Devils have a perfect week, head out to Ohio for a trio of games

Published on January 5, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Trenton Devils News Release


TRENTON, N.J, -- The Trenton Devils had a terrific week by winning four games in five nights against the Elmira Jackals, Johnstown Chiefs, and Dayton Bombers. The Devils will embark on a three-game road swing to Ohio this weekend with two games against the Cincinnati Cyclones and another against the Bombers.

DEVILS STORM JACKALS: Gerald Coleman had a successful return from injury with 17 saves as the Trenton Devils scored two on the power play to defeat the Elmira Jackals, 4-1, at Sovereign Bank Arena Tuesday night. The Devils struck first as Jeff Prough won the faceoff and passed it to Rob Page, who sent the puck to Matt Radoslovich at the half-wall. Radoslovich flicked in a shot that squirmed past David Shantz at 5:45, his fourth goal of the season. Dylan Quaile would get his second tally of the season after starting an odd-man rush into the Elmira zone. Quaile backhanded a shot from the right side of the net and picked up his own rebound, wrapping it around the net and off of Shantz for the goal. The Jackals would get on the board at the 12:58 mark as Benoit Doucet fired a wrist shot from the slot over the right shoulder of Coleman. In the second period, the Devils scored a late power play goal as Brad Snetsinger took a long pass from Ryan Gunderson at the Elmira blue line and sneaked in a shot past Shantz from the slot for his second goal of the season at 19:37. The Devils completed the scoring as Tony Zancanaro deflected in a Dave Leaderer slap shot from the blue line on the power play with 4:20 left in the game. The Devils finished the game by going 2-for-9 with the man advantage. Coleman stopped 17 shots in his return from the injured reserve, and earned his first win at home for the Devils. The Devils outshot the Jackals, 28-18. The 18 shots were the fewest allowed by the Devils this season.

DEVILS END YEAR WITH OT WIN OVER CHIEFS: The Trenton Devils closed out 2008 with a bang, as Dave Leaderer scored a game-winner with 15 seconds left in overtime to salvage a 5-4 win over the Johnstown Chiefs Wednesday evening. Leaderer went coast-to-coast and weaved into the high slot, where he fired a wrist shot past Kris Mayotte for the game-winner. Trenton is now 4-2-1 on New Year's Eve. After a scoreless first period, the Devils started a frenetic second with an early goal as Brad Snetsinger stuffed in his third of the season 53 seconds into the frame. The Devils would take advantage of a delayed penalty at 9:07 when Jeff Prough fired a wrist shot from a sharp angle at the right circle past Mayotte, his seventh goal of the season. ECHL All-Star Matt Cohen kept the ball rolling on the power play, as he took a Trevor Kell feed at the left circle and shot a one-timer past Mayotte for his fourth of the year at 15:43. Prough would add his second of the game 16 seconds later, as he rifled a one-timer pass from Matt Radoslovich to make it a 4-0 Trenton lead. The Chiefs would crawl back into the game with two goals to finish off the second period, including a shorthanded goal by Trevor Hendrikx that made it 4-2 with 14 seconds remaining. The Chiefs would tie the game up with two late goals in regulation, as Jarrett Konkle and Ryan Del Monte scored 1:43 apart to force overtime. The extra period would set up the heroics for Leaderer, who scored the first game-winner of his pro career. Jim Henkel and Radoslovich each had two assists for Trenton. The Devils doubled the Chiefs in shots, 48-24.

DEVILS DIFFUSE DAYTON: The Trenton Devils came from behind in the third period for the first time this season, defeating the Dayton Bombers, 3-2, at Sovereign Bank Arena Friday night. The goals for the Devils came 2:55 apart across the second and third periods, with Jim Henkel scoring the eventual game-winner at 2:06 of the third. Despite starting the second period with a barrage of shots on Dayton goalie Paul Drew, the Devils would fall behind on a pair of goals 1:22 apart by Mike McLean and Christian Gaudet. Tony Zancanaro had an opportunity to put the Devils on the board with a penalty shot at 15:53 of the second, but could not convert. The Devils would strike late in the period as Eric Castonguay whipped around the net into the slot and fired a shot into the top shelf of the net for his 10th goal of the season with 44.8 seconds left in the frame. The momentum from the late second period goal carried over into the third, as Jeff Prough tied the game 1:18 into the stanza. Prough deked past Mike McLean into the left circle, where he roofed a shot past Drew to tie the game up on the power play. Henkel become the hero 48 seconds later, as Trevor Kell took a Bombers turnover from behind the net and passed it in front to Henkel, who put in the deciding tally. Gerald Coleman earned his fourth win in five starts for Trenton with 19 saves, while the Devils went 1-for-3 on the power play. Kell and Ryan Gunderson each had two assists for Trenton.

