Trenton 5, Johnstown 0

The Devils used a hat trick from an unlikely source - Brad Mills - as they opened up the flood gates on the Chiefs, winning 5-0 last night in front of 3,096 at the Sovereign Bank Arena.

Trenton looked like a completely different team than they have looked all year long as they excelled in every part of the game last night.  The passes were crisp and targeted, the fore and back checking was working, and they even managed to finish on the opportunities they were given by a Johnstown team that has not won in eight games, a streak stretching back to December 7.

Brad Mills opened the Trenton deluge at the end of the first period, with three seconds remaining when he flew out of the penalty box to intercept a Johnstown pass and wrist it over the left shoulder of Chiefs netminder Mike Brown.

Mills would pass off the scoring mantle for the next two goals in the second when both Stephen Wood and Jim Henkel converted on passes by Colin Pepperall at 6:45 and 11:54 respectively to put Trenton up three.  Henkel's goal came on a very nice give-and-go.

Mills would pick up the scoring again later with 2:53 remaining in the second when he took a pass from Eric Castonguay and chipped it in.  The hats would come flying from the stands at 10:51 of the third when Mills completed his first career hat trick with a wrister.  Pepperal and Henkel were credited with assists on the goal.

Overshadowed slightly by Mills' performance was another fine perfomance in net by Devils netminder Dave Caruso.  Caruso stopped all nineteen shots he faced en route to the victory.  Johnstown starter Mike Brown had a miserable night, stopping only twenty of twenty four shots before giving way to Ryan Nie in the third.  Nie stopped fifteen of sixteen shots.

Trenton will try and keep this momentum and their three game winning streak going tonight when they take on the Elmira Jackals at 7:30 at the Sovereign Bank Arena.

My Three Stars:
1) Brad Mills - Hat Trick.
2) Colin Pepperall - 4 Assists.
3) Dave Caruso - 19 Saves, Shutout.

~Titans Fan 25~

Royals 5, Devils 2

It was a game of scoring streaks as the Trenton Devils fell to the Reading Royals in front of 4, 652 at the Sovereign Center in Reading last night to give the Royals their first win over the Devils this season in four attempts.

It was the Royals who would jump on top first with the first three goals of the match, the first coming at 8:20 of the first when Marc Cavosie blew past a Trenton defender on the left side, faked a cut to the top of the crease before spinning around the back of the net and stuffing the puck home far side for his fifth goal of the season.  Reading's second goal would come on the powerplay at 14:45 of the first when Dany Roussin knocked home a rebound of a Patrik Hersley blast from the blue line.

The Royals weren't finished there as they continued their onslaught in the second period, when at the 17:18 mark, when Brock Hooton ripped a shot from the left circle that tricked through Caruso to give the Royals a 3-0 lead.

Only two minutes later, however, Royals center Malcolm MacMillian was sent to the box for tripping, and when his teammate Shawn Germain joined him half a minute later, it put the Devils on a 5-on-3 powerplay, on which they wasted no time getting back into the game when with four seconds left in the period, Eric Castonguay scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season when he ripped a shot through traffic in front of the net from the low point.  The Devils would score again, on another powerplay, at 6:12 of the third on Colin Pepperall's first goal of the year to climb back within one.

3-2 would be as far as Trenton would come, however, as the Royals put the game away in the second half of the third period when Marc Cavosie would score his second goal of the game, this one on the powerplay, to give the Royals a 4-2 lead.  Bracken Kearns would add an empty net goal at the end to give the Royals the 5-2 victory.

Newly-acquired Terry Denike stopped 26 of 28 shot to pick up the win for Reading, while Dave Caruso stopped 39 of 43 shots for the Devils loss.

My Three Stars:
1) Marc Cavosie (REA) - 2 Goals, 1 Assist.
2) Brett Hemingway (REA) - 2 Assists.
3) Brock Hooton (REA) - GW Goal.

~Titans Fan 25~

Jackals 5, Devils 4 (SO)

The Trenton Devils gave the Jackals all they could handle last night, but still fell short in a shootout loss before 3, 576 at First Arena in Elmira last night.

