Everybody’s Workin’ For The Weekend…

The Trenton Devils play three games in three nights starting tonight in Reading. They then head back to Whatever We’re Calling It These Days Arena for a home game against Elmira, and finish their key stretch against divisional opponents by heading up to Elmira on Sunday.

Long before I knew what the schedule would be, I picked up a ticket to the “Red Hot Hockey” event on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, which would be an 8PM faceoff between Boston University and Cornell.  Considering how intense the games are between the T-Devils and Jackals, I’m actually a little disappointed to not be able to be there, but the idea of seeing a BU team loaded with NHL prospects is too great to pass up.  So I won’t be at the T-Devils home game and won’t be back until the December 4th contest against Reading, which I will be covering for the Trentonian.

Unless something changes, the current plan is for me to cover six out of the next eight home games for them…and I’d like to thank them for the great opportunity to cover the team in print for a daily paper that people actually have heard of.

The blog will remain unaffected — press releases will be posted from the road games, news will be posted when it happens and I’ll continue to share all the photos, videos, audio and analysis after every game I cover for the Trentonian.

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Bartlett, Lucyk Placed On IR

Winger Scott Bartlett and just-signed defenseman Luke Lucyk have been placed on the 3-Day and 7-Day IR, respectively.

Bartlett, in his second season as a T-Devil, has scored three goals in his first 14 games this season.  Last year, he scored just four goals in 45 games.

Lucyk…well, what’s the point of even having IR if a player doesn’t have to be hurt to be placed on it?  While the Devils certainly aren’t the worst of the abusers of IR — I’m looking at you and your goalies, Kalamazoo — it still seems a bit ridiculous for players who were just signed to be stored away on IR while they’re completely healthy.

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Kell, Prough Returned To Trenton

The captain is back.

One day after writing that the team had three healthy forwards that could easily be sent to Lowell, two of them were assigned there on conditioning stints; former Titan Pierre-Luc Letorneau-Leblond and Ilkka Pikkarainen.

That meant that two players had to come to Trenton from Lowell, and captain Trevor Kell and Jeff Prough are heading back to the capital city as a result.

Kell has spent parts of the last three seasons at the AHL level, appearing in 16 games over the past three seasons.  This year, he scored one goal in five games played.

As for Prough, this marked his first stint in the American Hockey League, and he surely opened some eyes up there with his performance.  In six games, he scored a goal and added two assists while posting a +4 rating and putting the puck on the net nine times.

When he’s on, Prough is one of the best players you’ll see set foot on the Goliath National Bank…uhhh, Sovereign Bank Arena Sun National Bank Center ice, and his wrist shot could take him very far if given the opportunity.

No word on what this move means for Ryan Ginand, who was just signed yesterday after a four-year collegiate career at Northeastern.

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Trenton Adds Forward Ginand, Defenseman Lucyk

Despite the fact that there are three perfectly healthy forwards sitting in New Jersey who could be playing for Lowell with no problem whatsoever, which would then send some help Trenton’s way, the organization has gone out and thrown the T-Devils a different sort of bone.

Defenseman Luke Lucyk and forward Ryan Ginand have both signed contracts and could debut with the club Friday night in Reading.

Lucyk played for four seasons at Notre Dame before turning pro at the end of last season, playing in a total of four games with the Charlotte Checkers between the regular and postseason.  This year, he was with the CHL’s Texas Brahmas, collecting 12 penalty minutes and 0 points in nine games.

Ginand, listed at 5′ 9″, 165 lbs., has not played professionally in North America since finishing a four year collegiate career at Northeastern University last year.  In 132 games, he scored 46 goals and added 36 assists. He has played this season in Denmark.

With Jeremy Akeson having been placed on the 21-Day IR, the team will need some bodies to get them through this next stretch of games, and hopefully these guys can contribute.

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

The Trickle Down Effect

The Trenton Devils are all too familiar with the trickle down effect when it comes to goaltending.  If you recall, last season this guy got hurt…

Which was supposed to hand over the reigns to this guy…

But the Devils called up this guy from Lowell, who outplayed that guy…

With that guy gone, they needed to call up some to Lowell to play with this guy…

So they went to Trenton and ended up recalling him…

Trenton should have been OK, because they had this guy back…

But he was all kinds of inconsistent and ultimately would get released, leaving things in this guy’s hands for a while…

And while he played well, things never really became stabilized until the organization pulled a rabbit out of their collective hats and traded for him…

Get it?  Got it?  Good.

