Jackals Earn Two Points With Road Win
January 9, 2007 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release
The Elmira Jackals began a long week with a gusty performance against the top Western Conference Fort Wayne Komets. In one of the best goaltender duels of the season, Komet's starter Kevin St. Pierre out-lasted Jackals goaltender Dave Lemanowicz in a 1-0 thriller that saw the Jackals out-shoot Fort Wayne 33-22. Elmira then hit the road for two games in Flint, but found the Generals welcoming party rather inhospitable as they thrashed the Jackals 8-1 Friday night. Elmira got back on track Saturday as they got another stunning effort from Lemanowicz as he held the offensive Generals to just one goal in a 2-1 win. Sunday the road-weary Jackals were back home for a difficult game against the Muskegon Fury, the Eastern Conference's 1st place team. Elmira held strong in the opening period, but the Fury unleashed a vicious 5-minute 3-goal barrage early in the 2nd period and the Jackals never recovered, losing 7-4.
December was a difficult month for the Jackals, playing 10 of their 14 December games on the road. This week the Jackals begin a two-week stretch of nothing but home games as they host the Flint Generals for three straight at First Arena. The implications of this 3-game series will ring very strong in the Eastern Conference as the Generals and Jackals are battling to catch up with Muskegon, Kalamazoo and Port Huron in the standings.
Week 13 Game Results:
1/3/07 Fort Wayne 1 @ Elmira 0
Elmira, NY - Fort Wayne Komets goaltender Kevin St. Pierre out-dueled Jackals net minder Dave Lemanowicz for a narrow 1-0 Komets win Wednesday night at First Arena.
The Jackals put the pressure on the Komets all night long, out-shooting their opponents in each of the three periods. But the play of Fort Wayne goaltender Kevin St. Pierre was too much for the Jackals high-powered offense. Elmira out-shot the Komets 11-8 in the first, but the goalies dominated the period forcing a goalless draw.
The Jackals continued to fire shots on the Komets net in the second period, but the theme for the Jackals was their inability to cash in on their power play opportunities. Fort Wayne pulled ahead late in the period when Bogdan Rudenko blasted a one-timer in for a power play goal at 15:01, assisted by Guy Dupuis and Mario Larocque. Elmira out-shot their guests 11-7 in the second period, but could not beat St. Pierre.
In the final period, Elmira out-shot Fort Wayne 13-7, but despite a 4-minute power play called on Mike Dombkiewicz, the Jackals failed to score, going 0-for-9 on the power play in the game; the Komets were 1-for-5 with the man-advantage Wednesday night.
Kevin St. Pierre earned his 18th win of the season as he stopped all 35 shots he faced, earning the shutout as the Komets improved to 20-10-1 on the season. Dave Lemanowicz was excellent in goal for the Jackals, but suffered the loss as he made 21 saves on 22 shots; the Jackals are now 16-16-0 on the year.
1/5/07 Elmira 1 @ Flint 8
Flint, MI - The Flint Generals scored 6 power play goals and Mike Kinnie had a hat trick as they defeated the Elmira Jackals 8-1 Friday night at Perani Arena.
The Jackals came into the game looking to stay out of the penalty box in an effort to stymie the potent Flint power play. However, Elmira took three minor penalties in the first period during a four-minute span. The Jackals killed off the first penalty, but couldn't rebuff the Generals attack after Flint was giving a 5-on-3 advantage. Jan Jas knocked in a rebound for a power play goal at 9:29, assisted by Gerard Miller and Shaun Fischer. 28 seconds later Bobby Reynolds took a beautiful pass from Mike Kinnie and buried his back-door shot for a power play goal at 9:52 and a 2-0 lead.
The Generals not only opened the floodgates in the second period, they blew them off their hinges as they erupted for 4-goals in the middle frame to take a commanding 6-0 lead. Mike Kinnie opened the second period scoring at 2:07 as he knocked in Flint's 3rd power play goal of the game. Less than three minutes later Kinnie scored his second goal of the night, an even strength goal, assisted by Martin Ondrej at 4:42 and a 4-0 lead. Bobby Reynolds tacked on his 2nd goal of the game at 10:31 on a 5-on-3 advantage to make it 5-0 Flint. Mike Kinnie finished off his 2nd period hat-trick at 12:18 with the Generals 5th power play goal of the night and a 6-goal lead.