The Jackals jumped all over the Devils early with Trenton goalie Jason Smith continuing his pattern of giving up multi-goal games to individual players as Frank Littlejohn would score the first two goals of the game, the first only a minute and a half into the contest and the second coming on the powerplay at the 8:07 mark.  Littlejohn's powerplay marker would snap Trenton's penalty-kill streak at 17.  Brett Pilkington assisted on both goals.  Elmira would push the lead to 3-0 in the second when Benoit Doucet scored at the 6:04 mark, but the goal would only serve to spur the Devils on.

On a powerplay of their own, Matt Rogers would score his fourth goal in four games as he wristed a feed from Trevor
Kell and beat Elmira netminder Joel Martin to his left.  The Devils continued their momentum
into the third when at 3:39, Eric Castonguay took a pass from Colin Pepperall and blew past his defenceman before going top-right on Martin.

Elmira would score again to make to score 4-2 on Chaz Johnson's fourth goal of the season seven minutes later, but that would not deter the Devils comeback, as just sixty nine seconds later, Tony Zancanaro scored his fouth goal of the season, and then nearing the end of the game, with 55 seconds remaining, veteran Jim Henkel found the back of the net as he was falling to tie the game at four.  

After a scoreless overtime period, they went to a shootout which was not kind to the Devils.  Martin stopped all three Devils that faced him, while Jason Smith was only able to stop one of four Jackals.  The 3-0 shootout loss translated into the 5-4 game loss.

Joel Martin stopped 21 of 25 shots for Elmira to pick up the win, while Jason Smith stopped 32 of 36 shots for the loss.

My Three Stars:
1) Frank Littlejohn (ELM) - 2 Goals.
2) Brett Pilkington (ELM) - 2 Assists.
3) Pierre-Luc Faubert (ELM) - 2 Assists.

~Titans Fan 25~

Cyclones 4, Devils 3

The Trenton Devils got off to another good start last night at Sovereign Bank Arena, but failed to hold on to a 2-0 lead as they dropped another one to the Cincinnati Cylones 4-3 last night in Trenton.

After a scoreless first period, the Devils wasted no time in the second getting on the board, scoring two goals within half a minute of each other.  The first, at 4:18, was scored by Tony Zancanaro who broke into the zone with Trevor Kell and put a shot off the pads of Cyclones netminder Dov Grumet-Morris and in.  The second goal, just 25 seconds later, would come after Matt Rogers intercepted a Cyclones pass and streked in on Grumet-Morris and wristed the puck over his shoulder to give the Devils a 2-0 lead.

The party would end there, however, as the Cyclones came storming back later in the period.  At 11:36, Matt Syroczynski scored his fifth goal of the season to close the gap to 2-1 at the second intermission.

The third period was a nightmare for Devils fans as Thomas Beauregard would score two goals in the period, and Gerard Martin would net one bewteen the Beauregard goals to give the Cyclones a 4-2 lead.  Stephen Wood added what turned out to be a meaningless goal when he scored from the point with less than a minute to go in the game to set the final score at 4-3.

Dov Grumet-Morris stopped 21 of 24 shots for the win, while Dave Caruso stopped 39 of 43 shots to be saddled with the loss.  The Devils next take the ice Wednesday in Elmira.

My Three Stars:
1) Thomas Beauregard (CIN) - 2 Goals, 1 Assist.
2) Matt Syroczynski (CIN) - 1 Goal.
3) Dave Caruso (TRE) - 39 Saves.

~Titans Fan 25~

Trenton 3, Wheeling 1

It was like watching a different team last night at the Sovereign Bank Arena as the Trenton Devils played well in all aspects of the game to secure a 3-1 victory over the visiting Wheeling Nailers.  It was also their second straight victory over the Nailers and their third win in their last five games.

