by Mike Ries, Staff Writer, AHL Report
BRAMPTON, ON. — The Brampton Beast returned home after a two-game road trip in which they dropped both games. The first was a 2-1 shootout loss to the Kalamazoo Wings, and the next was a 4-0 shutout loss to the Wheeling Nailers. Surprisingly, the Beast have been a better team on the road than at the confines of the Powerade Center.
The Beast then played a three-game set with the Elmira Jackals, the ECHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. It was exactly what the doctor ordered for Brampton to get back on the winning track, as they swept the three games and outscored the Jackals in the three games by a 15-8 mark.
With the final victory against the Jackals, the Beast set a franchise record with their 24th win in a season. They will continue to increase the franchise mark through the final 22 games that remain on their schedule.
The Beast received a huge boost with the return of forward David Pacan from his professional try out (PTO) with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. Pacan appeared in six games with the Crunch and recorded two points. Since his absence, the Beast have struggled, but are very happy to have his point production back in their lineup. Pacan still is the goal scoring leader for the Beast despite his extended absence from their lineup.
In separate transactions, the Beast released defenceman Travis Armstrong, and forward Stepon Thorne from their standard player contracts (SPC). Defenceman Mackenzie Braid made his season debut with Brampton against the Kalamazoo Wings and has seen action in two games since then.
Goaltender Andrew D’Agostino has played well in spelling starter Zach Fucale in 11 games this season. D’Agostino is a veteran of four seasons with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL, and two seasons in the OUAA with the University of Guelph. He is currently in his second season with the Beast after appearing in two games last season. This season, D’Agostini is sporting a .892 save percentage (SV%) and a 3.17 goals against average (GAA).
The Beast will enjoy some time off this week as they don’t return to action until Friday, February 10th against the Toledo Walleye. The Beast will then head out on an eight day road trip in which they will play four games in that span against the Indy Fuel, Wheeling Nailers and Fort Wayne Komets.