WBS Pens Defeat BDevils 4-3 In OT

The Binghamton Devils gave all they had in a 4-3 OT loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday in front of a sold-out crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in PA for their third straight defeat and eighth of the last nine games.

Defenseman Jacob MacDonald assisted on Bracken Kearns tieing goal late in the third period with 63 seconds left that gave the BDevils new life heading into the overtime period. However, Binghamton would come up short as Pens’ forward Zach Aston-Reese scored his ninth of the season with 2:32 remaining in the three-on-three competition for the Pens 26th win of the season.

Devils’ goalie Mackenzie Blackwood was in net for his second straight game on the weekend and wound up stopping 26 shots, including a couple of point blank saves in the OT period.

Devils’ forward Nick Lappin had himself a two goal performance on the night and nearly capped off a hat trick in the OT period before he was stopped by netminder Tristan Jarry in one of his 26 overall saves for the Pens.

Garrett Wilson seemed to send the Pens to their eventual win with his eighth of the season for a 3-2 lead with 1:38 left, but Kearns tied it 35 seconds later with his tenth of the season off the post past Jarry, as the two teams headed into overtime with the Devils in the lead on shots, 29-27.

Both clubs would press and come close in the three-on-three session, but it was settled when Pens’ forward Zach Aston-Reese ended it at the 3:28 mark on a sloppy play in front of Backwood by the Devils threesome of Lappin, Nathan Bastian and Kevin Rooney.

Line-Ups

Forwards; Quenneville-Kennedy-Speers, Kearns-Rooney-Lappin, Thomson-Pietila-Bastian, Baddock-Penny-Mandat. Defensemen; Loov-Jacobs, White-MacDonald, Kapla-Dyblenko. In Goal; Mackenzie Blackwood. Back up; Colin Stevens. Scratches; Austin Cangelosi (inj.), Brandon Gignac (inj.), Michael Latta (inj.), Eddie Lack (inj.), Kevin Morris and Brian Strait. Kearns, Lappin and Pietila with the A’s.

Random Post Game Notes

• Lappin scored his team-leading and career high 16th and 17th on back-to-back power plays with assists given out to Bracken Kearns and Tim Kennedy in the second period. Kearns has quietly moved up the point total with 30 with his four points in the last two games, second to Jacob MacDonald with 32.
• JQ has one assist in his last 6 as the slumping second year forward seems to have hit a wall. His season line reads 10 goals, 11 assists in 30 games. I’ve been on his side and I believe it’s a minor bump in the road in his development. But, I cannot help but sense time is running short for the first time this season in his future with the Devils Organization.
• BDevils with 12 wins equaling Pens losses of 12 on the season before entering tonight’s contest. I give the boys some credit in this one, as they gave a much better performance than in Friday’s loss to Utica.
• The game was slighted slanted to the chippiness side of things with several skirmishes that followed after the whistle was blown. It’s a shame these two long time (city) rivals don’t face each other more than what the schedule calls for in six games. Then again, I can’t stand the Pens, so be it.

Three Stars

#1.) Zach Aston-Reese (1g, 1a), #2.) Nick Lappin (2g), #3.) Garrett Wilson (1g)

Video Highlights

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Upcoming Games

Binghamton will be off for the AHL All-Star break before resuming in the next three games at home beginning with Friday vs the Belleville Senators.