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~