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Devils Work Through Road Stretch

February 11, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Trenton Devils News Release


TRENTON, NJ - The Trenton Devils hit the road for the first time in three weeks last weekend and fought close contests in three different cities. Trenton came from behind against Cincinnati to force a shootout in the Queen City and then lost narrow matches to Dayton and Johnstown. The Devils hope to reverse their luck this week, when they face three of the top five teams in the American Conference at home. The Devils are 18-25-1-4, and sit in sixth place in the North Division with 41 points.

SHOOTOUT ON THE OHIO: Trenton stayed with the best team in the North Division for 65 minutes on Friday, but saw two leads erased before the Cincinnati Cyclones won in a shootout 4-3. Joe Rooney scored in his first game back from Lowell (AHL) to tie the contest in the second period, setting up a wild third frame. The Devils took the lead twice in the final twenty minutes off the sticks of Andrew Leach and Eric Castonguay, but Cincinnati tallied two to pace Rick Kowalsky's squad and force a shootout. Dave Caruso and Dov Grumet-Morris were both strong, stopping nine of ten shooters in the contest. The lone goal, however, was scored by Jason Deitsch against Caruso, giving Cinci the extra point.

BOMBERS BLANK: The Devils squared off against Dayton with the possibility of inching closer to fourth place, but a 1-0 shutout by Rejean Beauchemin spoiled their hopes. Neither side was able to generate much offense throughout a contest which only saw 47 total shots. Ryan Smyth had the game-winner 8:54 into the second period, when he one-timed a pass from Grant Goeckner-Zoeller through Jason Smith's legs. Smith took the hard-luck loss, posting 26 saves on 27 shots. It was only the third time this season Trenton has been shut out.

CHOPPED BY THE CHIEFS: A pivotal matchup with the Johnstown Chiefs concluded the Devils' three-city tour. Unfortunately for Trenton, the Chiefs' punched past with two power play goals en route to a 3-1 win. Jason Paige netted his fifth goal of the season less than five minutes into the first period with a blast to the far side of the Johnstown net. Johnstown took control for the remainder of the game, however, and held off the Devils' six-on-five assault for three minutes to take the win.

QUICK HITS: Ryan Gunderson leads all ECHL defensemen in scoring with 36 points (4g, 32a)... Matt Radoslovich has assists in three of his past four games... Joe Rooney scored a goal in his first game back from Lowell (AHL) on 2/8 @ CIN... The Devils are 7-0-0-2 when scoring four or more goals... Trenton is 8-1-0-0 when leading after the first period... The Devils are 16-6-0-2 if they hold the lead at any time before the final result.

UPCOMING GAMES Tuesday, February 12, 7:00pm - Devils vs. Texas Wildcatters

Trenton hosts the best team in the ECHL on Tuesday, when the Texas Wildcatters (37-4-3-4; 81 points) come to the capital city. Texas is riding an eleven-game unbeaten streak, which pales in comparison to their feat from earlier this year. The Wildcatters shattered the ECHL record for consecutive games without a regulation loss by earning points in 24 straight games. Texas' John McNabb is second in the league in points at 58 (21g, 27a). Trenton counters with Ryan Gunderson, the Devils' all-star who leads all ECHL defensemen in scoring with 36 points (4g, 32a). The Devils have not faced Texas this year, but are 0-1-0 in the all-time set with the 'Catters.

Friday, February 15, 7:30pm - Devils vs. Cincinnati Cyclones

The Devils battle the Cyclones for the third time in three weeks on Friday. Trenton has held its own against the strongest team in the North Division. Last week the Devils dropped in the shootout to Cinci 4-3, following a last-minute loss the week before, 2-1. Jay Pemberton and the Devils hope to break through against Dov Grumet-Morris, who has gone 4-0-0 against Trenton this season. The Devils trail the Cyclones 1-5-0-1 this year, but lead the all-time series 13-10-2.

Saturday, February 16, 7:00pm - Devils vs. Gwinnett Gladiators

The Capital City sees its last non-North Division team this season when Gwinnett drives into Sovereign Bank Arena. The Gladiators have one of the best special teams squads in the league; Gwinnett is second in the ECHL on the power play with a 22.5% conversion rating and is third on the penalty kill with an 86.6% kill rate. The Devils will depend on the resurgent Jason Bonsignore and Matt Cohen, among others, to counter the odd-man threats. Trenton has yet to take on Gwinnett this year, and lost the sole contest the two teams have played against each other in their respective histories.

Practice/Game Schedule:

Tuesday, February 12 - Pre-game skate @ Sovereign Bank Arena - 10:00am

Game vs. Texas - 7:00pm

Wednesday, February 13 - Practice @ Sovereign Bank Arena - 10:30am

Thursday, February 14 - Practice @ Sovereign Bank Arena - 10:30am

Friday, February 15 - Pre-game skate @ Sovereign Bank Arena - 10:00am

Game vs. Cincinnati - 7:30pm

Saturday, February 16 - Pre-game skate @ Sovereign Bank Arena - 10:00am

Game vs. Dayton - 7:00pm

Sunday, February 17 - TBD

Monday, February 18 -

Game vs. Johnstown - 2:00pm

Travel to Elmira

ALONG THE BOARDS WITH CHRIS HUDSON: Along the Boards continues Wednesday, February 13th at 7:00pm. During the program the Voice of the Devils, Chris Hudson, brings listeners an in-depth view of the Trenton Devils with interviews of coaches and players while recapping the team's past games. This week Chris welcomes assistant coach Vince Williams and forward Joe Rooney to the show. Along the Boards is hosted at Alstarz Family Sports Pub in Bordentown, NJ (next to Mastori's) and can be heard live from 7:00 to 8:00pm on WBCB 1490 every Wednesday the team is not playing or traveling.

DEVILS GAME BROADCASTS: Tune in as the Voice of the Devils, Chris Hudson, brings you all of the Devils' hockey action live on WBCB-1490 AM Sunday through Thursday and WTSR-91.3 FM on Friday and Saturday. Fans can also watch or listen in on the Devils website, http://www.trentondevils.com, courtesy of B2 Networks. Video broadcasts are available for a charge of $6 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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