Nailers Top Devils, 4-1, in Johnstown

October 24, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL)
Trenton Devils News Release


Johnstown, PA - Joey Haddad scored two goals and Andrew Lord added a goal and two assists as the Wheeling Nailers beat the Trenton Devils 4-1 at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, PA Saturday night.

Haddad opened up the scoring for Wheeling, giving the Nailers a 1-0 lead at 11:16 of the first period, just seconds after the home team finished killing off the final seconds of an Andrew Orpik cross-checking penalty. Haddad's first goal of the season came on the Nailers' third shot of the flurry after Devils' goalie Dave Caruso had stopped defenseman Dan Henningson's initial attempt, and forward Andrew Lord's second attempt never made it all the way through to the goal. But Haddad stuck with the play, gathering possession of the puck in the high slot, and beating Dave Caruso to make the score 1-0 in favor of Wheeling.

The score remained 1-0 until the final minute of the first when Jeff Prough knotted the score on the power play at 19:17. Just seconds before Prough's marker, defenseman Justin Pender had blazed a one-timer off the post. Prough, camped in front of Nailers' goaltender Mattias Modig the whole time, was in perfect position for a rebound, as the ricochet off the iron landed directly on his stick, giving him a golden opportunity which the Michigan native had no problem depositing for his second goal of the season.

The score didn't stay tied for long, as the Nailers' Andrew Lord made the score 2-1, with a power play tally just 1:33 into the second period. The Devils had been a man down when Kory Nagy was called for goaltender interference with 22 seconds remaining in the first period. The Nailers took advantage of the fortuitous call, with Lord's second goal of the season coming with just five seconds remaining in Nagy's questionable penalty. After Lord's goal, the Nailers carried the play for most of the second period, firing 16 shots at Caruso in the middle stanza, while the Devils managed just nine shots at Mattias Modig.

With the Devils trailing 2-1 entering the third period, Tony Zancanaro was flagged for a two minute, high-sticking penalty at 1:25. Although the Devils were able to kill off the infraction, Wheeling's Joey Haddad buried his second goal of the game just seconds after the penalty expired, to give the Nailers a 3-1 lead. Midway through the third period, the Devils had appeared to score a goal which would have cut the Nailers' lead back down to a single goal, but referee Keith Kaval waved off the goal, as forward J.S. Berube had directed the puck past Modig with his gloved hand.

With the score still 3-1, Doug Rogers put the game away, with an insurance marker at 11:55. Rogers beat Caruso on a breakaway, finishing off a nifty backhand-to-forehand move after alluding defenseman Justin Pender, who desperately tried to, but could not catch up to the former Harvard Crimson, whose goal was his first in professional hockey. Andrew Lord's assist on Rogers' goal was his third point of the game.

Mattias Modig was named the game's first star, getting his first win of the season in the nets, turning aside 29 of 30 shots. Dave Caruso took the loss, making 41 saves on 45 shots. The Devils and Nailers will be in action again when they face off at the WesBanco Arena in Wheeling on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop is set for 5:05 p.m.



ECHL Stories from October 24, 2010


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