It would be Trenton who would jump out of the gates running with all three of their goals in the first period.  The first was defenceman Matt Cohen's first professional goal which occured at 6:30 when he scored from the point.  The second goal, at 11:06, came from a spectacular solo effort by old friend Mark Pandolfo, who carried the puck on his own through the offensive zone and wristing a shot past Wheeling goalie David Brown.  Jim Henkel was credited with an assist on the goal for winning the faceoff.  The third goal came at 17:11 when Eric Castonguay scored his team leading sixth goal from a feed off the stick of Joe Rooney.  The onslaught would chase Brown from between the pipes, as it was Martin Houle who came out to start the second.

Wheeling did manage one goal in the second frame when at 10:12 Vin Hellemeyer scored, and they did have several close calls later in the game when three pucks clanged off either the crossbar or the post, but all would stay out securing the 3-1 victory for the Devils.

Dave Caruso stopped 31 of 32 shots to pick up the win for the Devils, while David Brown could only stop six of nine shots en route to the loss for Wheeling.  Martin Houle played very well in relief of Brown, stopping all 29 shots he faced.

The Devils on the whole seemed energized by the additions of Mark Pandolfo and Colin Pepperall.  Here's hoping they can keep that energy level up tonight against the Cincinnati Cyclones.

My Three Stars:
1) Mark Pandolfo (TRE) - 1 Goal.
2) Joe Rooney (TRE) - 2 Assists.
3) Martin Houle (WHE) - 29 Saves on 29 Shots

~Titans Fan 25~

Trenton Makes Flurry Of Moves

The Trenton Devils made multiple roster changes this week, bringing in a few new players, while saying goodbye to some old ones.

The first player added was forward Colin Pepperall, who signed an ECHL contract on Wednesday. Pepperall is a 9-year ECHL veteran, who most recently played for the Stockton Thunder, where he compiled 11 goals and 13 assists over 16 games last season.  He was a fifth round draft pick of the New York Rangers back in 1996.

Trenton also received forward Mark Pandolfo from parent club Lowell.  Pandolfo will be familiar to Trenton fans as he spent most of last season with the club, scoring 19 goals and 15 assists over 65 games.  He had 2 goals in 8 games for Lowell this season.

To make room for Pepperall, Trenton released forward Beau McLaughlin, who had two goals and an assist in eight games.

The Trenton Devils put their new lineup on the ice tonight at the Sovereign Bank Arena against the Wheeling Nailers.

~Titans Fan 25~

Trenton 3, Wheeling 2 (SO)

The Devils used two third period goals to come from behind and not only snap their nine period goalless streak, but also pull out the victory over the visiting Wheeling Nailers last night in front of 2, 558 at Sovereign Bank Arena.

After yet another scoreless first period, the Nailers jumped out on top at only 27 seconds of the second when David Laliberte put one past Devils goalie Jason Smith.  The Nailers would add to the lead early in he third when Aaron Clarke netted his second goal of the season.

Unlike the last two games, however, the Devils would come storming back, scoring two goals within a minute.  The first goal, a powerplay goal was scored by Jay Pemberton, who took a Ryan Gunderson feed and slapped it past Wheeling goalie David Brown, who up until this point had played a spectacular game.  The second goal would be the first in a Trenton uniform for recently signed Matt Rogers, who made a nice individual effort.

The game would go into a shootout after a rather uneventful overtime period, where Smith would outshine Brown, stopping three Wheeling Nailers enroute to the victory.

My Three Stars:
1) Matt Rogers  (TRE) - 1 Goal + 1 Shootout Talley.
2) Jason Smith (TRE) - 30 Shots, 28 Saves (3 Saves in Shootout).
3) David Brown (WHE) - 52 Shots, 50 Saves.

~Titans Fan 25~

Trenton Recieves Tarkir From Lowell

The Trenton Devils recieved defenceman Zach Tarkir from Lowell today, hopefully to bolster their pitiful defence of late.  Tarkir was in his second season with the Lowell Devils and had four assists in ten games.  He appeared in only two games for Lowell last season after finishing his senior year at Northern Michigan University, where he had tallied seven goals and thirteen assists in 41 games.  He was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the 5th round of the 2003 entry draft.

To replace Tarkir on the roster, Lowell also recalled forward Pierre-Luc Leblond from Trenton.  In four games for Trenton this season, Leblond had recorded 1 assist and 38 penalty minutes.