So how is this relevant to the ECHL now?  Well, Ottawa has lost goaltender Pascal Leclaire for up to a month with a broken cheekbone.  That means Brian Elliott is now the starter.  Mike Brodeur, who found himself on an Augusta Lynx team that went bankrupt in the middle of last season, is now in the NHL as Elliott’s backup (oddly, both goalies from that team, Brodeur and Helenius, have now suited up in the NHL).  Andy Chiodo now starts in Binghamton.  Chris Holt has been called up from Elmira to back up Chiodo.  Michael Teslak is now the starter in Elmira.  But who’s his backup? 

Hmmm…perhaps Bud Fisher returns.  Maybe they sign someone else.  They’d be wise to inquire about Beau Erickson, who Reading got rid of, if he hasn’t already ended up somewhere else.  Jordan Alford is also seemingly available.

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

T-Devils Hang On For Impressive 4-3 Win Over Wings

(PR) Kalamazoo, MI – Dan Eves scored twice and Gerald Coleman made 42 saves as Trenton held off the American Conference’s strongest squad, 4-3 Sunday evening in Kalamazoo. Taking two-goal leads on three separate occasions, Trenton managed to keep up the intensity in a 60-minute performance to hand the K-Wings only their second regulation loss in 14 games this season.

Dan Eves scored the first Devils goal at 4:57 of the first, ending a streak of nearly 139 minutes without a Devils goal vs. Kalamazoo, dating to the season opener on October 17. Eves stole the puck at the blue line and fired from the right wing over the shoulder of goalie Julien Ellis, just inside the long post and under the cross bar for his fifth tally of the season.

Tony Zancanaro scored a power play goal six minutes later, cleaning up a rebound after an Andy Thomas blast.

After McGuirk made it 2-1 with his third of the season for the Wings, the Devils scored on a rush down the right wing. Kory Nagy took the puck from the neutral zone toward the right wing circle, his quick feed to slot found Myles Stoesz’ stick, and the league leader in penalty minutes immediately pulled the trigger for his third of the year and a 3-1 Devils lead.

Goals 15 seconds into the second period and with 20 seconds left in the period for Kalamazoo bookended Dan Eves’ second goal of the game. The ultimate game winner came on the power play after a quick centering pass from Mike Harder who was parked behind the net.

The Devils stopped a flurry of chances for the Wings in a scorless third, including two power plays in the final eight minutes, plus a six-on-five advantage for the last few minutes when Ellis was pulled for an extra attacker. The Devils sustained 18 third period shots, holding on for the 4-3 win, their seventh victory of the year.

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(Wings PR) Kalamazoo, MI- All good things come to an end and for the Kalamazoo Wings that includes their five-game winning streak, which came to an end with a 4-3 loss to the Trenton Devils.
Ending a scoreless drought against Kalamazoo; Dan Eves (5th) intercepted a pass at the K-Wings blue line and raced in to beat Julien Ellis 4:57 into the game. The goal snapped Trenton’s scoreless woes against the K-Wings at 138:37.

On Friday, the Devils went 0-for-7 on the power-play; however, Tony Zancanaro (2nd) turned Trenton’s fortunes around knocking in a rebound on their first man-advantage chance of the afternoon.

Kalamazoo cut the deficit to a single goal with 4:30 remaining in the period, with a power-play strike from Brian McGuirk (3rd). McGuirk, who had four career goals entering the season, has now lit the lamp three times over the past two games.

The Devils extended their lead back to two goals late in the period with a rebound marker from Myles Stoesz (3rd).

Storming out in the second period, Kalamazoo registered their second tally of the night 15 seconds into the stanza with wrap around marker from Andrew Fournier (4th).

Eves (6th) regained a two-goal lead for the Devils with a power-play goal 14:04 into the period.

With 20.4 remaining in the period, Kalamazoo closed the gap back to one goal, with a one-timer into the slot from Sam Ftorek (2nd).

Neither team was able to register on the scoreboard in the third period. Gerald Coleman turned aside 18 of his game-high 42 saves in the final 20 minutes, while Ellis finished the contest with 20 saves.

For Game Stats: http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id7326

Akeson Shelved With Broken Finger

In listening to Dan D’Uva’s radio broadcast, it sounds as though Jeremy Akeson has been lost to a broken finger. No word on any sort of timetable for recovery, but it leaves the team with just 18 healthy players…so just enough to field a team.

Akeson, who has seemingly been banged up since his season ended prematurely last year due to a knee injury, has scored three goals and added three assists in 14 games this season. 

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

K-Wings K-Rush T-Devils, 5-0

(K-Wings PR) Kalamazoo, MI- With eight players called up in the American Hockey League and two others on the injured reserve, the Kalamazoo Wings knew they needed players to step against the Trenton Devils. Brian McGuirk and Ryan Nie answered the call for the K-Wings, as McGuirk recorded three points (2 goals, 1 assist) and Nie turned aside 36 saves en route to a 5-0 victory.

