Devils moving in the right direction

VOORHEES, NJ— As the Trenton Devils enter play in the second half of the 2008-09 ECHL season, their roster and play in the first 18 games of the season compared to their play since is almost night and day.
Head Coach Rick Kowalsky didn’t hesitate when asked about his team’s season to date.

  “We got off to a rough start, there were definitely some holes in our game,” Kowalsky said.   “A lot of it had to do with personnel and health issues.”
Injuries on all levels affected the Devils roster in the early going.   A number of players on Trenton’s opening night roster ended up spending time either on the injured list or playing in the AHL for the Lowell Devils while the team made several trades to add depth to the roster.   Not surprisingly the T-Devils struggled to a 5-11-2 record in the season’s first quarter.
Offense was sporadic, while the defense and goaltending struggled to keep the team in games.   Once players started getting healthy and others returned from Lowell, Trenton’s season took a turn for the better.   Since the rough start, the T-Devils have gone 16-5-1, and have gone from cellar dweller to being in the hunt for a playoff spot in the ultra competitive ECHL North Division.  
Kowalsky sees his team gaining confidence every night.
“The biggest thing now is these guys are just hungry and this momentum just keeps building,” Kowalsky said.   “There’s urgency in their game and they realize how good they can be.   The beginning of the season we were searching for an identity.   We’ve come a long way from there.”   
The offense has picked up, and the defense has stabilized but a huge reason for the Devils excellent play recently has been the emergence of Gerald Coleman in goal. Acquired early in the season from the Phoenix Roadrunners, Coleman was injured in his second start with Trenton.  
After returning to the lineup, Coleman has been a workhorse sporting a 12-1-0 record with Trenton (14-2-1 overall) with a sparkling overall goals against average of 1.63 (through January 25^th).
While things have come together nicely, Kowalsky looks cautiously towards the remainder of the season.
“We’re seeing the results of playing good defense and now we have some confidence offensively, guys who can put the puck in the net,” Kowalsky said.   “There’s no question we’re making some noise but we’ve got a lot of hockey left.”
GRADING THE DEVILS AT MIDSEASON
Early in the season, this team struggled to earn a passing grade.   Eric Castonguay and Trevor Kell have been season long leaders on offense and were missed greatly when both spent time in the AHL back in November.   Their return, along with the additions of Brad Snetsinger (re-assigned from Lowell) and Jeff Prough (acquired from the Gwinnett Gladiators), has helped the Devils offense move up in the ECHL rankings (15^th as of January 25^th).
Coleman’s play in net, along with the veteran presence of Chris Dyment (who had missed 16 games due to injury) has helped the defense get its footing.   On special teams, All-Stars Matt Cohen and Ryan Gunderson, along with Castonguay and Kell, have boosted the Trenton power play, one which currently ranks 3^rd in the ECHL.   Penalty killing has been solid as well ranking fourth overall.
Overall
The Devils not only have a solid passing grade so far this season, but could go even higher as they march towards a return to the postseason after a year’s absence.
GRADE: C+
Contact the author at tom.hoffman@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at brian.mechling@prohockeynews.com