Former Jackals goalie debuts in NHL
March 26, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Elmira Jackals News Release
ELMIRA, NY - The Elmira Jackals, in conjunction with the ECHL, proudly announce that former Jackals goaltender Dan LaCosta became the 352nd player to play in the National Hockey League after playing in the ECHL when he played the final 13:09 and made five saves for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 3-0 loss at Nashville on Tuesday.
LaCosta, the first member of the Jackals to appear in an NHL contest, is the fourth player who has played in both the ECHL and the NHL this season joining Chris Beckford-Tseu (Alaska and St. Louis), Joe Jensen (Wheeling and Carolina) and Jonathan Quick (Reading and Los Angeles).
He is the 23rd former ECHL player to play his first NHL game this year and the 207th to make his debut in the past seven seasons. In each of the last nine NHL seasons there have been at least 20 former ECHL players who have played their first NHL game including 41 in 2003-04 and a record 47 in 2005-06.
Selected by Columbus in the third round (93rd overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and in his second professional season, LaCosta is 7-4-1 with a goals-against average of 2.15 and a save percentage of .932 in 14 games with Elmira and 7-2-3 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 2.16 and a save percentage of .930 in 12 games with Syracuse of the American Hockey League.
LaCosta, who will celebrate his 22nd birthday on Friday, was 3-5-1 with a goals-against average of 3.45 and a save percentage of .874 in 10 games with Dayton as a rookie in 2006-07. He also played in Syracuse where he was 5-7-1 with a goals-against average of 2.82 and a save percentage of .894.
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The Elmira Jackals wrap up a five-game home stand Wednesday night against the Trenton Devils in a 7:05 p.m. face-off at First Arena. It marks the final of three Jackals Trading Card Giveaway Nights with the first 2,000 fans entering the arena receiving the commemorative cards featuring your favorite Jackals.
Tickets are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets including the Gray Street box office, on-line at www.ticketmaster.com and charge-by-phone at 722-3711 or 734-PUCK (7825).
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