Agostino, who led the Delbarton School to three straight New Jersey non-public school state championships from 2008 to 2010, won an NCAA national title with Yale last season. He made his NHL debut in the Flames 6-5 loss to Nashville on March 21, not long after Yale was eliminated from the ECAC Tournament by Quinnipiac. The Bulldogs did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament this year, for just the second time in the last six seasons

Originally drafted by Pittsburgh (5th round, 2010), Agostino saw his rights dealt to Calgary in March 2013 in the Jarome Iginla trade. In four campaigns at Yale, Agostino registered 56 goals and 76 assists for 132 points in 134 games. He had career highs of 17-24—41 points in 37 contests a year ago, including two goals and two assists in four NCAA Tournament games, as the Bulldogs defeated Minnesota, North Dakota, UMass Lowell and Quinnipiac to claim the Yale’s first national hockey crown.

Calgary (34-38-7), which has already been eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention, hosts the Los Angeles Kings tomorrow night.