Binghamton Devils Defeat Lehigh Valley 5-1 For Fifth Straight Victory

BINGHAMTON, NY - The BDevils keep on winning as newcomer goalie Zane McIntyre stopped 34 shots in his home debut for the Devils during a 5-1 drubbing over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday. The win was Binghamton’s (32-24-4-0) fifth straight and 11th out of the last 13 outings as they remain in 4th place in the North Division.

It took some time for the home team to find their legs, but once they did, it was no match for Lehigh Valley (24-28-2-6) as the red-hot BDevils cruised the rest of the way. The game was chippy and dirty, but the officials let them play on.

Photo Credit: JustSports Photography / Binghamton Devils

Fabian Zetterlund with the lone goal in the opening twenty minutes with a hard wrister from the circle that went low on goaltender Alex Lyon. It was Zetterlund’s 8th of the season for the rookie forward.

In the middle stanza, Binghamton scored a pair of specialty goals as Egor Sharangovich received a cross-ice pass from Ryan Schmelzer on a two-on-one break and sent the puck behind Lyon for a shorthanded tally. Then the Devils scored on the powerplay with a shot from Julian Melchiori that was deflected near the crease by Schmelzer as the puck trickled in behind Lyon for a 3-0 lead.

Mikhail Maltsev opened up the final period with his 11th of the season as Brett Seney, from the corner area, found him in front for another Devils powerplay goal. At the mid-point of the period, the Phantoms spoiled the shutout bid when Mark Friedman’s up-ice pass connected to a streaking Carsen Twarynski for a breakaway as he beat McIntyre with a nice corner shot.

With Lyon pulled and Brandon Baddock in the box for interference, Nathan Bastian sealed the win with a Phantoms turnover and scored into the empty net for another shorthanded marker for his 15th of the season.

Shots ended up 35-34 Lehigh Valley.

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Line-Up, Game #60

Seney - Street - Merkley, Boqvist - Maltsev - Zetterlund, Conner - Sharangovich - Studenic, Baddock - Schmelzer - Bastian

White/Tennyson, Cumiskey/Jacobs, Melchiori/Quenneville

McIntyre - Senn

Scratches: Paliotta, Schnarr, Gignac, Groleau & Summers

Post Game Notes

**PLAYOFF WATCH** - Binghamton (68 pts) is ahead of 5th place Syracuse (67 pts) with a game in hand, and 6th place Laval (66 pts) with a game in hand in the North Division.

• Transactions: Janne Kuokkanen was called up beforehand for NJ/Ranger game but did not dress.
• McIntyre has won both games for Binghamton and nearly his 2nd shutout with the first coming last Sunday in Bridgeport. He has a 0.50 GAA, 0.986 SV% record.
• Nick Merkley laid out Mark Friedman late in the second period and both clubs converged with a melee along the wall as tempers were high with cheap shots and hostility.
• BDevils are on the road for a Sunday afternoon game in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to take on the Pens to complete their second consecutive three-in-three weekend.

Your Three Stars

#1. Zane McIntyre (34 svs, 35 shts), #2. Ryan Schmelzer (1g, 1a), #3. Mikhail Maltsev (1g, 1a)

Video Highlights

A Look From Above