Anchored by an aggressive power-play, the K-Wings went 2 for 3 in the opening period with a man-advantage.

McGuirk (1st) gave the K-Wings the lead deflecting a Tom Morrow slap shot 1:50 into the game. Later in the first, Darryl Lloyd found Ben Simon (1st) wide-open on a cross rink pass to extend the lead to 2-0.

Pulling away in the second period, Kalamazoo added three more goals to their ledger. Sal Peralta (2nd) redirected a Jeff Mason blast 14:44 into the middle frame pushing the K-Wings advantage to three goals.

McGuirk (2nd) and Ryan McGinnis (2nd) each chipped in power-play goals to close out the scoring for Kalamazoo.

Competing against the second-best penalty-kill in the ECHL, the K-Wings scorched the Devils going 4-for-6 on the power-play.

The victory extends the K-Wings winning streak to five games and a league-best record of 11-1-1-0.

Kalamazoo also continued their dominance over Trenton, as the K-Wings are now 3-0-0-0 against the Devils. Outscoring the Devils 14-2 in three match-ups, the K-Wings have kept Trenton off the scoreboard in 133:40 consecutive minutes, which dates back to third period of the K-Wings 6-2 victory on October 17th.

For Game Stats: http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=7313

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For The Kalamazoo Gazette game story: http://www.mlive.com/kwings/index.ssf/2009/11/kalamazoo_wings_hit_trenton_wi.html

Lowell Adds A Fresh Coutu…

Congratulations are in order for Trenton Devils defenseman Justin Coutu…who is now Lowell Devils defenseman Justin Coutu.

As the ten of you who read this likely already know, Coutu has signed an SPC with the New Jersey Devils AHL affiliate and is expected to make his AHL debut.  Coutu was signed by Trenton late last season and has shown marked improvement in both skill and discipline…he was prone to the occasional bonehead penalty as a result of overaggressive play, but seems to have turned over a bit of a new leaf this year and has been rewarded for doing so.

In 14 games this year, Coutu has tallied three assists and 29 penalty minutes.  His most memorable moment with the T-Devils would have to be his goal from Game 6 of the Northern Division Semifinals last year, scored in the waning seconds, that sent the game into overtime and eventually sent the series to a seventh game.

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Harder Makes It Easier For Devils In 4-2 Win

(Cyclones PR) CINCINNATI – The Trenton Devils battled back from a 2-0 deficit and netted four unanswered goals to claim a 4-2 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones on Wednesday night. Gerald Coleman turned in 37 saves to register his fifth win of the season and Mike Harder had a goal and a pair of assists to pace the Devils.

The Cyclones built a 2-0 lead near the midway spot of the first period with goals 35 seconds apart. Dustin Sproat fired home his sixth goal of the year from the slot past Trenton netminder Gerald Coleman at 8:01. Brett Robinson and Jason Jozsa had the assists on the score. At 8:36, Mike McLean grabbed a rebound and shoveled it past Coleman for his third score of the year. Ryan Del Monte had the lone assist on the score. Trenton would answer with goals from Dan Eves, his fourth at 9:10 and Brett Wilson, also his fourth-at 19:22 on the power play. Cincinnati doubled up the Devils on shots in the opening stanza, 12-6.

Trenton scored the only goal of the second period to take a 3-2 edge into the second intermission. Mike Harder, the 13th year forward, slotted his second score of the year at 15:38 while on the power play. The Cyclones dominated play in the middle frame, having three power play chances and collecting 18 shots. The Devils made the most of their lone man-advantage chance and five shots.

Trenton extended the lead to 4-2 at 18:37 f the third, when Jeremy Akeson worked a two-on-one with Tim Kunes and converted his third score of the season. Cincinnati nearly doubled the shots in the period at 9-5. For the game, the Cyclones outshot the Devils, 39-16.

Gerald Coleman picked up the win with 37 saves to improve to 4-1-2, while Robert Mayer absorbed the loss, turning aside twelve shots. Mayer drops to 2-2 on the campaign.

The defeat marked the first time since February 9 of last season that Cincinnati had a two goal lead and could not hold it for victory.

Cincinnati is now 6-5-1, while Trenton is 5-6-3. The Cyclones head to Toledo for a Friday game against the Walleye. Faceoff is at 7pm, with the pregame show airing at 6:30pm. The game can be heard on 1530 Homer – The Sports Animal and www.1530Homer.com.

Tickets for the 2009-10 Cincinnati Cyclones season are now on sale. The Cyclones Sales Department can be reached at 513-421-PUCK, extension 3. Selected Friday night games are carried on 1530-AM Homer, while all 72 regular season games can be heard on the club’s website at: www.cycloneshockey.com.