BDevils Shutout Syracuse Crunch 4-0 Behind Evan Cormier’s 35 Save Performance

It was sheer grit and determination from a team that has been beaten up during the last two years as Binghamton finally got one back in a 4-0 shutout win against Syracuse on Wednesday. Rookie goalie Evan Cormier in his only fourth pro contest, stopped all 35 shots he faced to preserve his first professional shutout.

Brandon Gignac got his team on the board in the first period with a breakaway goal that beat Syracuse netminder Eddie Pasquale down low for his eighth of the season.

In the middle frame, Brandon Baddock made it 2-0 Devils with a riser that went top shelf corner that was quickly reviewed after mysteriously being waved off. The result would be a good goal for Baddock’s second as the Devils cashed in for two goals on just eight shots after 40 minutes.

Binghamton continued to make the most of their offensive opportunities when Egor Sharangovich scored on the ninth shot of the night in the third period. But the Crunch have the Devils number for the last two seasons and pulled Pasquale for the extra man with a penalty called against the Devils.

Time to buckle up and they responded.

With bodies and sticks all over the defensive zone, Nick Lappin was able to add an empty netter for his 11th to help secure an extra insurance goal for the shutout victory.

Shots ended up 35-10 Syracuse with the Devils out-shot 12-2 in the final twenty minutes.

Line-Up, Game #40

Forwards: Gignac - Rooney - Lappin, Quenneville - Sharangovich - Studenic, Baddock - Schemlzer - Bastian, Saracino - Speers - Gabriel

Defensemen: White - Kapla, Sissons - Ramage, Hammond - Jacobs

In Goal: Evan Cormier, Jeremy Brodeur

Scratches: Brian Strait, Eddie Lack, Eric Tangradi, Eric Gryba, Brian Ward and Michael McLeod

Post Game Notes

• JQ sent down earlier in the week with a lengthy fight with Cal Foote in the opening period as both landed but JQ would leave after cutting his hand and didn’t return.
• Baddock looked great with some hustle and determination, most noticeably in the final period with the Crunch pressing full throttle.
• Studenic looks to be back to speed with several offensive chances after missing a handful of games due to injury.
• Penalties were an issue with a total of 7 called against Binghamton with 3 in the last 10 minutes of the game for the top-ranked powerplay in the league at 26.1%, and the worst PK at 76% for the BDevils. Syracuse, on the other hand, went 0 / 2.
• Cormier plays his angles well and looked confident shutting down their toughest rival with back to back 1st Star honors with his 1st pro win against Bridgeport last Saturday. His line reads after his 4th game 2-1-0-1, 1.87 GAA, 0.938 SV%.
• Boys played tough in their own end to prevent a pushback with sticks and bodies in the shooting lanes. Mad chaos I would label it as they finally solved Syracuse for the 1st time in 7 tries this season. They seemed to take it personally as these two clubs are very familiar with one another.

Three Stars

#1. Evan Cormier (25 saves), #2. Brandon Gignac (1g, 1a), #3. Brandon Baddock (1g)

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Upcoming Games

Binghamton travels down the I81 corridor south for a visit to Allentown, Pa against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday.