Archive for January, 2009

Devils Beat Jackals, 5-1

January 31, 2009

(PR) The Trenton Devils were led by their special teams en route to a 5-1 win over the Elmira Jackals Friday night. The win was Trenton’s fifth in a row over the Jackals.

The Devils struck first by capitalizing on a two-man advantage. Matt Cohen ripped a slap shot from the blue line past Michael Teslak to put the Devils on the board at 16:29 of the first.

Hard work by Jim Henkel resulted in the Devils’ second goal of the night. Henkel attempted a pass across the slot that would be blocked by Wes Cunningham, but Henkel dug out the loose puck and caught Michael Teslak leaning out of his crease, giving the Devils a 2-0 lead at 14:06 of the second.

The Jackals controlled the first half of the third period, which was rewarded with a strange goal by newcomer Shawn Snider at 6:14 to put the Jackals back in the game.

After the Devils killed off a penalty midway through the third, Matt Radoslovich sprung Dan Eves for a breakaway. Eves deked out Teslak before burying a backhand to give the Devils a 3-1 lead at 11:11.

Radoslovich and Eves teamed up again 1:32 later, with Radoslovich putting home the pass from Eves for his eighth goal of the season.

Trevor Kell put the finishing touches on the win with a shorthanded empty-netter at 14:57, his 13th goal of the campaign.

Gerald Coleman made 24 saves for his 15th win of the season, while Radoslovich and Eves had had a goal and an assist. Trenton’s power play went 2-for-4 and killed all five of Elmira’s man advantages.

Harrison Off IR, Smith On

January 28, 2009

F Thomas Harrison has been activated from the 3-day IR, while G Jason Smith has been placed on the 3-day IR.

Harrison has played in 28 games this season, scoring two goals and adding one assist, as well as racking up 146 penalty minutes.

I’ll be interested to see if both Kevin Cormier and Harrison are in the lineup for the weekend series against Elmira.

Smith may have suffered a paper cut reading the newspaper or tweaked a muscle opening a can of soda, because I’d imagine it’s somewhat difficult to get legitimately injured when you haven’t played since the middle of December.

It seems the Devils organization is just continuing to attempt to buy time to let the three goalie situation resolve itself.  While many have speculated that a very likely scenario involves Smith getting traded, it seems a much more reasonable resolution would be for Charlie Effinger to be involved in a trade.  With Smith under an AHL contract, it’s far too complicated for him to either be released or dealt, as others have already suggested.

Also, for all you Dan McGoff fans out there, he’s evidently signed with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League.

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Cormier Excited To Return To Lineup

January 27, 2009

cormier

After missing 13 straight games due to what Trenton Devils head coach Rick Kowalsky described as conditioning issues, forward Kevin Cormier finally made his long awaited return to the ice during Saturday’s game against Johnstown.

“I felt really good on the ice,” said Cormier.

“It’s a hard job to get back in the lineup when your team is winning and earn your spot and get a regular shift, but I thought I played OK tonight.  I just want to earn the coaches trust again and go from there.”

Cormier’s chance came after the ECHL leader in penalty minutes, Trenton’s Thomas Harrison, was placed on the IR following a tough fight with Guillaume Lepine on Friday night.

Cormier does feel that conditioning is still an issue for him, but is getting closer to his goal.

“I feel like I’m making progress, little steps at a time,” Cormier told me.

“I just have to keep the snowball rolling and keep losing weight and getting more in shape, and hopefully I can get some more ice time and better shifts.”

Somewhat of a YouTube legend, Cormier, who turns 23 today, has accumulated just 38 penalty minutes in 13 games this season after racking up 844 minutes in four seasons of junior hockey.

Unable to find a “dance partner” for most games, he knows that he can’t force the issue while he’s out there.

“I’ve got to make that happen by using my body a lot and throwing hits in the corners and making them come to me,” Cormier said.

“Just crush their defense and get in everybody’s face without getting a penalty.  If I can do that, I won’t have a problem fighting.”