~Titans Fan 25~

Inferno 3, Trenton 0

The Trenton Devils were brushed aside by the Columbia Inferno at Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton last night in a game in which the Devils surrender yer another multi-point game to an opposing player.

The game itself got off to a bad start when a lighting malfunction delayed the start about five minutes.  The Devil's must have never seen the lights eventually come on as it was all Inferno the whole game.  Tyler Doig got the scoring going at 13:50 of the first period when he fired the puck into the crease only to see it bounce off the skate of a Devil's defenceman and past Dave Caruso to give the Inferno the lead.  Doig would strike again with five minutes to play in the second when he went top-shelf omn Caruso to give his team a 2-0 lead.  For Doig, they were his first goals of the season.

Columbia would ice the game in the third, when at 14:10, Jeff Miles netted his 12th goal of the season to give the Inferno the 3-0 lead they would exit the ice with.

Despite the 3-0 loss, the worst part of the night for the Devils was the end, when after blowing an impending powerplay by putting too many men on the ice after Caruso had been pulled, it seemed as if the whole team quit the rest of the way out.  This is unacceptable, and if it continues, changes MUST be made.

Todd Ford stopped all 37 shots he faced to pick up the shutout and the win for the Inferno, while Dave Caruso stopped26 of 29 shots en route to the loss.  The Devils take the ice again this afternoon against the Wheeling Nailers at Sovereign Bank Arena.

My Three Stars:
1) Tyler Doig (COL) - 2 Goals, 1 Assist.
2) Todd Ford (COL) - 37 Shots, 37 Saves.
3) Jeff Miles (COL) - 1 Goal.

~Titans Fan 25~

Jackals 4, Devils 0

The Trenton Devils were shut out last night in Elmira as the Jackals defeated them 4-0 at First Arena in front of 3,837.

After a scoreless first period, Elmira wasted no time in the second, scoring just 1:34 in when Shawn Weller found Brett Pilkington at the top of the crease for Pilkington's third goal of the season. Then, on the powerplay with 3:11 to go in the period, Weller and Pilkington set up Bobby Robins, who knocked a rebound in past Devils netminder Dave Caruso for his team-leading seventh goal of the season to give the Jackals a 2-0 lead going into the third.

The Jackals weren't content to rest on their laurels, however, as they would talley two more in the third, the first coming on another powerplay at the 6:24 mark, when Weller scored from the slot, and the second coming at 9:26 when Jon Landry scored his second goal of the season, with assists from Pilkingon and Weller, both of whom had four-point nights.

Joel Martin saved 16 of 16 shots to pick up the win for Elmira, while Dave Caruso stopped only 35 of 39 shots for Trenton as he was saddled with the loss.  The 39 - 16 shot differential is something that head coach Rick Kowalsky will certainly have to address.  The Devils take the ice again tonight at Sovereign Bank Arena against the Columbia Inferno.

My Three Stars:
1) Brett Pilkington (ELM) - 1 Goal, 3 Assists.
2) Shawn Weller (ELM) - 1 Goal, 3 Assists.
3) Jon Landry (ELM) - 1 Goal, 1 Assist.

~Titans Fan 25~

Cyclones 5, Devils 1

The Devils dismal start to the season continued last night as they fell 5-1 to the hands of the Cincinnati Cyclones in front of only 1,009 at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati.

The Cyclones didn't waste any time getting out in front of the Devils, as Scott Reynolds fired a wrister past Devils goalie Dave Caruso only three minutes into the contest.  The Cyclones would add two more goals in the period by Matt Syroczynski and Billy Irish-Baker before Eric Castonguay took an outlet pass by Jay Pemberton across the blue line and scored what would be the Devils lone talley at 17:30 of the first.

The Cyclones would add tow more in the third, a short-handed goal by David Deshatnias and another even-strength goal by Jean-Michel Doaust to give them the 5-1 victory.

The Devils lace up the skates again tomorrow against the second place Reading Royals.