DEVILS ROUT BOMBERS: The Trenton Devils scored a team-record six goals in the second period to help them rout the Dayton Bombers, 8-2, at Sovereign Bank Arena Saturday night. The win gave the Devils a .500 record for the first time this season at 14-14-1-2. The Devils entered the second with a 2-1 lead and started the period right out of the gate with a shorthanded goal, as Jim Henkel took a Trevor Kell feed and slammed the puck in for his ninth goal of the season just 28 seconds in. At 4:08 of the second, Dave Leaderer fired a slap shot that deflected off the glove of Dayton goalie Paul Drew and into the net. The goal was Leaderer's fifth of the season. Leaderer added another at 6:26 by banking in a one-timer pass in the slot from Jeremy Akeson, giving the Devils a 5-1 lead and Leaderer the first two-goal game of his career. Rob Page kept the party going for Trenton 54 seconds later with a knuckler from the blue line that eluded Drew, marking the first tally of Page's professional career. The Devils ended their run with their seventh straight goal at 9:04, as Tony Zancanaro crashed the net and forced in a rebound past Drew for his second of the year, making it 7-1. Mike McLean gave the Bombers a brief respite with his 13th of the season at 10:41, but the Devils regained their six-goal lead on the power play as Brad Snetsinger banged in a rebound from the right circle for his fourth of the season at 17:10, completing Trenton's record-breaking period and 8-2 score. The eight goals were the most by Trenton since they scored nine against the Bombers on November 11, 2006. Gerald Coleman made 41 saves for the Devils, a season-high for a Trenton goaltender. Prough was named the first star with a goal and two assists, while four other players had two point nights for the Devils.

HEY NOW, YOU'RE AN ALL STAR: The ECHL announced last Wednesday that Trenton Devils defenseman Matt Cohen was selected to the ECHL All-Star Game in Reading, PA. A native of New York City, Cohen is in his second full season with the Trenton Devils. Cohen is second among Devils defensemen with 17 points (4g, 13a) in 23 games. He leads the Devils with a +4 rating.

POWERFUL STUFF: The Devils' power play unit has scored in each of their last 12 games, and has risen towards the top of the ECHL. The Devils are currently third in the ECHL on the power play at 21.8% (37-for-170), behind Florida and Wheeling. At home, the Devils are second in the ECHL with the man advantage at 22.5% (20-for-89), behind Wheeling. In their last 12 games, the Devils are 27.6% (16-for-58) on the power play.

QUICK HITS: The Devils are 11-3-1-1 in their last 16 games...Trenton is 4-0-0-0 whenever Ryan Gunderson has a multi-point game...Jeff Prough has a four-game point-scoring streak (4g, 3a).

UPCOMING GAMES

Friday, January 9, 7:30 p.m. -- Devils @ Cincinnati Cyclones

Saturday, January 10, 7:30 p.m. -- Devils @ Cincinnati Cyclones

The Devils travel to Ohio to play back-to-back games against the Cincinnati Cyclones. The Cyclones have won both games of the season series and stand in fourth place of the ECHL's American Conference North Division as of press time, six points ahead of the Devils. Trenton will have four games in hand on Cincinnati coming into Friday's contest, and these could prove to be a pivotal four points for the Devils as they try to reach playoff position at the halfway mark of the season. Mark Van Guilder leads the Cyclones with five points (2g, 3a) against the Devils this season.

Sunday, January 11, 5:00 p.m. -- Devils @ Dayton Bombers

The Devils visit Dayton for the first time this season Sunday afternoon to take on the Bombers. The season series is tied at 2-2-0-0 after the Devils swept the Bombers last weekend. Jeff Prough leads the Devils with four points (2g, 2a) in two games against the Bombers, who are in third place of the ECHL's American Conference North Division.

Practice/Game Schedule: (subject to change)

Tuesday, January 6 -- Practice at Sovereign Bank Arena, 10:00 a.m.

Wednesday, January 7 -- Practice at Sovereign Bank Arena, 10:00 a.m.

Travel to Cincinnati

Thursday, January 8 -- Practice TBD

Friday, January 9 -- Pre-game skate at U.S. Bank Arena, 11:15 a.m.

Game @ Cincinnati -- 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 10 -- Pre-game skate at U.S. Bank Arena, 11:15 a.m.

Game @ Cincinnati -- 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, January 11 -- Game @ Dayton -- 5:00 p.m.

DEVILS GAME BROADCASTS: Tune in as Paul Roper brings you all of the Devils' hockey action live Saturday and Sunday on www.trentondevils.com, courtesy of B2 Networks. Video broadcasts are available for a charge of $7 per game, while audiocasts are free of charge. A cable or DSL Internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 are required to view the games.

Along the Boards returns this week! Join Paul Roper with his special guest, Devils goaltender Charlie Effinger, live from the Lawrence Grill at the Quaker Bridge Mall in Lawrenceville, NJ. Fans are invited to come out to the show, which starts at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January, 7. The show is streamed online at the Devils' official website, www.trentondevils.com, courtesy of B2 Networks.

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ECHL Stories from January 5, 2009


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