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Game 40: Post-Game Quotebook

January 25, 2009

RICK KOWALSKY

You guys have really turned it around and gotten right back in the thick of things…

“Even tonight with all the shots, I didn’t think we played smart hockey at times.  They were a bit short, and with the power play, we either didn’t bear down and score when we had a chance or didn’t shoot when we should have or tried to get too cute.  I thought a lot of their chances early on were a result of us not making smart plays.  But obviously, we did have guys going and guys getting pucks to the net.  We talked about scoring a goal like Eves scored in the second, and that got us going.  I thought even with all the shots on net and the power play, I thought the last two games, we’ve kind of gotten away from what got us going on this little stretch here, which is just getting pucks deep and getting pucks and bodies to the net.  I thought that in the third period, we did it a little bit more, but we can’t get away from that.  So we’ve got a full week finally to get practice and work on that stuff, that’s a good thing.  But again, it’s good to get two points when you dont feel like you played…I don’t want to say we played bad tonight, but I didn’t like our the consistency in our execution for the last two games.”

After last night, was there more of a conscious effort to get pucks to the net tonight?

“Yeah, no question there was.  These guys have got to realize that we’ve got out to some early leads and sometimes teams, especially when they’re on the road, tend to take chances.  And we’ve managed to frustrate them in transition and convert on our 2-on-1’s.  Well, as we get down the stretch here, everything’s going to tighten up and we’re going to be in a lot of one goal games.  You can’t get frustrated and you can’t stray from what has brought you success.  You’ve got to outplay, and use the wall and use the glass, and you’ve got to just chip it and go get it.  And again, at times tonight I thought we tried to make cute plays that led to chances against that really shouldn’t happen.”

Earlier this season, this team had trouble playing with the lead, and now it seems it’s exactly the opposite…what do you attribute that to?

“I think it’s a confidence thing.  Momentum can work both ways and confidence can work both ways.  I think early on in the season, we didn’t feel we had the depth to go out and score that goal or we squeezed our sticks a little bit and kind of sat back and went into a bit of a shell, and it was just a matter of time before the other team would find the back of the net.  Now, tonight, we talked about going out and initiating the play.  And we get two pucks to the top early there, I think it was the first shift of the game or first shift of the period, and Prough gets to the net and tips it, and then gets his own rebound.  That’s our game, that’s our hockey, and we know we have that confidence.  To tell you the truth, I liked that we kept up the play and carried the play after that, instead of saying we have a one goal lead, let’s sit back.  I think we can forecheck and skate with anybody that I’ve seen in our division, and we’ve just got to realize that playing that way, if you play in their end the majority of the time and you have puck possession, it’s a long way for them to come and get that equalizer.”

Obviously on their second goal but in general as well, I can’t imagine you were too happy about all the contact on your goaltender tonight…

“These games are going to get tight and you’d hate to see officials be a factor.  He got clipped four times tonight, and the one that was actually called was probably the weakest one.  The guy runs him over and he scores on an open net.  The bottom line was obviously we had the power plays to really put the game out of reach and didn’t execute, so it’s not like it was one-sided either way, there were just penalties all night long.”

GERALD COLEMAN

I’ve got to ask you about all that contact…you got run quite a few times, I can’t imagine you’re too happy about that.

“No, not at all, it’s quite frustrating.  I think that’s the plan right now on me, is to try to get to me, but I find that once you start making me mad, I play better.  And that’s evidenced by today, I didn’t play very well in the first two periods.  The second goal, I got ran into.  The refs were their usual self, you never know what you’re going to get with them.  It’s frustrating, but you have to battle through and you’ve still got to win games at the end.”

Did you get any sort of explanation on that second goal?

“Yeah, supposedly Dyment pushed the guy into me.  But from what I saw and from what everyone said, he was standing in front of me.  I don’t know how he ended up doing that.  I think he was trying to get around Dyment and he tripped me.  I’m facing the other way, so I don’t understand how you can call that a goal.  But in the end, you’ve still got to find ways to win.”

