The local Trenton Devils broke down the Elmira Jackals for the second week in a row as the Devils outlasted the Jackals in a 4-3 overtime win.
The Jackals were the first place team in the ECHL's North Division before losing to the T-Devils 5-2 last Friday. Since then, the Jackals have slipped to second place behind the Cincinnati Cyclones trailing by one point, while the T-Devils are looking to gain ground in fifth place out of seven teams.
In the win Friday, defenseman Bill LeClerc tallied the first goal of his ECHL career over the goaltender's shoulder to take the victory into overtime. LeClerc's goal also marked a multi-point game for the rookie.
LeClerc also notched an assist on the game-tying goal that sent the game into overtime when he sent the puck up to left wing Jason Paige in Elmira's zone. Left wing Tony Zancanaro converted a rebound off of Paige's eventual shot into a goal to tie the game at three.
It wasn't all clean fun for the T-Devils and Jackals as the teams collaborated for 106 total penalty minutes, a record for Trenton this season.
The first goal of the game came from Elmira when right wing Pierre-Luc Faubert one-timed the opening goal 2:50 into the second period. It wasn't long before Trenton answered back as center Trevor Kell scored off a pass from All-Star defenseman Ryan Gunderson from behind the net just 30 seconds after Faubert's goal to tie the game at one.
Defenseman Stephen Wood struck next for the Devils 10 minutes later when he sent one past goaltender Joel Martin to take a 2-1 lead.
Elmira then scored two unanswered goals thanks to right wing Chaz Johnson and center Benoit Doucet, who both took advantage of rebounds in the crease.
After Friday's win, the Devils dropped a 2-1 game to the Cyclones Saturday night. This time, Trenton scored first when Kell found the five-hole on a pass from right wing Matt Radoslovich 7:08 into the contest. The Cyclones answered back with a power-play goal 3:28 into the second period.
With just three minutes left in regulation, center Barret Ehgoetz kept the game out of overtime when he knocked in a shot from inside the crease.
Next for the Devils is a visit to the Cyclones this Friday evening.
