Historic win for Trenton, Devils down Bombers 5-2

January 19, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Trenton Devils News Release


TRENTON, NJ (January 19, 2008) - History was made in front of the largest crowd at Sovereign Bank Arena this season, as Colin Pepperall became just the fourth skater in Trenton's nine-year existence-and first as a Devil-to score five points in a single game. Jim Henkel also scored four points in the Devils' best match of the year, a 5-2 win over the Dayton Bombers.

Pepperall's five points all came on assists, as the assistant captain set up each of the Devils' goals en route to the win. Henkel scored two goals, including the game-winner, and grabbed two assists as well.

A mid-season free-agent signing, Pepperall was also the last Trenton player to tally four points in a game, when he assisted on four goals in a 5-0 victory against Johnstown on Dec. 27. In 21 games, the forward has 24 points (5g, 19a), and is second on the team in assists.

The Devils started off with a Jay Pemberton goal 14:39 into the first period. After receiving a pass from Pepperall, Henkel found the defenseman standing alone in the middle of the slot. Pemberton took the feed and fired a volley home for a lead the Devils would never give up.

Stephen Wood picked up the first of his three points with a goal on the power play in the second frame. Pepperall played pivot, redirecting a pass from Ryan Gunderson at the top point to Wood from the bottom dot. Wood, set up at the top dot, sniped the puck past Dayton netminder Rejean Beauchemin for a 2-0 advantage.

After a Yannick Tifu tally made the score 2-1 going into the third, Henkel notched two quick goals to put the score out of reach. Assisted by Colin Pepperall and Ryan Gunderson on each mark, the assistant captain put the puck past the goal line via a wrister at 3:31 in and a backhander to the top-shelf at 7:20 in.

Pepperall concluded his historic night by setting up Wood with two minutes remaining in regulation. Stationed at the bottom point, the Niagara Falls, ON native took a pass from Henkel and threaded the puck along the blue-line to Wood, who fired another laser beam home.

All told, the Devils' assistant captains scored 12 points (4g, 8a) on the night. All-Star starter Ryan Gunderson would also notch three points on three assists.

Mathieu Brunelle, David Hoogsteen, and Pat Leahy are the other Trenton skaters with five-point games.

Dave Caruso earned the win by stopping 32 of 34 shots. With the victory, the Devils move within six points of Dayton for fourth place, and open up space between themselves and Johnstown and Wheeling for the last playoff spot in the North Division.

The Trenton Devils continue their homestand by hosting the Johnstown Chiefs at Sovereign Bank Arena Saturday, January 20 at 4:00pm. Tune into WBCB 1490 or go online to www.trentondevils.com and listen or watch live courtesy of B2 Networks.



ECHL Stories from January 19, 2008


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