Only 13 shots by your teammates last night, 48 tonight.  Must be nice to get that kind of offensive support after last night…

“Definitely.  We gave up a lot of bad opportunities, but as long as you’re getting chances, something’s bound to go in.  We got lucky in a couple different spots, and that’s what you have to do to win, no matter how many shots it takes.”

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Game 40: Post-Game Thoughts

January 25, 2009

Before I get to the quotes and other goodies you’re used to, here are some quick thoughts from tonight’s game:

– There was quite a bit of talk after the game about the officiating fter the game, both in the room and in the press box.  Barry Pochmara was the referee for the game, and it’s safe to assume that if he were to start a fan club on Facebook, there wouldn’t be too many takers.

– Both goaltenders were very good tonight.  Kris Mayotte looked much better than he did about 10 days ago, making most of the big saves.  And Gerald Coleman…what else can you really say about him?  It’s very obvious that he has no business playing in the ECHL.

– For as many shots as Trenton had tonight, they didn’t have a whole bunch of quality chances.  I’d imagine that Rick Kowalsky will be doing some work on the power play during practice this week, as Trenton went a whopping 1 for 11 on the man advantage.  They had three 5-on-3’s, converting on none of them.

– Caught up with Kevin Cormier after the game, so look out for that.  He stood out to me twice…one for a scoring chance in the first, and one for a giveaway in the second.  He got a little more ice time than I was anticipating he would, and I thought he did OK.

– A small feature on Corms and one on the Caruso/Frazee tandem up in Lowell will be coming soon.

– For the second straight game, I spotted Tyler Burton in the Trenton Devils locker room after the game.  Didn’t see Jason Smith.  But it was good to meet Matt Conti, the occasional T-Devils backup who got into a game this season.

– Interesting reaction so far to the All-Sport skit…

– Oh, and in case there was any confusion, I have no intentions of getting off the beat.  I just don’t think people realize how much work it is, and the results didn’t justify the work tonight.  Things will be back to normal when Reading comes in on February 6th, but I just wanted to tone it down for a game.

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Game 40: Johnstown @ Trenton

January 24, 2009

Pre-Game Notes (LIVE from SBA): 5:20 PM — You want pre-game notes? Enjoy. I’ve got nothing right now…so please enjoy my stupidity for the time being.

Will be toning down the live blogging today quite a bit. Honestly, the amount of hits and comments this blog gets doesn’t really warrant the amount of work that’s put into it…but this is just a one game thing, and I really just want to be able to watch the game for a change. The game thread will still be updated, just not as often as usual.

6:20 PM — Kevin Cormier will play tonight, Thomas Harrison goes on IR.  Evidently, Johnstown has traded Mike Sgroi as well.

6:45 PM — Gerald Coleman vs. Kris Mayotte is your goalie matchup.

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 Paul Roper’s radio broadcast of tonight’s game.

First Period: 16:17 left — Chris Dyment was way too hesitant on the blueline on the powerplay, and ended up turning the puck over to Sean Berkstresser.  Berkstresser beat Coleman to the stick side on a breakaway, and Johnstown takes an early 1-0 lead.

JOHNSTOWN LEADS, 1-0, AFTER 20 MINUTES.  TRENTON MANAGED A WHOPPING 12 SHOTS THIS PERIOD, COMPARED TO THE 13 THEY HAD ALL GAME YESTERDAY.  NOT TOO MANY QUALITY CHANCES THOUGH, AND JOHNSTOWN DID EXACTLY WHAT TRENTON DID YESTERDAY AND CAPITALIZED ON ONE OF THE HANDFUL OF CHANCES THEY GOT.  TRENTON WILL START THE SECOND ON A POWER PLAY.

Second Period: 17:56 left — Trenton came out flying on the power play, getting a lot of good chances, but Kris Mayotte stopped them all…

17:00 left — We’ve got a tie game here.  Dan Eves gets his first goal with his new number.  Matt Torti and Tony Zancanaro get the helpers.  1-1.

