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~