Devils Leave West Virginia On A High Note, Win 5-1
March 2, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Trenton Devils News Release
WHEELING, WV (March 2, 2008) - The Devils could get used to their new goaltending situation. One night after Jason Smith held Wheeling scoreless through 58 minutes, Maxime Ouellet kept the Nailers down for 53, as Trenton skated to a 5-1 rout.
Ouellet made 31 saves on 32 shots, and was beat only by a three-on-one rush following a Devils' power play. The first round draft pick made several high-quality saves and earned his first ECHL career win.
Brad Mills earned the top star of the game with his hot start out of the gates. The Devils' center broke through for two goals in the first four minutes of action, on identical picture-perfect plays.
The Alberta native raced along the right wing boards then fooled his defender by pulling the puck from the right side to the left, shouldering by into the slot. A pair of snappers into the top shelf past Curtis Darling's glove gave Trenton its first and second goals.
Darling would regain his composure for the remainder of the first period and most of the second. But the Devils went back to work for the last seven minutes of the middle frame.
Bill LeClerc earned his second goal of the season with a powerful shot from the high slot, blasting the puck through traffic and past Darling 13:42 in.
The Devils then went into the second intermission on a rush, as Jim Henkel bounced a puck up and over Darling's left pads with ten seconds to go. The puck barely made it past the goal line, but it was enough for Trenton to take a 4-0 lead.
Trenton was not finished in the third frame, however, as Tony Zancanaro broke away with a pass from Joe Rooney. Just minutes after being foiled on a similar play, the Providence alum did not miss his second-chance, wristing a high ringer into the top right shelf.
Aaron Clarke was responsible for breaking up Ouellet's shutout, scoring unassisted with 6:18 left in the game.
Trenton's victory keeps it apace with the Johnstown Chiefs for the fifth and final playoff spot in the North Division. Johnstown defeated Elmira earlier in the night, and remains nine points ahead of Trenton with 15 games left to play. The Devils and Chiefs will square off two more times.
The Trenton Devils head home to Sovereign Bank Arena for a big weekend set, kicking things off with a bout against the Dayton Bombers Friday, March 7 at 7:30pm. Tune into WTSR 91.3 or go online to www.trentondevils.com and listen or watch live courtesy of B2 Networks.
ECHL Stories from March 2, 2008
- Falcons Rally Past Grizzlies in Shootout - Fresno Falcons
- Quick Start Leads to 5-1 Win for Devils - Wheeling Nailers
- Grizzlies End Road Trip with Loss to Fresno, 4-3 - Utah Grizzlies
- Everblades Weekly - Florida Everblades
- Wildcatters Power Through Gwinnett for Third Win in Three Days - Texas Wildcatters
- Sea Wolves Maul Checkers 7-1 To Take Rubber Game Of Series - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Devils Leave West Virginia On A High Note, Win 5-1 - Trenton Devils
- Everblades End Ice Pilots Streak, Blanking Pensacola 3-0 - Pensacola Ice Pilots
- Royals Drop Bombers, 3-1 - Reading Royals
- Checkers Smashed By Sea Wolves, Lose 7-1 - Charlotte Checkers
- Nastiuk blanks Ice Pilots 3-0; Blades clinch playoff spot - Florida Everblades
- Bombers Fall Late to Royals In Hard-Fought North Division Rivalry - Dayton Bombers
- One goal enough for Stingrays in shutout of Lynx - Augusta Lynx
- Chiefs Confound Jackals - Johnstown Chiefs
- Johnson, Stingrays Stifle Lynx 1-0 - South Carolina Stingrays
- Gladiators Fall to Wildcatters 3-1 - Atlanta Gladiators
- Chiefs Too Much For Jackals 6-2 - Elmira Jackals
- RoadRunners Soar Over Aces 5-1 - Phoenix RoadRunners
- 'Runners roll past Aces 5-1 - Alaska Aces
- Falcons Sign Rookie Defenseman John Curley - Fresno Falcons
- ECHL Transactions - ECHL
- Chiefs thank fans - Johnstown Chiefs
- Stingrays Salute Heroes as Team Hosts Lynx at 4pm - South Carolina Stingrays
- ECHL Today - ECHL
- Jackals Lose One, Add Two For Sunday Meeting With Johnstown - Elmira Jackals
- Thunder vanquishes Cincinnati's league-record 17-game win streak - Stockton Thunder
- Cyclones Winning Streak Ends at 17 Games - Cincinnati Cyclones
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