14:44 left — Nice set-up on Trenton’s power play goal.  Eric Castonguay faked a shot from inside the blue line, instead passing to just inside the left circle.  Matt Cohen’s initial attempt was denied, but Trevor Kell beat Mayotte through the legs to give Trenton a 2-1 lead.

12:58 left — Just got a release from Johnstown that Mike Sgroi was traded to Utah…knew he got traded, just didn’t know where.

7:04 left — Trenton has a goal waved off when the ref lost sight of the puck.  Haven’t seen that about 10 times this year.  Anyway, Trenton’s outshooting Johnstown, 23-8, so far.  There’s been a real good pace to this period, and Trenton’s been controlling the play for most of it.

6:16 left — Matt Torti and Todd Griffith drop the gloves after a battle after the whistle.  Torti’s first scrap of the year.  Griffith gets the well-earned instigator and the extra two minutes.  He will feel shame.

44.2 left — Gerald Coleman was very, very animated after Johnstown’s goal, and understandably so.  One of Johnstown’s players came through the crease and knocked him over.  Amazingly, the ref allowed the goal to stand.

Petr Pohl had a basically empty net to shoot on, and buried the puck to tie the game at 2-2.

GAME IS TIED AT TWO THROUGH TWO PERIODS.  TRENTON IS OUTSHOOTING JOHNSTOWN, 36-17.  BUT THE CHIEFS TIED THE GAME ON A TOTAL BS GOAL.  TOTAL BS.  EVEN IF THE CONTACT WAS UNINTENTIONAL, THE REF CAN STILL WAVE THE GOAL OFF WITHOUT CALLING A PENALTY.

Third Period: The Torti fight is now posted…

Dylan Quaile, Chris Dyment and Kevin Cormier are the only three Devils without at least one shot.  Jim Henkel leads the team with six.

19:18 left –Wacky goal to start the period.  David Leaderer more or less whiffed on a shot from the left point, but it either bounced over Mayotte’s pad or Jeff Prough got a rebound…either way, it was an odd sequence.  3-2, Devils.  Prough got credit for the goal…

12:10 left — The officiating in this game has been pretty poor.  Coleman’s been run twice now with no call, and he then played the puck in the restricted area with no penalty, not to mention Trenton’s waved-off goal and Johnstown’s goal that shouldn’t have counted.  Yikes.  Still 3-2.

4:17 left — Trenton had a long 5-on-3 and a lenghty power play after a double minor for high sticking, and couldn’t convert.  Kris Mayotte’s been very good tonight, making 44 saves so far for the Johnnies.

1:39 left — Johnstown calls timeout after taking a penalty for interference with Gerald Coleman…fourth time he’s been run into this game, and they finally make a call at the worst possible point in the game for the Chiefs on probably the lightest contact of all of them.  Interesting choice.

58.2 left — Bad tripping penalty by Brad Snetsinger gives the Chiefs a big shot to tie it up here.  It’ll be 5-on-4 with Mayotte pulled for the extra attacker…

Final Score: 3-2, Devils

Three Stars:

* Jeff Prough
** Trevor Kell
*** Kris Mayotte

My vote: Prough-Mayotte-Coleman

Post-Game Notes: Eight consecutive wins at SBA establish a new team record.  Nine wins in January is also a team record, with two games left to play in the month.

Pre-Game Photos:

bartlettmike

Mike Bartlett

beauchampbrett

Brett Beauchamp

busheekyle

Kyle Bushee

coleman0124

Gerald Coleman

cuppett0124

Chris Cuppett

effinger0124

Charlie Effinger

mayotte0124

Kris Mayotte

mayotte0124-2

Mayotte

pohlpetr

Petr Pohl

schulzdavid

David Schulz

In-Game Videos:

Fight Videos:

Next Game: 1/30 @ Elmira

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Hall of Famer Laperriere Talks About Tonight’s Game

January 24, 2009

jacques_laperriere

It would fair to say that Jacques Laperriere knows good hockey players when he sees them.

