The Cincinnati Cyclones, Dayton Bombers and Johnstown Chiefs were all too much for the Trenton Devils as they went 0-3 on the three-day road trip last weekend.
All ECHL North Division rivals, the victors struck harsh blows to the T-Devils' record. Now standing at 18-25-1-4, Trenton is clutching onto the fifth place spot with only a one-point advantage in the rankings over Johnstown.
The Chiefs gained the point on the T-Devils Sunday night after getting the 3-1 win. Left wing Jason Paige scored 4:12 into the first to tie the game at one when he surprised Chiefs' goaltender Ryan Nie with a quick shot. The goal was the offensive high point for the T-Devils as they proceeded to give up two power play goals as the night went on.
Right wing Matt Radoslovich and defenseman Jay Pemberton picked up the assists on Paige's goal.
The T-Devils could not convert chances into goals as they picked up their third straight loss on the road.
Defenseman B.J. Crum, defenseman Mike Knight and center Jean Desrochers added to the offensive effort for the Chiefs as they tallied a goal apiece for the game. Caruso saved 22 of 25 shots in the loss for the T-Devils.
Trenton managed to pick up one point over the course of the week due to a 4-3 shoot out loss against Cincinnati.
The Cyclones, currently in first place in the division, struggled to gain a dominant edge over the T-Devils as they fought back after each Cyclone goal.
Cyclones forward Travis Fuller began the scoring after sending one past Caruso in the first period. Right wing Joe Rooney retorted with a goal in the second as he found the back of the net off passes from defensemen Ryan Gunderson and Zach Tarkir.
Trenton was the next team to get back on the board 2:13 into the third when left wing Andrew Leach connected on a one-timer from Radoslovich from out front of the net coming in from the top dot. Radoslovich made a steal to get the puck back in Trenton's possession.
The 2-1 lead didn't last long when after only three minutes forward Matt Syroczynski just edged the puck over the goal line. One minute later, the T-Devils had a charging two-on-two and a rebound from center Jason Bonsignore's shot gave left wing Eric Castonguay a shot opportunity for a go-ahead goal.
Another Cyclones goal forced the scoreless overtime and led to a shoot out where only Cyclones forward Jason Deitsch could find the back of the net to get the win.
The losses to the Cyclones and Chiefs and a 1-0 loss to the Bombers have the T-Devils coming home to some unfinished business as they host Cincinnati on Friday night.