In the third period Jordan Fox made it 7-0 Flint at 13:33 when he snapped in a shot during a delayed penalty coming to the Jackals and the Generals goaltender pulled for the extra attacker. Jan Eriksson scored Flint's 8th goal of the game on the power play at 14:36, the Generals' 6th power play goal of the night. But as goaltender Jason Muzzatti closed in on his first shutout of the season, a Jackals rookie was preparing to spoil Flint's otherwise perfect evening. Rookie winger Dan Veenema scored his 2nd goal of the season, both against Flint, at 15:27 on a beautiful back-hand shot lifted up under the cross bar assisted by Erik Anderson, preventing the Jackals from being held scoreless for the 2nd consecutive game.
Jason Muzzatti earned the win in goal for Flint as he made 28 saves on 29 shots, improving the Generals record to 14-21-2 on the season. Kris Tebbs took the loss in goal for Elmira while blocking 22-of-30 shots. Flint was 6-for-12 on the power play, while Elmira was 0-for-8 in the game and dropped to 16-17-0 on the season.
1/6/07 Elmira 2 @ Flint 1
Flint, MI - The Elmira Jackals received superb goaltending from starter Dave Lemanowicz as they defeated the Flint Generals 2-1 Saturday night at Perani Arena.
Coming off a very difficult loss to the Generals last night, Elmira had something to prove to themselves and the Flint hockey community. The Jackals were looking to stay out of the penalty box to limit the chances of the UHL's #2 ranked power play. The outlook looked grim early as Elmira took the first three penalties of the period, but starting goaltender Dave Lemanowicz and the Jackals penalty kill held strong, deny Flint on four power plays in the opening period.
Dale Lupul opened the scoring in the second period, as he cranked home a power play goal from Scott Wray and Erik Anderson at 4:23. Lupul was setup by Wray with a cross-ice pass that the rookie defenseman one-timed from above the left face-off dot into the open net. But the Generals pulled even at 16:56 when Shawn Snyder's wrist shot from the point eluded Lemanowicz and tied the game on the power play.
In the third period, Tommy Kotsopoulos gave the Jackals the lead again when he one-timed a perfect pass from Frank Littlejohn into the net at 2:56, with the assists going to Littlejohn and Yevgeny Lazarev. Later in the period Elmira weathered a dangerous 5-on-3 Flint power play and Flint even pulled their goaltender with a minute remaining but they failed to find a way past Lemanowicz to tie the game.
Dave Lemanowicz earned his 4th win of the season as he stopped 34-of-35 shots in goal for the Jackals. Elmira was 1-for-8 on the power play as they improved to 17-17-0 on the season. Bryan Worosz took the loss as he made 24 saves on 26 shots for Flint. The Generals fell to 14-22-2 on the season and were 1-for-10 on the power play.
1/7/07 Muskegon 7 @ Elmira 4
Elmira, NY - The Muskegon Fury systematically pieced apart the Elmira Jackals as they earned a 7-4 win Sunday afternoon at the First Arena.
The Jackals and Fury were both finishing off a long week of travel with a Sunday matinee in Elmira and the fatigue showed as the two teams skated to a scoreless first period.
Muskegon went on an 8-minute 3-goal tear to open the 2nd period. Josh Chase scored at 3:21, Todd Robinson cashed in with a power play goal at 7:36 and Billy Collins scored at 8:18, giving Muskegon a 3-0 lead. Scott Wray put the Jackals on the board when he scored his 16th goal of the season at 11:36, assisted by Eric Anderson and Dan Veenema, but the Fury again had the answer. Philippe Plante scored a power play goal at 13:47 to regain the visitors 3-goal lead heading into the second intermission.
In the third period Elmira got a goal from an unlikely source as forward Curtis Tidball scored at 1:18 from David Morelli; Tidball's first point of the season, cutting the Muskegon lead to 4-2. Ryan Barnes caused a turnover in the Elmira defensive zone and scored an unassisted goal at 7:17 to make it 5-2 Muskegon. Justin Kinnunen gave Muskegon their largest lead of the game when he scored at 14:05, opening up a 4-goal lead. But the Jackals clawed back again when Frank Littlejohn scored twice to keep the Jackals hopes alive. Littlejohn first scored at 15:26 finishing off a two-on-one with Curtis Tidball; Tidball and Derek Miller had assists on the goal. Littlejohn's 2nd of the game, his 15th of the season came at 19:28 when he banked his own rebound off the back of goaltender Clayton Pool and into the net, assisted by Eric Lind and Yevgeny Lazarev. But time ran out on the Jackals and Philippe Plante added an empty net goal, short-handed at 19:59 to cap a 7-4 Muskegon win.
