News

DEVILS WEEKLY: JANUARY 12-18, 2010

Trenton, N.J. - Despite strong team play, the Devils (13-19-4-5, 35pts) only came away with three points this week with a victory over the Johnstown Chiefs and a shootout loss to the Florida Everblades. The Devils remain in third place in the East, five points behind second-place Elmira and thirteen points behind first-place Reading. The Chiefs visit Trenton for the second time in two weeks on Friday before the Devils fly down to Florida next week for a three-game series. 

Photo: Lewis Bleiman / LEB Photography

QUICK HITS

- Dan Eves looked very strong in his return from the IR Friday night against Florida. The Lake Orion, MI native scored a goal and recorded an assist in the loss. Eves, a Lake Superior State alum, scored his goal at 13:48 in the first when a rebound off of a Jeff Prough shot bounced off his body and into the goal. Eves has 20 points (9g, 11a) in 31 games played for the Devils this season.

- Jeff Prough will participate in two events during the 13th Annual ECHL All-Star Skills Night, Tuesday night in Ontario, California: the Ice Town Breakaway Relay and the Mei-Gray Group Accuracy Shooting Competition. Prough, who leads the Devils in both points (28) and goals (14), will represent the Devils as a member of the American Conference All-Star team in the 18th Annual ECHL All-Star Game on Wednesday, January 20.

- Chris Poli continued his consistent play since returning from injury a month ago, amassing five points (2g, 3a) this week alone. The Medfield, MA native scored one goal and notched two assists, including one on Slavomir Tomko's game-tying goal, on his way to being named the second star in Monday's loss to Reading. Poli collected third star honors and scored a goal to lead the Devils over the Chiefs on Wednesday. The Brown alum has 15 points (3g, 12a) in fifteen games with the Devils since returning from injury on December 17.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

DEVILS SKATE PAST CHIEFS, 4-2

Trenton spoiled Chiefs owner Neil Smith's head-coaching debut and got its fourth win over Johnstown in five games this season. The first period remained scoreless until Tomas Klempa put the Chiefs on the board with 50 seconds left, beating Gerald Coleman for his first ECHL goal in three games this season. Matt Vokes tied the game for the Devils at 9:31 of the second with his third goal of the season. Luke Lucyk sent a neutral zone pass to Kyle Kucharski down the left wing for a two-on-one rush. Kucharski faked the shot and then made a brilliant pass across the slot to Vokes who found the back of the net. The Devils took their first lead of the game on Chris Poli's second goal of the season that put the Devils up 2-1 at 15:26 of the second. Trenton extended its lead at 11:49 in the third when Tony Zancanaro buried a rebound. Goalie John Murray stopped Trevor Kell's shot at point blank range but Zancanaro fired home the rebound for his eighth goal of the season. Rough stuff after Zancanaro's goal led to a melee behind the net that put the Chiefs on a power play. Sean Berkstresser scored a rebound goal just after the power play expired, reducing the Devils' lead to one goal. With less than two minutes to go, Jack Combs beat Murray to seal the win for the Devils, 4-2. Tony Zancanaro collected first star honors with a goal to go with his superb penalty killing. Coleman stopped 24 shots for the wins.

EVERBLADES SLIP PAST DEVILS IN A SHOOTOUT, 4-3

The Devils' shootout woes continued Friday night at the Sun National Bank Center in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Everblades. Sloppy play put the Devils in the hole early. After Slavomir Tomko was stripped of the puck along the boards, Ernie Hartlieb fired a wrister that beat Gerald Coleman to give the Everblades a 1-0 lead. With just over six minutes remaining in the first, Florida goalie Barry Brust turned aside a Jeff Prough shot but directed the rebound into the body of Dan Eves, who knocked the puck into the net to tie the game at 1-1. The second period saw three goals in the first three minutes. The 'Blades took a 2-1 lead just over a minute into the second when Matt Duffy's shot fluttered past Coleman. The Devils notched the equalizer just 42 seconds later on a pretty backhander by Jeff Prough. The Devils took its first lead of the game just under a minute later when Kyle Kucharski beat Brust with a low one-timer from the hash marks. The teams battled through a scoreless third period until Kevin Baker beat Gerald Coleman over his glove with 5:55 left to play in regulation. Despite power play opportunities for the Everblades in overtime, Coleman stood tall and the game went to a shootout. Despite a tally by Tim Kunes, goals by Baker and Ross Carlson gave Florida a 4-3 victory.

SCORING WOES DOWN DEVILS, 3-1

Florida got its second victory over the Devils in as many nights in a 3-1 victory Saturday night at the Sun National Bank Center. Despite an 11-9 shot advantage in the first, the period remained scoreless. The Devils got their lone goal of the game on a power play goal by Tony Zancanaro at 15:44 of the second. Zancanaro knocked in the rebound from a Slavomir Tomko point shot to beat goalie Barry Brust. Just 31 seconds later, Florida tied the game on a deflection goal by Mike Bayrack. Two minutes into the third, Jordan Morrison gave the Everblades a 2-1 lead during a five-on-three power play opportunity. Dave Caruso stopped Ernie Hartlieb's initial shot on goal but Morrison pounced on the rebound for his sixth of the season. The Devils mounted numerous scoring chances, cycling the puck and controlling play for extended durations of five-on-five hockey but could not find the back of the net. Mathieu Roy sealed the win for the Everblades with an empty net goal at 17:27 of the third. Brust made 25 saves in the 3-1 win while Dave Caruso stopped 20 shots in the loss.