It would also be fair to say that he had a good NHL career would be an incredible understatement.

Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987, Laperriere won six Stanley Cups during the Montreal Canadiens dynasty of the 60’s and 70’s, and earned an additional two Stanley Cup rings as an assistant coach with the Habs in 1986 and 1993.

If that’s not enough, he also won the Calder Trophy in 1964 and the Norris Trophy in 1966.

The living legend has been in the Devils organization since 2003, when he joined the club as an assistant coach.  Now, he’s a roving coach who will occasionally make a trip to the minor league level to help with some of the younger players.

Tonight’s game in Trenton may have served as a bit of a reminder of some of the classic New Jersey Devils teams that went on to win Stanley Cups, with outstanding goaltending and capitalizing on offensive chances serving as just some of the similarities.

“The goalie was very good, and kept us in the game,” Laperriere said.

“And the chances we had, we finished them.  They battled hard.  It may not have been our best game, but we battled hard and ended up with the win.”

Overall, Laperriere has been impressed with what he’s seen so far out of Trenton.

“So far, they’re playing really well,” he said.

“The power play is good, the defensive killing is pretty good, we’re doing well.  It’s a young team, and they’ve improved a lot.”

And as far as those comparisons to some of those New Jersey teams?

“As long as the guy with the big pads makes those saves, that’s all you need,” joked Laperriere.

“The way (Coleman) played tonight, he looked pretty good.  If he keeps playing like that, you never know (about Coleman returning to the NHL.)”

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Game 39: Gerald Coleman Post-Game Audio

January 24, 2009

Here’s how the chat with Trenton Devils goalie Gerald Coleman went down after the game.

CLICK HERE to download and listen.

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Game 39: Kowalsky Quotebook

January 24, 2009

You guys got 13 shots for the entire game…do you feel fortunate to come away with the win tonight?

“Yeah.  I thought tonight was — not that he hasn’t played well for us — but Coleman won that game for us tonight.  The funny thing about it was the chances we did have were golden opportunities.  I thought we could have maybe even had two more in the first.  Gunderson walks right in and misses the net, and then I think one ricocheted off his knob or something.  We didn’t play well tonight.  I thought we protected…in the third period, they came pretty hard and threw everything at the net.  But, bad as we were, I thought we protected the front of our net pretty good.  I mean the first goal, we put in.  We knocked that one in the net.  We just didn’t support the puck well, we didn’t execute well and we looked a little flat.  Maybe that was the break, I don’t know.  But (Coleman) came up real big for us, made some huge saves.  That one point shot at the end, Henkel actually tipped that.  I had a perfect view of it, it was going top shelf and with that quick glove, he got a piece of it.  I don’t know if it ended up going off the crossbar or what, but that was a reaction save and a heck of a save.  But you know, again, we find a way to get it done.  I don’t think we really gave up a lot of really good opportunities until the third.  There were scrambles in front, but I thought there were a lot of times we tied up sticks and managed to get the puck.  But they were definitely the better team.”

Was Elmira doing anything defensively that held you guys to such a low shot total?

“No, we just didn’t have our legs, we were flat.  We didn’t move the puck well, we didn’t support the puck well.  At times, we had one guy forechecking and our other two forwards weren’t going, or we had two guys going and our third one wasn’t going.  Our dumps were terrible the first two periods.  You can’t just throw the puck in, you’ve got to do it with a purpose.  You’re just giving it back to them, their goalie sets it up and away they come.  It was nice to see us win a game when we didn’t play our best, we were flat tonight.”

Must be nice to get two more points in a tight divisional race…

“They’re all going to be huge.  Everybody but Reading is playing in our division, so whoever wins gets points.  As far as I know, there were no overtime games, so no free points tonight.  Not only do we gain two points on these guys, we gain two points on Dayton and gain two points on Johnstown, since Wheeling beat Johnstown.  This thing’s tightening right up here, and I don’t see anybody running away with it now.  It’s going to be a battle every night.  We started at the bottom of the ladder here, and we’ve just got to keep winning.”

