VOORHEES, NJ – Less than 24 hours after setting the record for the longest game in ECHL history, the Trenton Devils and Elmira Jackals somehow managed to put together another postseason nail biter. This time though, overtime was avoided as the Devils built a 6-3 lead and then held on for a 6-5 victory to even their American Division semi final at one game apiece as the series shifts to Elmira, NY for the next three games. After more than 126 minutes of game time Friday night it would’ve been no surprise if both teams had gone to their backup goaltenders. As it turned out, only the Jackals would do so, putting Riku Helenius between the pipes as Trenton coach Rick Kowalsky opted to stay with Gerald Coleman for the all important Game two. Weirdly enough, this game started exactly as game one did on a Slavomir Tomko goal opened the scoring for Elmira, only to be followed by a Tony Zancanaro goal for Trenton. The Jackals would take the20lead on Chris Korchinski’s second goal of the series but the lead would only last a couple minutes as Trenton’s Dan Eves scored his second of the series to knot the game at two apiece through one period. The Devils would open the second period with a pair of goals (Justin Coutu and Mike Wilson) to open up a two goal lead. Steve Yetman would pull the Jackals within a goal heading into the third stanza. Goals from Trevor Kell and Matt Radoslovich gave the Devils a 6-3 lead with just under 10 minutes to play in regulation and seemed to make it a comfy game for the Trenton fans.
Not so fast. With 7:37 to play, Elmira would get within a pair on Korchinski’s second tally of the evening. Then just 74 seconds later Benoit Doucet, who did not play in Game one, would get the Jackals within a goal and suddenly this game has the potential to be another foray into overtime. This time the T renton defense and goaltending held tough and made the one goal lead hold up and bring about a tied series. Now, as the teams prepare for game three on Wednesday, both squads should be well rested for the next grind of three games in four nights on the Jackals home ice. Elmira will look to sweep and avoid a trip back to the New Jersey state capitol while one Trenton win will enable the Devils to regain the home-ice edge they earned with their late season finish. One thing’s for certain, there has already been a series worth of excitement in the first two games and we’re not even close to finished here. Keep your seat belts fastened. Contact the author at tom.hoffman@prohockeynews.com
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