My Three Stars:
1) David Descharnais - 1 Goal, 1 Assist.
2) Cedrick Desjardins - 20 Shots, 19 Saves.
3) Conrad Martin - 2 Assists.

~Titans Fan 25~

Bombers 5, Devils 2

Netminder Jason Smith again gave up a five spot to the Dayton Bombers, although this time he spread the wealth, surrendering only one of the tallies to Chanse Fitzpatrick as the Trenton Devils fell to the Bombers at home 5-2 last night inside the rather chilly Sovereign Bank Arena.

Things had already gotten off to an ominous start when with only seven minutes gone in the game, enforcers Jason Goulet and Thomas Harrison already had racked up fourteen penalty minutes between them, with Harrison winning a meelee by the Devils bench.

It was shorly thereafter that Dayton would open the scoring on a powerplay goal that was initally credited to Fitzpatrick, but later awared to Chris Eade, who had floated a shot from the point which bounced off netminder Smith and into the back of the net.  The Devils would tie the game, however, near the end of the period when veteran Jim Henkel backhanded a beautiful Trevor kell cross ice pass through the five-hole of former Titan Rejean Beauchemin.

The rest of the way was all Dayton, as they would take the lead in the second and pull away in the third.  Taylor Christie gave them the lead at the 6:44 mark of the second, and Fitzpatrick would score the eventual game winner four and a half minutes later.  MikeWalsh and Matt Beaudoin would pad the lead in the third before Tony Zancanaro would score a lame-duck goal for the Devils with six minutes left in the game.

Just a moment for an editorial comment.  As long as Dave Caruso is still with the team, HE should be the starting goalie.  Smith can't play a lick.  I don't think the Devils would have won the game with Caruso in net, but it wouldn't have been a blowout.  At least two, maybe three of the Dayton goals you could pin squarely on the shoulders of Smith.  One bounced up and over his shoulder an another snuck in between his pads and the goalpost.  Inexcusable.

The Devils take the ice again for another in what is shaping up to be a looong season against the Cincinnati Cyclones at U.S. Bank Arena on Wednesday.

My Three Stars:
1) Chanse Fitzpatrick (DAY) - 1 Goal, 1 Assist.  (6 Goals total vs. Trenton this season.)
2) Rejean Beauchemin (DAY) - 28 Saves on 30 Shots.
3) Yannick Tifu (DAY) - 2 Assists.

~Titans Fan 25~

Devils 3, Condors 2

The devils halted their losing streak last night at Soveriegn Bank Arena with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Bakersfield Condors.

The Devils opened the scoring at the 9:02 mark of the first period when Joe Rooney backhanded a shot from the left circle that found the bottom right corner of the net.  Bakersfield would tie the game later in the period on a powerplay goal from Justin Chewedoruk.  Trento would regain the lead on their own powerplay, when with 14 seconds left in the period, Rooney scored his second goal of the game unassisted.

The Condors would tie the game again 39 seconds into the third period when Josh Sciba scored, before the Devils took the lead for good nine minutes later on Trevor Kell's second talley of the season from Henkel and Zancanaro.

My Three Stars:
1) Joe Rooney (TRE) - 2 Goals.
2) Dave Caruso (TRE) - 35 Saves.
3) Trevor Kell (TRE) - Game-winning Goal.

~Titans Fan 25~

Trenton Receives Caruso From Lowell, Loses Zimmerman

On Tuesday, the Lowell Devils sent opening-day starting netminder Dave Caruso back to Trenton, and recalled defenceman Sean Zimmerman.

Caruso had played in just one game for Lowell, losing a 5-2 game against the Albany River Rats. He recorded 30 saves on 35 shots in the contest.  He has also played two games in Trenton, going 1-1, saving 65 shots on 70 saves.

Zimmerman is no stranger to the AHL, having spent parts of the last two seasons in the league.  This year in Trenton, he had one assist and ten penalty minutes.

The Devils take the ice again tonight at seven at the Sovereign Bank Arena against the Bakersfield Condors.