You play Johnstown tomorrow night and have beaten them three times…think this success will carry over?

“We’ve definitely got to be better than we were tonight.  I think hopefully we’ve got the All-Star break legs out tonight.  It’s a favorable schedule for us right now.  They’re coming from Johnstown and we’re at home in our own beds tonight, and we don’t play Sunday.  We’ve got to come out with a little more energy and initiate the play and get the forecheck going early tomorrow and hopefully maybe catch them a little bit tired, knowing that we don’t have to play Sunday.  So you’ve got to take advantage of the schedule, especially at home.”

You’ve had some games where you’ve been the harder working team and haven’t come away with the win.  How is it to come out on the other end of one like this?

“It’s good.  I thought it was a frustrating game for everybody.  But we still took away some good opportunities, and at the end of the day, Colesy was huge for us back there.  We knew they were going to come hard, and they had some new guys in the lineup…Johnson and Weller were both good tonight, I thought.  On the other side we were opportunists with our chances, but we could have had two more goals coming out of the first.  That’s the other side of it.  Yeah, we got outworked, but we still won.  But we’re taking advantage of our opportunities when we get them.”

Are you going back to Coleman tomorrow?

“Yes.”

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Game 39: Elmira @ Trenton

January 23, 2009

Pre-Game Notes (LIVE from SBA): 6:30 PM — I’ve been here for an hour or so, but have been on the phone, sampling new flavors of Snapple and eating some pizza. Two of those three activities turned out to be a bad idea…I’ll let you figure it out.

Sounds like Elmira might have a new, yet familiar pest in their lineup. Chaz Johnson is expected to play tonight, which should be interesting.

Trenton news? Well, Devils scout and Hockey Hall of Famer Jacques Laperriere is here tonight.

7:00 PM — Your goalie matchup is Gerald Coleman vs. Michael Teslak. I know Teslak just played here, but I didn’t get to see him, so I’m excited he’s playing over David Shantz.

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 Paul Roper’s radio broadcast of tonight’s game.

First Period: Trenton starters are…

Coleman

Cohen-Leaderer

Henkel-Kell-Castonguay

18:31 left — Michael Teslak gets on the scoresheet early with a stop on a slapper from just inside the blue line by Ryan Gunderson.

18:22 left — And Gerald Coleman does the same on a Brandon Roach shot.

18:04 left — With the Devils now evidently wearing red at home, just noticed that Dan Eves has changed his jersey number from 36 to 18.  Dylan Quaile’s in the box for interference, PP Elmira.

15:01 left — Elmira wasn’t able to get a real solid chance on Coleman, but are outshooting Trenton, 3-1.

13:05 left — Derek Couture with a trip in the offensive zone…coaches always like that one.  Devils PP.

12:00 left — Trenton takes a 1-0 lead after a Ryan Gunderson slapshot eludes Teslak.  Assists to Castonguay and Kell.  Thought it might have been tipped by Kell.  Turns out it was.  Goal changed to Kell, not Gunderson.

11:36 left — Coleman makes a nice glove save on a backhand shot by Benoit Doucet.

11:34 left — Jeremy Akeson and Joe Grimaldi apparently have a difference of opinion and settle it by dropping the gloves.  Decent scrap, but no big blows landed.

10:34 left — Coleman makes a few stops in a scramble in the crease, but the ref loses sight of the puck and blows it dead before Elmira can get another chance.

9:34 left — Not a bad turnout tonight…probably the biggest crowd I’ve seen all year.

8:46 left — And that crowd gets to see another Trenton goal.  Baaaaaaaad giveaway in the defensive zone by Elmira leads to Dylan Quaile taking a slap shot from a few feet inside the blue line that got tipped in.  I think Matt Radoslovich got it…indeed he did.

