Game 5: Wheeling @ Trenton

Pre-Game Notes (LIVE from SBA): 3:45 PM — It’s my civic duty to cover this game, you know.  Why?  Because someone needs to document that it actually happened.  As I’m sure you all know, today is Game 1 of the World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees.  As such, absolutely, positively nobody is going to be here.

So my coverage may very well be some of the only documentation you ever see on this game that’s set to take place at 7 PM.  I will say this…if you don’t have tickets to the game tonight — and if you do, you sure as hell aren’t reading this — this might not be a bad place to come and watch the game.  You’ve got a live sporting event in front of you, and TV’s that will — if anyone in the place has any sense — be tuned to baseball.

News?  I have no news.  I’ve been the only person in this press box for a half hour now.  Don’t know who’s in net for either team…although, the goalie nerd in me is excited that either Jordan Parise or Adam Berkhoel will play for Wheeling.  I’ve seen Berkhoel and Parise back up in the AHL, but I’ve never seen either play.

Adam Berkhoel (Photo: Ashmore, 2008)

And I’d have to assume that Gerald Coleman will get the game tonight for Trenton, but I may not know that until warmups start at around 6:25 or so.

4:50 PM — If Wheeling sticks with their goalie rotation, you may see Jordan Parise tonight for the Nailers.  As Wheeling’s radio broadcaster pointed out, it would be an interesting story considering his Devils ties.  Thomas Harrison is here, active and will play as well.

5:45 PM — Jordan Parise in net for Wheeling tonight.

5:50 PM — There’s a 15-piece or so band behind the goal.  They’re loud.  Makes for easy working conditions here between that and the music blaring for no one inparticular.

5:55 PM — Gerald Coleman will wear his familiar #39.  John Wessbecker, whenever he recovers from his mystery injury, will wear #33.

6:00 PM — Dave Caruso in net for Trenton.

Around The ECHL:

Around The Division:

Live Box Score: Click here for the ECHL.com updated boxscore from tonight’s game.

Radio Broadcast: Click here to listen to Dan D’Uva’s radio broadcast of tonight’s game.

First Period: Wheeling’s starters…

Parise
Caffaro Schmidt
Clarke Norton Pierro-Zabotel

Trenton starters…

(The prematurely announced) Caruso
Cohen Leaderer
Kell Nagy Akeson

17:00 left — Closest thing I’ve seen to a scoring chance or shot on goal is an Aaron Clarke shot that went wide to Caruso’s glove side…not too much going on here early.

15:15 left — Have seen a couple shifts out of Wilson now…skates hard, seems to have a lot of speed.  Haven’t really seen him with the puck yet.

14:45 left — Soft goal on Parise, as Kyle Kucharski beats him through the legs with a wrister that  never left the ice off the rush up the right side.  1-0, Devils.

14:17 left — Wheeling ties it right back up.  Both shots in this game have gone in.  Clarke gets the goal…he’s a very, very nice player at this level.  1-1.

11:28 left — A lot of dump and glide hockey being played right now.  Still only two total shots recorded in this one.

9:23 left — It’s playing like four on four out there now.  Lots of end to end play and rushes.  Each team with two shots as we head into the “TV timeout.”  1-1 game still.

8:57 left — Pretty wild series of events there, as the puck must have been either sitting around the crease or in the air near it for a good 15 seconds.  But Caruso covers and slows it down…

8:40 left — Dan Eves skated right around Alex Grant for a nice 2-on-1, but the T-Devils couldn’t convert…

8:07 left — The first power play of the game goes to the Nailers, as Jeremy Akeson gets called for a slash.

6:21 left — The Nailers scored and they deserved it.  Grant fired a slapshot from about three feet inside the blueline from the center of the ice and it snuck in past Caruso on a tip by T.J. Fox.  2-1, Nailers.

3:53 left — Wilson with a nifty little backhand pass to Jeff Prough…Prough’s initial shot is blocked, but he follows it and appears to score.  However, the net seemed to clearly come off before the puck went in…that, and Prough was called with a slash.  Wow.  Power play to Wheeling.  Having seen the replay, it must have been very hard for Prough to slash anyone considering he was cross-checked from behind into the net.