~Titans Fan 25~

Bombers 5, Devils 1

The title of this post should really read Chanse Fitzpatrick 5, Devils 1, as Fitzpatrick rallied his team behind five third period goals to come from behind and defeat the Devils 5-1 last night at the Nutter Center in Dayton.

Things started out just fine for the Devils, who actually jumped out in front of this one on a Stephen Wood powerplay goal at 10:28 of the second period.  All was well for the rest of the period, but in the third was when Fitzpatrick took the game over.

Penalties again plagued the Devils as all but one of Fitzpatrick's markers came on the powerplay.  In addition, Yannick Tifu assisted on all five Fitzpatrick goals, the first coming at the fifty-two second mark when he backhanded the puck past Devils' netminder Jason Smith.  Fitzpatrick would take the lead at the 2:58 mark with his only even-strength goal of the tilt, with Tifu and Matt Beaudoin, who had three assists of his own with the helpers.

Fitzpatrick's final three goals would come during a 2:33 stretch during the final five minutes of the contest.  He would tally his third goal at 15:03 on a two-man advantage when Tifu found him all alone between the circles with a puck that Fitzpatrick fired through the five hole of Smith.  1:17 later, on the same powerplay, Fitzpatrick fired a slapshot near-post that found its way in.  His final tally of the night woud come at 17:34 when he tipped in a Greg Labenski slapshot past the right leg of Smith.

For Fitzpatrick, the five goals in one period is an ECHL record.  He also tied the record for most powerplay goals in a game, which was set by Matt Oates of the Columbus Chill in 1996.  He also tied a franchise record for most goals in a game, a record he now holds with Jamie Ling.

Rejean Beauchemin (1-1) picked up the win for the Bombers, with 27 saves on 28 shots, while Jason Smith (1-5) was saddled with the loss for Trenton, saving only 21 of 26 shots.  The Devils will return to the hopefully friendly confines of Sovereign Bank Arena on Thursday to battle the Bakersfield Condors.

My Three Stars:
1) Chanse Fitzpatrick (DAY) - 5 Goals.
2) Yannick Tifu (DAY) - 5 Assists.
3) Matt Beaudoin (DAY) - 3 Assists.

~Titans Fan 25~

Nailers 5, Devils 3

The goals came in bunches last night in a game that was marred by 15 penalties by the two teams combined as the Wheeling Nailers topped the Trenton Devils 5-3 at Westbanco Arena in West Virginia.

The Nailers jumped on the board first with two goals that came within thirty-six seconds of each other, the first scored by Kyle Rank at 2:35, and the second by Paul Bissonnette at 3:11 of the first period.  They weren't finished there, however, as on a five-on-three powerplay at twenty-five seconds of the second period, former Titan Ned Havern began what would be a big night for former Titans,  sent a loose puck in front of the net under the leg pad of goalie Jason Smith to give the Nailers a 3-0 lead.

The Devils would mount a comeback later in the period, however, beginning with Andrew Leach's powerplay goal at 10:19 that floated over Wheeling goalie and another former Titan Martin Houle.  Trevor Kell would add another powerplay goal at 17:58 of the second period to bring the Devils to within one.

The Devils would manage to tie the game early in the third period, when Beau McLaughlin scored his second goal of the season, going top corner on Houle at 5:46.  The Nailers would put a stop to the rally, however, later in the period with two powerplay goals of their own, the first scored by former Titan Seamus Young and the second by Kevin Croxton.

My Three Stars:
1) Seamus Young (WHE) - Game-winning goal.
2) Paul Bissonnette (WHE) - 1 Goal, 1 Assist.
3) Kevin Croxton (WHE) - 1 Goal, 1 Assist.

~Titans Fan 25~

Chiefs 3, Devils 2

The Johnstown Chiefs came from behind late in the third period to steal one from the Devils last night at Cambria County War Memorial Stadium last night 3-2.

The Chiefs struck early in this one, scoring only 1:29 into the game when Ryan Garlock backhanded in his first goal of the season.  The Devils would respond just three minutes later when Thomas Harrison won a battle in front of the net with Andrew Martin to tap the Matt Cohen rebound home to knot the score at one.

