Goalie Eddie Lack Impressive Despite BDevils’ SO Loss In Belleville

Newly acquired netminder Eddie Lack should have been the story line along with his 32 save effort in his Binghamton debut on Wednesday in Belleville. Instead, it was Senators’ forward Gabriel Gagne for the lone Shootout goal that carried his team to a 3-2 win over the BDevils at Yardmen Arena.

If you are having a deja vu moment, it’s only because it recently had happened on Dec 13th with the Devils up 3-0 entering the third period, only to lose 4-3 in a SO to this same Senator team, in the same Arena.

Binghamton was up 2-1 entering the third period on goals by Ben Thomson in the first period, followed by defenseman Brian Strait with his floater from the blueline late in the second that caught a BSens’ player to redirect by goalie Marcus Hogberg, who finished the night blocking 35 Devils’ shots.

Belleville mounted their comeback in the third with a goal by forward Max Reinhart at 11:40 with his tap-in by the side of the crease that went past a surprised Lack with no one there to cover from the Devils’ defense.

In the Overtime, each team appeared sloppy with minimum flow as the Shootout would eventually approach to decide who earns the extra point.

BDevils sent Nick Lappin, Blake Pietila and John Quenneville as Hogberg stopped all three. Colin White and Gagne were sent by the Sens with Gagne and his snipe that landed top shelf past Lack for the winner.

Line-Ups

Forwards; Quenneville-Kennedy-Latta, Pietila-Kearns-Lappin, Baddock-Rooney-Thomson, Morris-Mandat-Wallin. Defensemen; Strait-Jacobs, White-MacDonald, Kapla-Dyblenko. In Goal; Eddie Lack. Back up; Ken Appleby. Scratches; Austin Cangelosi (inj.), Brandon Gignac (inj.), Viktor Loov (inj.), Blake Speers (inj.) and Nathan Bastian (inj.). Pietila, Strait and Lappin with the A’s.

Random Post Game Notes

• Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was sent down to the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL to help work on his mechanics in a move that took place on New Years Day.
• Devils broke a scoreless streak of a 143:50 minutes over a span of the last three games with Thomson’s tally in the first off a wrister from the arc of the circle that eluded Hogberg for his second of the season.
• Coach Kowalsky continues to mix and match players throughout the line-up at a dizzying pace. If you look back at the last several games, there appears to be a a dozen or so different combinations. At some point, something oughta click but not so much lately with the recent injuries to Speers and Bastian.
• Forward Terrence Wallin made his AHL debut on the third line with Jan Mandat at center and Kevin Morris on the wing. Wallin is on a PTO after being called up from the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL and recorded a shot on goal.
• Getting back to Lack, he has an unusual wide stance at rest, but otherwise quick reflexes and is focused. Tall guy that fills the net, yet is agile on his feet with an overall record this season of 2-2-2-0, 2.45 GAA, 0.921 SV% combined with the Stockton Heat, Calgary Flames’ AHL affiliate. His NHL time line included with the Vancouver Canucks (2013-’15) and Carolina Hurricanes (2015-’17 seasons) reads; 54-51-18, 2.57 GAA, 0.909 SV%.
• If Lack can perform and turn things around for this club, run with him and see how it plays out. Impressive debut.

Three Stars

#1.) Nick Paul (1g), #2.) Marcus Hogberg (35 saves), #3.) Gabriel Gagne (1g in SO)

Video Highlights

Upcoming Games

The home-and-home series with the BSens concludes this Friday in Binghamton, then a Saturday affair with the visiting Lehigh Valley Phantoms.