3:05 left — Wheeling’s power play…very smooth.  They really control the perimeter well.

2:38 left — 5-on-3.  Dan Eves with a trip.

2:14 left — Long 5-on-3 now.  Dave Leaderer with a slash.

2-1, NAILERS AFTER ONE.  GREAT JOB BY TRENTON AND DAVE CARUSO TO KILL OFF MOST OF THE EXTENDED POWER PLAY THERE, BUT THERE’S STILL SEVEN SECONDS LEFT TO GO IN THE MAN ADVANTAGE HEADING INTO THE SECOND.

Second Period: Shots are 14-6, Nailers, heading into the second…

20:00 left — A bit of a delay to start the period.  The ice always looks a little too wet after the mites games inbetween periods seem to run long, and I imagine that’s what’s going on here. 

19:30 left — After consulting with both goalies, the refs start the period.  Casey Pierro-Zabotel, after an icing was inexplicably waved off, juuuuuuuust missed the top right corner on a rebound attempt.

18:05 left — I guess it goes without saying with the amount of people that are here, but there is NO energy in this place tonight whatsoever.

15:40 left — Nice deflection by Wilson there, but he almost slowed it down too much, and Parise was able to get his right pad on it.

14:59 left — Nice save by Caruso there, as he wasn’t fooled by Thomas Beauregard’s wrister through the D’s legs.

14:47 left — Well, that got nasty quickly.  Stoesz and Harrison drop the gloves, as do Eves and Schnell.  Looked like Trenton iced the puck and Stoesz laid a late hit on the Nailer who touched up…it sounded as though one of the refs may have waved off the icing at the last second, either that or someone was telling Stoesz to ease up, but who knows.  Either way, full scale mess here.  Everyone drops the gloves.  Stoesz gets an additional minor for boarding.  Both Eves and Schnell get game misconducts, likely for a secondary fight after the first was over.  Stoesz…quite possibly the least disciplined player I’ve seen here.  He costs his team yet again.  Good fighter and all, but he plays over the edge way too often.

9:15 left — Wilson does a nice job of shielding the puck on his backhand and firing off a shot up the right side on a rush…save Parise, his eighth of the evening.

8:35 left — And Wheeling may have put this one out of reach with their third goal.  Beauregard gets the goal, assisted by Fox and Clarke.

8:34 left — Justin Coutu tries to spark something by dropping the gloves with Cliff Loya.  Not much of a fight, but he did it the right way.

7:38 left — Kucharski was in on the doorstep, but his shot was blocked and went into the netting…

7:33 left — Rick Kowalsky upset with a non-call on what seemed like an interference penalty…you could hear him from up here, and see him make a gesture at the ref wondering where the call was.

7:09 left — Rick got his call.  Wheeling’s shorthanded after Kevin Schmidt takes a minor.  Can Trenton’s power play — 1 for 25 on the year — get it done?

6:42 left — They can!  On a series of broken plays, really, Tim Kunes collects a missed pass and fires it past Parise to make it a 3-2 game.  It wasn’t clear if the puck hit something on it’s way in, but it seemed to fool Parise a bit.  3-2, Nailers.

5:43 left — So much for that momentum.  Andy Thomas in the box for holding behind the net.

5:36 left — It’s evened up, as Fox gets called for a hold of his own.

5:00 left — Jeff Prough cut across the crease on his backhand and got a shot off, but really had no angle and Parise made the easy stop.

3:52 left — Corey Couturier beats Caruso through his right side with a little wrister off the rush.  4-2, Nailers.  This team just cannot maintain any momentum.

2:49 left — Mike Harder looking a little sluggish at the end of the period…he had a chance to make a nice head man pass up the left side and instead carried it in for what ended up being a turnover.

1:02 left — Well, it’s a shooting gallery on Caruso.  Wheeling gets another one, and it’s 5-2.  Beauregard strikes again.

5-2, NAILERS AFTER TWO.  22-12 LEAD IN SHOTS FOR THEM AS WELL.  DEVILS LOOKING ABSOLUTELY FLAT.