The score would remain that way until the third, when only 51 seconds into the period Jason Paige gave the Devils a 2-1 lead when he tapped home a Beau McLaughlin shot.  Johnstown would come back, however, scoring two goals later in the period within three mintes of each other, the first scored by Rob Drummond, and the second by the alliterative Kris Kasper.

My Three Stars:
1) Kris Kasper (JOH) - Game-winning Goal.
2) Alexandre Imbeault (JOH) - 2 Assists.
3) Rob Drummond (JOH) - 1 Goal.

~Titans Fan 25~

Devils Earn Split At Cincinnati

The Trenton Devils earned a split of their two game road trip to Cincinnati last night as they came from behind with two goals within 1:08 of each other in the third period to take the game 2-1.

The story began, however, Friday night, when with Jason Smith between the pipes due to another callup for Dave Caruso, the Devils fell to the Cyclones.  Things had looked good early for the Devils, as 2:53 into the game, Eric Castonguay netted his third goal of the season, with helpers from Trevor Kell and Jim Henkel to give Trenton a 1-0 lead.  Cincinnati would come back, with two concecutive goals by David Desharnais, one in the first and the other in the second.  Travis Fuller would tack on his third goal of the season at the 7:15 mark of the second period to give the Cyclones a 3-1 lead.

Jim Henkel wasn't about the let the Devils go down without a fight as he returned Desharnias' favor in the second with consecutive goals of his own at 8:55 and 12:15 of the period, the second goal a power play goal.

In the third, however, Cincinnati would prove too much for Trenton as they regained the lead only forty seconds into the period on a powerplay goal by Bryan Schmidt.  They would ice the game later when Thomas Beauregard scored with two and a half minutes to play to give the Cyclones the 5-3 victory.

My Three Stars
1) David Descharnais (CIN) - 2 Goals.
2) Bryan Schmidt (CIN) - Game-winning Goal.
3) Jim Henkel (TRE) - 2 Goals.

Last night was a completely different story as it was Cincinnati who jumped out to a lead, scoring with 28.7 seconds remaining in the first period when Conrad Martin stole the puck in the Devils' zone and moved ahead with Barret Ehgoetz on a two-on-one.  Ehgoetz would convert on a feed from Martin.

The game remained quite until the Devils exploded over a period of 1:08 in the third period.  First, Stephen Wood backhanded a rebound in front of the net on the powerplay at 15:09 to tie the game, and then, at 16:17, a Ryan Gunderson prayer from the boards was deflected off a Cyclones defender and in to give Gunderson his first pro goal and the Devils the 2-1 victory.

The Devils now sit at 2-3, in next to last place in the division.  Their next game is Wednesday at Johnstown.

My Three Stars:
1) Jason Smith (TRE) - 34 Shots, 33 Saves.
2) Tony Zancarano (TRE) - 2 Assists.
3) Stephen Wood (TRE) - 1 Goal.

~Titans Fan 25~

Devils fall to Elmira, Johnstown

The Devils dropped the final two games of their three-game opening weekend homestand, losing both games by 4-2 scores, to Elmira on Saturday night and to the Johnstown Chiefs on Sunday afternoon.  Both games saw the wildly inconsistant play that plagued the Devils at times even during thier opening night victory over the Reading Royals.

The Elmira game got off to a bad start even before it began with the news that opening night star goalie Dave Caruso had been recalled to Lowell.  Backup netminder Jason Smith would get the nod, and the difference between the two was apparant almost immediately.

The Jackals opened the scoring when at 10:31 of the first period when Kevin Ulanski sent a Martin Sagat centering pass into the back of the net.  The Jackals would later take a 2-0 lead in the same period when on the powerplay, Pierre-Lue Faubert scored his first professional goal on a Benoit Doucet pass from the right circle that Faubert slammed home from the edge of the crease.  The powerplay goal was scored at 3:02 of the first.

The Devils would come storming back, however, in the second period when at the 18:38 mark, Joe Rooney and Brad Mills cycled the puck around to Eric Castonguay, who netted his first professional goal to draw the Devils back to 2-1, a score they would tie in the third period, when on the powerplay, Joe Rooney scored his second goal in as many nights at the 3:31 mark.

