Devils head to Elmira after splitting first two games of Division Semifinals at home
April 13, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Trenton Devils News Release
TRENTON, N.J., -- The Trenton Devils started their run for the Kelly Cup last week by splitting a pair of games at home against the Elmira Jackals, which included the longest game in the ECHL's 21-year history. The Devils continue in the North Division Semifinals with a trip to Elmira for the next three games, with the potential to retain home-ice advantage for Game 6 on Sunday.
JACKALS TAKE MARATHON GAME 1: The longest game in Kelly Cup Playoff history came to end four minutes shy of midnight on Friday, as the Elmira Jackals battled to win in four overtimes over the Trenton Devils, 5-4. Josh Aspenlind put home the game-winner off a rebound from a Wes Cunningham shot 6:10 into the fourth overtime, which broke a nine-year league-record for the longest game in postseason history. The Devils and Jackals each made separate comebacks to force overtime. With the Devils trailing 3-1 in the second period, Trevor Kell cashed in off a deflection from an Eric Castonguay shot at 5:25 to put the Devils within one. Dan Eves tied the game for Trenton early in the third period with a breakaway tally as he skated through the slot and fired a shot past the stick side of Michael Teslak at 1:53. The Devils took their first lead of the game with 9:08 left in regulation when Tony Zancanaro fired a one-timer from the far circle to net his second of the game. Unfortunately for the Devils, the lead would not last, as the Jackals tied the game with the extra attacker, which occurred shortly after the apparent tying goal was waved off. Chris Korchinski deflected in a shot by Aspenlind with 58.4 seconds remaining to force sudden-death overtime. Although the Devils sustained pressure on the Jackals through the first three overtimes, the Jackals took control in the fourth to notch the deciding goal. Aspenlind would net the game-winner on Elmira's 70th shot of the night. Gerald Coleman made a team-record 65 saves for the Devils, while Teslak stopped all 44 shots in the overtime periods for Elmira.
DEVILS BOUNCE BACK IN GAME 2: Game 2 of the North Division Semifinals proved to be an offensive display as the Trenton Devils defeated the Elmira Jackals, 6-5, Saturday night. For the second night in a row, the Jackals scored the first goal of the game courtesy of Slavomir Tomko, who slapped the puck from the slot at 2:58 for his second goal of the playoffs. Tony Zancanaro continued his hot streak with a goal in his fourth straight game on a strange play, as his shot from the far circle bounced high in the air off of Elmira goaltender Riku Helenius' mask and into the net for his third goal of the postseason at 5:43. The Jackals regained the lead at the 15:24 mark with a power play goal by Chris Korchinski, who put in a rebound around the left pad of Gerald Coleman for his second of the series. Dan Eves followed up Friday night's spectacular goal with another terrific effort to tie the game, as he passed the puck off of Josh Aspenlind to himself at the far circle and fired a wrist shot over the right shoulder of Helenius at 17:26. The Devils scored early in the second period as Justin Coutu netted his first career playoff goal. The defenseman took a feed from Devils newcomer Nathan Perkovich and squeaked a shot between the legs of Helenius at 2:15. Mike Wilson extended the lead at 5:56 after taking a pretty feed from Eric Castonguay in the slot and blasting the puck over the glove of Helenius to make it 4-2. Elmira cut the deficit to one after a Steve Yetman's centering pass intended for Benoit Doucet caromed off the back of Wilson and into the net at 12:50. In the third period, the Devils increased their lead with two goals, as Trevor Kell deflected in a Ryan Gunderson shot on the power play at 2:06 and Matt Radoslovich scored on a wrap-around at 10:43 to make it 6-3. The Jackals would not quit however, as they scored twice in 1:14 to make it a one-goal game down the stretch. A costly penalty by Chaz Johnson limited the Jackals' late push, and the Devils were able to hold on to tie the series at one.
THEY PLAYED FOR HOW LONG? Game 1 of the North Division Semifinals entered into ECHL lore as just the second game in league history to go into four overtimes. The other ECHL game to go into quadruple overtime was played on May 5, 2000, as Greenville defeated Louisiana, 3-2, 1:25 into the fourth overtime. Surprisingly, the contest was not the latest in ECHL postseason history despite ending at 11:56 p.m. A 1991 Riley Cup Finals game ended at 1:25 a.m. after going through three overtimes and two power outages.
QUICK HITS: Thirteen Devils players made their playoff debuts last weekend...Nathan Perkovich became the first player in Trenton's ten-year history to make his debut in the Kelly Cup Playoffs...There had never been a double-overtime game at Sovereign Bank Arena until Friday's game.
NORTH DIVISION SEMIFINALS RUNDOWN
Game 1: Elmira 5 @ Trenton 4 (4OT)
Game 2: Elmira 5 @ Trenton 6
Game 3: Trenton @ Elmira, Wednesday, April 15 - 7:05 p.m.
Game 4: Trenton @ Elmira, Thursday, April 16 - 7:05 p.m.
Game 5: Trenton @ Elmira, Saturday, April 18 - 7:35 p.m.
*Game 6: Elmira @ Trenton, Sunday, April 19 - 6:00 p.m.
*Game 7: Elmira @ Trenton, Tuesday, April 21 - 7:00 p.m.
(*if necessary)
Practice/Game Schedule
(subject to change, please call PR Department at 609-599-9500 to confirm)
Tuesday, April 14 -- Practice at Sovereign Bank Arena, 10:00 a.m.
Travel to Elmira
Wednesday, April 15 -- Pre-game skate at First Arena, 11:15 a.m.
Game 3 @ Elmira -- 7:05 p.m.
Thursday, April 16 -- Pre-game skate at First Arena, 11:15 a.m.
Game 4 @ Elmira -- 7:05 p.m.
Friday, April 17 -- Practice at First Arena, TBD
Saturday, April 18 -- Pre-game skate at First Arena, 11:15 a.m.
Game 5 @ Elmira -- 7:35 p.m.
Return to Trenton
Sunday, April 19 -- Game 6 vs. Elmira -- 6:00 p.m. (if necessary)
Monday, April 20 -- Practice at Sovereign Bank Arena, 10:00 a.m.
DEVILS GAME BROADCASTS: Tune in as Paul Roper brings you all of the Devils' Kelly Cup Playoffs action live 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.
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- Tyler Biggs To Play For U.S. National Under-17 Development Team - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Devils head to Elmira after splitting first two games of Division Semifinals at home - Trenton Devils
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- Spang, Watt and Hamilton Arrive From AHL - Las Vegas Wranglers
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