Third Period: Shots “adjusted” to 22-16 for Wheeling after two.  Was on the radio with Dan D’Uva for about five minutes inbetween periods there.

20:00 left — Gerald Coleman will start the third in goal for Trenton.  Caruso is on the bench. Coleman gets a nice round of applause before the period.

Also, Trevor Kell has been credited with the second Devils goal.

17:54 left — Power play for Trenton.  Alex Grant’s in the box for Wheeling.

15:57 left — Matt Cohen with a hard wrister from inside the blue line that beats Parise glove side, top corner.  It’s now 5-3, Nailers.  Lots of time left.  Must have been through a screen or something, because that seemed like one he might like to have back, too.  Two…count em’, TWO goals on the power play tonight.  5-3, Wheeling.

14:30 left — Someone is going to have to explain to me how an icing can get waved off when the puck is about five feet away from crossing the line and Kyle Kucharski is right around the faceoff dot chasing it…

12:53 left — Wow.  It ain’t over yet, kids.  Tim Kunes stuffs it to make it a 5-4 game.  Jordan Parise was pulled immediately, and Adam Berkhoel is now between the pipes for Wheeling.  Keep in mind, he was pulled with the lead.

11:39 left — WE’RE TIED!!!  JEREMY AKESON FROM AN IMPOSSIBLE ANGLE FROM THE LEFT CORNER OFF A REBOUND, AND IT’S TIED AT FIVE.  CARUSO’S OFF THE HOOK, PARISE’S LOST THE WIN.  IT’S A WHOLE NEW GAME.  THIS IS THE KIND OF WIN THAT COULD REALLY, REALLY TAKE THIS TEAM FAR IF THEY CAN GET IT.

10:37 left — Stoesz comes in somewhat all alone up the left side, but Berkhoel robs him with the glove.  Three fights, four goalies, ten goals…this one’s had a little bit of everything.

9:40 left — Thomas Harrison very, very pissed off on his way into the box.  There was a scrum in front of Coleman, and he was very animated with the refs on his way in the box.  He’s still standing up and yapping at the ref.  Power play, Trenton.

6:45 left — Justin Coutu is a delay of game penalty waiting to happen.  That’s twice this game he’s baaaaaaaaarely missed shooting it over the glass in his own zone.

5:02 left — This officiating crew.  Yikes.

3:10 left — Prough gets away with a bad giveaway near his own bench…

1:15 left — Big scramble in front of Berkhoel there, but Trenton can’t get off a good chance.

Overtime: We’re heading into overtime here.  34 shots for Trenton, 28 for Wheeling.  Trenton absolutely stole at least a point based on how the first two periods went, especially the second.

5:00 left — Nagy, Prough, Cohen and Kunes start out OT for Trenton.

3:45 left — Nice little snapshot off the rush by Akeson, and a glove save by Berkhoel…but Akeson had someone cutting up on the right side, he’s got to put that shot low off the pads for a rebound.

3:36 left — Couturier fires over everything and into the netting…he was trying to go over Colesy’s blocker.

2:15 left — Another nice glove save by Berkhoel on Akeson.  Akeson, Kell, Prough and Nagy appear to be the four forwards Kowalsky is sticking with here.

2:00 left — Of course, Zancanaro and Wilson are out there now…

29.1 left — Wheeling calls their timeout after they take an icing…

GOING TO A SHOOTOUT HERE IN TRENTON.  5-5.

Shootout:

TRE – PROUGH – SAVE

WHE – NORTON – GOAL

TRE – KELL – HIT POST

WHE – GANZAK – SAVE

TRE – KUNES – GOAL

WHE – HADDAD – GOAL

TRE – HARDER – SAVE

WHE – LORD – GOAL

Three Stars:

* Beauregard

** Lord

*** Kell

My vote: GWG – Beauregard – Akeson

Final Score: 6-5, Nailers

Post-Game Notes:

Pre-Game Photos:

Adam Berkhoel

Berkhoel

Gerald Coleman

T.J. Fox

Thomas Harrison

Jordan Parise

Parise

Brett Wilson

In-Game Videos:

Fight Videos:

Next Game: Friday at SBA vs. Johnstown

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

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