The Rooney goal seemed only to spur Elmira on, however, as they would take the lead again for good a the 14:55 mark on a powerplay of their own when a Bobby Robins wrist shot found its way past Jason Smith.  Scott May would add an empty netter to seal the deal at 4-2.

Sunday wasn't much better, especially after the news that Caruso had been sent back and would be starting the game, but his ability in net wouldn't make up for the neutral zone lapses that would cripple the Devils.

The visitors would once again open the scoring, although this time it didn't take the Chiefs long at all to grab an early lead, as with only 1:21 gone in the game Alexandre Imbeault won an offensive zone draw back to Mike Knight and then deflected Knight's shot past Dave Caruso to put Johnstown up 1-0.  The Devils would not go down 2-0 in this one, however, whrn at the 11:43 mark of the first, when Jason Paige found a Joe Rooney rebound in front of the net and stuffed it home for his first professional goal and a 1-1 tie.

Johnstown would answer back a few minutes later on the powerplay when off a Rob Drummond faceoff win, Jean Desrochers found a soft spot through Caruso's five hole to give the Chiefs a 2-1 lead.  The Devils would again tie the game on the powerplay at 16:17 of the third period when Eric Castonguay deflected a Joe Rooney wrister into the net.

The wheels would then quickly come off for the Devils, as Mark Tobin would score a shorthanded marker off a turnover in the neutral zone a few minutes later.  Alexandre Imbeault would add his second goal of the game, and empty netter with 19 seconds left to set the final score at 4-2.

If the Devils continue playing the way they did this weekend, its going to be a long season at the Soveriegn Bank Arena.

My Elmira game three stars:
1) Bobby Robins (ELM) - Gamewinning goal.
2) Benoit Doucet (ELM) - 2 Assists.
3) Joe Rooney (TRE) - 1 Goal, 1 Assist.

My Johnstown game three stars:
1) Mark Tobin (JOH) - Gamewinning goal.
2) Alexandre Imbeault - 2 Goals.
3) Joe Rooney (TRE) - 2 Assists.

~Titans Fan 25~

DEVILS 3, Royals 2

On a team loaded with rookies, it was the vetarans who earned their money by displaying the leadership this team will need if they are to succeed last night as the Devils topped the Royals in he season opener at Sovereign Bank Arena last night 3-2.

The Devils goal of 5,000 in the seats for the opener fell about a thousand short, and even that figure was boosted by Reading Royal fans who covered almost the entire lower level by their offensive zone, but the Devils fans who were in attendance watched the franchise rise to a 7-2 all-time mark in season openers behind a clutch performance by rookie goaltender Dave Caruso, who stopped 46 of 48 shots, and at times took the game over with his glove.

The scoring was opened at the 6:20 mark of the first period when rookie Joe Rooney blasted a shot from the right circle that found its home in the top left corner of the net to give the Devils a 1-0 lead, a lead that would be expanded some six minutes later when veteran Jim "The Hammer" Henkel took a Jay Pemberton offering and slammed it home up high.

Reading hung tough, however, and cut the lead in half with four minutes to intermission when Dany Roussin found a rare rebound and floated it over the shoulder of Caruso.  They would then tie the score at two when Malcolm MacMillian, having just finished serving a penalty, stepped in behind the Devils defence, and converted on a breakaway try at 7:37 of the second period, a period in which the Devils looked a bit lax, not displaying the grit and tenacity on display during the first and third periods.

The winning goal for the Devils would come on the power play at 5:18 of the third period when veteran Stephen Wood (welcome back) knocked a free puck through the pipes during a scrum in front of the net to set the score at 3-2.

Special teams were a mixed bag for the Devils, as the penalty kill went a perfect 6-for-6, but the power play looked weak, going 1-for-5.

My Three Stars:

1) Dave Caruso (TRE) - 48 Shots, 46 Saves.
2) Stephen Wood (TRE) - Game-winning goal.
3) Patrick Jarrett (REA) - 2 Assists.

~Titans Fan 25~