8:45 left — And Thomas Harrison and Guillaume Lepine get into the best fight I’ve seen Harrison in all year.  Harrison ate a big one from Lepine at the end of it, and then the ref tripped over Lepine’s jersey, which somehow came off.  Videos of all the fights and the first goal are coming up.

7:53 left — Derek Couture was in all alone on Coleman, skating up the right side.  He cut in towards the middle, but Coleman made a big pad save on the shot.  Best save of the game so far, and one of the better ones Coleman’s had to make at SBA.

4:26 left — Elmira had a loooooong stretch in Trenton’s zone, but Coleman made a few saves and Elmira missed on a few chances.

3:00 left — Jeff Prough hit the post on a rebound, and Ryan Gunderson proceeded to take a bad interference penalty on the ensuing Elmira rush.  Jackals PP.

TRENTON LEADS, 2-0, AFTER 20 MINUTES.  SHOTS ARE 10-5, ELMIRA.

Second Period: To the 100 or so people who actually read this, videos are posted…

Ryan Gunderson has three of the Devils shots, Matt Radoslovich has the other two.  This according to the official ECHL scoresheet.  Impressive of Trevor Kell to score without a shot.  I imagine that’ll get changed.

18:38 left — Elmira scores to cut the lead in half.  Goal goes to Derek Couture.

16:40 left — Trevor Kell’s been standing out for the right reasons tonight.  He’s skating hard, and has been doing some hard work in front of the net.  He just deflected a Chris Dyment shot off the post.

13:38 left — No shots so far this period for Trenton…

12:24 left — There’s one.  Jim Henkel breaks the drought with a shot off the rush on the left side.

12:02 left — Dan Eves backhands one into the glove of Teslak.  Not much offense going on for either team right now.

11:30 left — Jeff Prough and Brad Snetsinger had a 2-on-1, then Chris Dyment jumped in and Prough passed to him, but Dyment missed the net to the left.  Still a 2-1 game here.

7:32 left — Craig Switzer takes a penalty, and Trenton goes on the man advantage.  Both teams have a grand total of zero going offensively…not one of the better periods you’ll see here.

2-1, TRENTON LEADS.  SHOTS ARE 15-10, ELMIRA.

Third Period: 16:16 left — Chaz Johnson, #98 on your programs but #1 in your hearts, takes an interference penalty to give Trenton a PP.  They sure could use one right here…

14:16 left — They got absolutely nothing on that power play.  Just no offense right now.  None.

6:24 left — Matt Cohen’s in the box, Elmira’s on the PP.  This reeks of goal right here.

4:24 left — Tony Zancanaro broke his stick with about 20 seconds left on the PP, essentially giving Elmira a 5-on-3.  Coleman made a big stop…with Elmira now outshooting Trenton, 25-12.  I wouldn’t say Elmira’s playing particularly well, but you could make a case that Trenton will be stealing this win if they can hang on.

Final Score: 2-1, DEVILS.  Shots were 29-13, Elmira.

Three Stars:

* Coleman
** Radoslovich
*** Kell

My vote: Radoslovich-Kell-Coleman

Post-Game Notes:

Pre-Game Photos:

bertolinight

A new advertisement for Scott Bertoli Night

faubertpierreluc

Pierre-Luc Faubert

johnsonchaz

Chaz Johnson…evidently, they had to make his jersey at the last second.

lutznathan

Nathan Lutz

mcilveenpaul

Paul McIlveen

shantz0123

David Shantz

shantz0123-2

Shantz

teslak0123

Michael Teslak

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Teslak

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Tony Zancanaro

In-Game Videos:

Trevor Kell goal

Gerald Coleman save on Craig Switzer

Gerald Coleman save on Benoit Doucet

Elmira Jackals no-goal

Michael Teslak save

Fight Videos:

Jeremy Akeson vs. Joe Grimaldi

Thomas Harrison vs. Guillaume Lepine

Next Game: 1/24 vs. Johnstown

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com