Jesper Boqvist Leads Binghamton Devils to 4-2 Win in Hershey

Hershey, PA - It has been a long, eight years since the last time a team from the NJDevils’ Organization would put together a victory in Chocolate Town, but it finally happened on Saturday as the Binghamton Devils pulled out a rare 4-2 win and swept the weekend series over the Hershey Bears.

Jesper Boqvist continues to show signs of confidence while Gilles Senn recorded his 12th win in his rookie campaign on N/A soil as the never say die club marches on in the third quarter of the season.

It what has always been a hostile environment for any Binghamton team in Hershey, the Devils willed this one with determination and dedication to remain in the playoff hunt during this recent crunch in their schedule.

It’s been a topsy-turvy whirlwind over the past several weeks, but somehow Binghamton (24-23-4-0) remains in the hunt for the final playoff berth in the North Division. The BDevils are currently five points out of fourth place Toronto Marlies with a game on hand.

Hershey (31-16-3-3) tops in the Atlantic Division and second-best record behind the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL showed some frustrations in what the Devils had to offer as they appeared bewildered with the tenacity coming out of Binghamton over the past two nights.

Matt Moulson put the Bears out front as the Devils found themselves in penalty troubles that lasted throughout, with a PP goal just 1:11 into the first period. But the BDevils struck back in the middle frame.

Jesper Boqvist responded with a snipe from the slot area that reached the far side of the net past goaltender Vitek Vanecek that made it a tie game. Then a shot from Chriss Conner was deflected in front of the stick of Kyle Cumiskey that gave the Devils the lead, but more importantly, momentum heading into the final period.

In the third, Mikhail Maltsev would pounce on a bouncing puck sent by Dakota Mermis from the blueline for a PP tally for his eighth of the season as the Devils regained the lead. Brett Seney added an insurance marker on an empty-netter that sent the stunned capacity crowd to the early exits.

Shots ended up in favor once again for the Devils, 38-29.

Line-Up, Game #50

Seney - Street - Boqvist, Conner - McLeod - Bastian, Sharangovich - Schmelzer - Studenic, Maltsev - Schnarr - Zetterlund

Cumiskey/Mermis, Melchiori/Groleau, Sissons/Jacobs

Senn - Schneider

Scratches: Paliotta, Gignac, Baddock & Tennyson

Post Game Notes

• Senn, with his recent play, has been solid in net. Be sure to check out this post from Wednesday with the latest in his development.
• The last time a win took place for a Devils’ team in Hershey was on Dec 29, 2012 to be exact, with the club in Albany as Keith Kinkaid vs. Braden Holtby in net.
• Boqvist, after his three-point night on Friday, was awarded Star of the Game honors with his goal and assist, and five points overall on the weekend.
• Hershey head coach Spencer Carbery in a pregame interview, mentioned Ben Street/Brett Seney tandem as the best he’s seen in the league and also credits the Devils’ transitional game and overall speed.
• Nick Merkley, Joey Anderson, and Colton White remain on recall for NJ.
• Binghamton and Toronto go head-to-head next week beginning with a Monday matinee at 3:00 pm continuing with a Wednesday morning affair at 11:00 AM.

Your Three Stars

#1. Jesper Boqvist (1g, 1a), #2. Philippe Maillet (1g, 1a), #3. Mikhail Maltsev (1g)

Video Highlights

A Look From Above