LAST SECOND GOAL LIFTS ROYALS OVER DEVILS, 4-3

The Reading Royals won their eighth game in as many meetings against the Devils, 4-3, Monday afternoon at the Sovereign Center. The Devils fought back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game in the third, but Ben Gordon's rebound goal with 1.2 seconds left in regulation sealed the game for the Royals. Marc Cavosie got the scoring started for the Royals, scoring on a three-on-two from the high slot to take a 1-0 lead. Jack Combs tied the game five minutes later, redirecting a blast from Dave Leaderer through Matt Dalton's five hole. Chris Poli picked up the secondary assist, his first of three points in the game. Reading scored twice in the second to re-take the lead. Olivier Labelle beat Dave Caruso at 8:10 in the second and then Rob LaLonde notched the third Reading goal on the power play at 10:33. Chris Poli launched the Devils' comeback in the third with his third goal of the season. Slavomir Tomko evened the score at 16:02 in the third, with Poli contributing the only assist. While directing the pass towards Tomko, Poli was sandwiched hard by two Royals and crumpled to the ice. Poli eventually skated to the bench with help from the training staff. Gordon's game-winning- goal came after a Charlie Kronschnabel face-off win, whose quick shot denied the Devils even a point. Poli was named the second star of the game in the 4-3 loss.

DEVILS SIGN BRICK, NJ NATIVE CARTER LEE

The Trenton Devils have signed forward Carter Lee to a contract. Lee, 25, became an unrestricted free agent after being released by the Johnstown Chiefs on December 31, 2009. In four games with Johnstown this season, Lee recorded an assist and accumulated two penalty minutes. The Brick, NJ native was selected by the San Jose Sharks in round nine (#276 overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Lee split his collegiate years equally between Northeastern University (Hockey East) and Lake Superior State University (CCHA). In his two years at Northeastern, Lee recorded nine points (2g, 2a) and amassed 25 penalty minutes in 20 games. After transferring to Lake Superior State for the 2007-2008 season, Lee accumulated six points (3g, 3a) in 28 games for the Lakers. Lee attended prep school at the Canterbury School and in 2002-2003, led all of New England hockey in goal-scoring with 39 goals. A right-handed shooter, Lee stands six feet, two inches, weighs 200 pounds and turns 26 July 2.

DAN CHARLESTON JOINS DEVILS

The Trenton Devils have signed forward Dan Charleston to a contract. Charleston, 25, started the season playing on a tryout contract for KalPa Kuopio in Finland where he was pointless and accumulated four penalty minutes in four games. Signed to an amateur tryout with the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) in late March 2009, Charleston was scoreless in three games played. The Oak Forest, IL native spent his collegiate career with the University of Nebraska-Omaha (CCHA) where he accumulated 116 points (43g, 73a) in his four year career. During his senior year, Charleston ranked second on the team in points (27), third in assists (18), and second in penalty minutes (73). In 2007-2008, during his junior year, Charleston had his best season in a Maverick uniform, recording career highs in points (37) and assists (25). Charleston began his junior hockey career with the Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) in 2001-2002 before spending three seasons with the Chicago Steel (USHL) where he captained the 2004-2005 squad. A left-handed shooter, Charleston stands five feet, eight inches, weighs 180 pounds and turns 26 November 27.

THE WEEK AHEAD

UPCOMING GAMES

Friday, January 22, 2010, 7:00 p.m. - Devils vs. Johnstown Chiefs

The Devils host the Johnstown Chiefs (10-21-5-3, 28 pts) under new interim head coach Neil Smith for the second time in just over a week. Trenton won the last meeting, 4-2, and leads the season series four games to one with five games left to play between the two teams. The Chiefs are coming off of a 5-4 overtime loss to the Toledo Walleye on Sunday night. Forward Chanse Fitzpatrick extended his scoring streak to three games.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS

Friday, January 22, 2010, 7:00 p.m. - Winter Clothing Drive/Jersey Raffle

Bring coats, winter garments, gloves, mittens, scarves, and other winter accessories to the game to be donated to Habitat for Humanity-Trenton Area. Everyone who donates will be entered into a raffle to win an autographed stick!

Each Friday game, a game-worn jersey is raffled off at the sales table behind section 115. Raffle tickets are just $2.

Saturday, January 23, 2010 - "Tooth Fairy" Movie Promotion

Scorch will be at Regal Cinemas in North Brunswick, NJ for the promotion of the film Tooth Fairy, starring Dwayne Johnson. Come out for fun all day including a lobby transformed into a "hockey rink", games, food, and more!

DEVILS GAME BROADCASTS: Tune in as Dan D'Uva brings you all of the live Devils hockey action on www.trentondevils.com, courtesy of B2 Networks. Both audio and video broadcasts are available on our website.

For the latest news on your Trenton Devils visit www.trentondevils.com.