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Heading into the third period of Wednesday night's contest with the visiting Wheeling Nailers (1-5-0), the Trenton Devils had their backs up against the wall trailing 5-2 at Sovereign Bank Arena. But after a goalie change that saw Gerald Coleman replace Dave Caruso, and an explosive three-goal rally in the third period, the Devils were able to salvage a point before dropping the match 6-5 in a shootout.

The Devils came out of the gate strong with an aggressive forecheck and some hard hitting. At 5:15 into the first period, Kyle Kucharski collected a pass from defenseman Justin Coutu, flew down the right wing and wristed a shot through the pads of former New Jersey Devils prospect, Jordan Parise to give Trenton the early 1-0 edge. Forward Dan Eves registered a secondary assist on the tally. The lead was short-lived however as the Nailers stormed right back 28 seconds later with a pretty passing play in front of the Devils net that ended with Aaron Clarke slamming in his first goal of the season. The Nailers pulled ahead at 13:39 of the first period when TJ Fox deflected a blast from defenseman Alex Grant on the power play for his fourth of the season. The Devils killed off a crucial five-on-three Nailers power play late in the first period to keep the game tight after one.

It was Trenton's flat play in the second that allowed Wheeling to take control of the contest. Captain Trevor Kell got the Devils back within one by deflecting a wrist shot from Tim Kunes under the glove of Jordan Parise at 11:25 after Nailer sniper Thomas Beauregard made it 3-1, but goals from forward Corey Couturier and another from Beauregard gave Wheeling the 5-2 lead after two periods.

Matt Cohen started the Devil's third period comeback when he ripped a top shelf wrist shot over Parise's glove on the power play at 4:03. Tim Kunes got on the scoresheet at 7:07 with a goal from Jeff Prough and Brett Wilson. Jeremy Akeson tied the contest 5-5 at 8:21 with a strike to the back of an open net as Parise was caught stranded at the opposite post. Kell and Justin Pender assisted. Gerald Coleman was stellar in the third to keep Trenton in the game.

The battle headed into a shootout after a back and forth overtime period. Tim Kunes had the only goal for the Devils in the shootout as the Nailers scored three times to win the game. The loss was the Devils' second consecutive defeat in overtime play. The loss brings the team's record to 1-2-1-1 on the season. The Devils stay at home on Friday night against the Johnstown Chiefs at 7 p.m.