Clayton Pool earned his 24th win of the season as he made 27 saves on 31 shots as Muskegon improved to 3-1-0 against the Jackals this year. Dave Lemanowicz stopped 33-of-39 shots in goal for Elmira, who drop to 17-18-0. Muskegon was 2-for-5 on the power play, while Elmira was 0-for-3.
Jackals Player & Goaltender of the Week: (Week 13)
Frank Littlejohn - RW 3 GP, 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points, +1, 15 PIMs
Frank Littlejohn with do anything to make an impact for the Jackals on the ice. If the dynamic forward isn't scoring twice against the UHL's 1st place team, he is dropping the gloves with Fort Wayne's 6'7" defenseman Brent Henley. Littlejohn had 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist), 15 penalty minutes and a +1 rating in a week that saw the Jackals earn just two points of a possible eight. His goal flurry on Sunday against the Fury improved his goal total to 15 goals this season.
Dave Lemanowicz - G 3 GP, 1-2-0, 3.07 GAA, 0.937 SV%, 89 saves
Dave Lemanowicz first two starts of the week classify near the top performances this season by a Jackals goaltender. He held the high-powered power play offenses of both Fort Wayne and Flint to a solitary goal, earning a split in those games. Sunday Lemanowicz and the Jackals could not find the answer for Muskegon, but despite allowing 6 goals to the Fury, his numbers are still very strong on the week. In 3 starts Lemanowicz was 1-2-0 with a 3.07 GAA and a 0.937 save percentage.
JACKAL BITES:
- NEW OFFENSE - Forward Curtis Tidball, who leads the UHL in penalty minutes (195) scored his first points of the season Sunday against Muskegon. Tidball opened his scoring account with his first UHL goal in the third period. Minutes later Tidball setup Frank Littlejohn on a beautiful 2-on-1 pass for his first assist of the season.
- RISING TO NE W HEIGHTS - Rookie Forward Dan Veenema scored his 2nd goal of the season to prevent the Jackals from being shutout Friday in Flint. He also had an assist Sunday against Muskegon as he improve to 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 14 games this season.
- ALL-STARS - The Jackals had three players named to the UHL All-Star Classic coming up on January 17th in Fort Wayne. Brent Cullaton, Scott Wray and Dale Lupul will represent the Jackals for the Eastern Conference All Stars.
- AN THE LIGHT GOES ON - Defenseman Dale Lupul blasted home his 9th goal of the season, and 4th power play goal, Saturday night against Flint. Lupul is currently tied for 3rd amongst UHL defensemen in goals (9), just two behind Muskegon's Philippe Plante (11).
- TWO IN THE THIRTY CLUB - Forward Scott Wray scored his Jackals-leading 16th goal of the season Sunday against Muskegon. It was also his 30th point of the year, making him the 2nd Jackals player (along with Brent Cullaton) to reach the 30 point mark.
NEWS AND NOTES:
Elmira Jackals Team Leaders:
Games Played: Six Tied at (35)
Goals: Scott Wray (16)
Assists: Brent Cullaton (24)
Points: Brent Cullaton (33)
Plus/Minus: Derek Miller (+9)
Penalty Minutes: Curtis Tidball (195)
Power Play Goals: Frank Littlejohn (6)
Short Handed Goals: Frank Littlejohn (5)
Game Winning Goals: Frank Littlejohn (3)
Shots: Scott Wray (182)
Shooting Percentage: David Morelli (22.4%)
Saves: Kris Tebbs (785)
Wins: Kris Tebbs (11)
GAA: Dave Lemanowicz (2.89)
Save Percentage: Dave Lemanowicz (0.907)
Eastern Conference Standings:
EASTERN GP W L SOP PTS PCT.
Muskegon 38 32 5 1 65 0.855
Kalamazoo 35 23 10 2 48 0.686
Port Huron 37 15 16 6 36 0.486
Elmira 35 17 18 0 34 0.486
Flint 39 15 22 2 32 0.410
TGI Friday's Dinner Series
Tuesday January 9th at 7:00 pm the Jackals will be at the TGI Friday's monthly dinner series. Join your favorite players for great food and great fun at TGI Friday's Consumer Square, 830 County Road 64 in Big Flats. Don't forget to bring your favorite Jackals souvenir item to get the players to autograph or bring your camera to take some pictures of the Beast of the East! After tonight's dinner, the next installment of the monthly dinner series will be on Tuesday February 6th at 7:00 pm.
Coach's Show
Don't miss the next broadcast of The Elmira Jackals Coach's Show LIVE Monday January 15th at 6 pm at the Pioneer Sports Bar & