Ken Applebly Impressive In Season Debut

No Scott Wedgewood? No problem as third string back-up goaltender Ken Applebly stole the show in his season debut for Binghamton making 28 saves for a 2-1 Devils win over the visiting Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena.

After the trade that took place on Saturday involving Wedgewood, Appleby made his mark for his first win for the BDevils. Although Springfield (1-8-1-0) made it interesting in the final four minutes, but kept his team from what could have been a possible potential bitter loss to the lowly Thunderbirds.

Photo provided by Alicia Strauch

BDevils (4-2-1-0) were lured to a sloppy, yet scoreless opening twenty minutes with some carryovers leftover from Friday’s awful loss to Providence, as Springfield took it to them but Appleby bailed his teammates out, including a careless turnover deep in the defensive zone by Jacob MacDonald with a leg pad save on Springfield forward Anthony Greco in front.

In the second frame Devils forward Nick Lappin, who was back in the line-up after his brief but recent illness, scored his team leading fifth goal on a two-on-one rush with Blake Pietila that put the Devils ahead 1-0. Thunderbird starter Harri Sateri had no chance with Pietila’s fake shot attempt in the circle that pulled the netminder, along with his defenseman, out of position for an easy tally from the slot.

Binghamton looked to finally get their act together after the goal and took control of the game but it still remained a one goal contest, that is until the third period when Brandon Baddock scored his first of the season on a nice individual effort.

Baddock chased the puck down near the side boards to the circle and made a quick pivot before sending the puck up high, far corner over Sateri’s shoulder for a two goal cushion 6:08 in the final period. It would turn out to be the game winner as things got sorta dicey towards the end.

Photo provided by Alicia Strauch

Jan Mandat’s high hit to a Thunderbird player into the boards created a scrum with multiple players involved as the end result was a five minute major for boarding with 3:47 left which meant, a prolonged power play for Springfield. It was a debatable call as many in the building believed a dive transpired, however, it stood and Binghamton was tested once again.

The opportunity harnessed a marker by Anthony Greco in a goal mouth scramble, as Greco simply but quickly slid the puck through Appleby’s five hole while he was down in the crease.

With Sateri pulled for the extra attacker, it gave the opposition a two man advantage, but Appleby stood tall with several key saves to help preserve his first win of the season for the Devils.

Line-Ups

Forwards; Gignac-Kearns-Lappin, Blandisi-Kennedy-Speers, Pietila-Cangelosi-Mandat, Baddock-Rooney-Bastian. Defensemen; Strait-Jacobs, MacDonald-Loov, Erixon-Dyblenko. In Goal; Ken Appleby. Back Up: Mackenzie Blackwood. Scratches; Ryan Kujawinski (inj.), John Quenneville (inj), Michael Kapla and Ben Thomson. Strait, Pietila and Lappin with the A’s.

Post Game Notes

• Binghamton needs to stay out of the box with another outing of six calls against as the recent pattern is a concern. So far the goalies have done their job but just too many back-to-back man advantages have been given up.
• Appleby looked great and also earned Star of the Game honors with his performance. Mackenzie Blackwood needed a break and I feel confident in what we have now in moving forward despite the trade.
• Rookie Austin Cangelosi took a puck to what appeared to be his nose/mouth area, as he left the ice (to get stitched up?) but was available soon after.
• Shots not much better than on Friday with 14, as the Devils had 20 compared to 29 for Springfield.
• Defenseman Victor Loov had a decent outing this weekend with his physical play on Friday followed by his puck moving abilities on Saturday, especially on the power play. Speaking of PP, he was joined by Jacob MacDonald, Joe Blandisi, Lappin and Bracken Kearns on the number one unit.
• Speaking of MacDonald, he’s been a difficult read so far. He possesses a quality shot and moves the puck well on the specialty teams, however has his moments of defensive miscues, including a brutal one tonight. On the other hand I do like Josh Jacobs and Brian Strait as the number one pairings.
• Appleby is here to stay since the announcement that Wedgewood was traded earlier today to Arizona. If this was last season, the BSens would have simply collapsed at the end with poor goaltending (and other factors). Not the case with the BDevils this season and some solid depth in the crease.

Three Stars

#1 Appleby (28 saves), #2 Baddock (1g), #3 Lappin (1g).

Video Highlights

Working on it.

Upcoming Games

Binghamton is off until next weekend with a visit to Utica on Friday and back home on Saturday vs. Lehigh Valley.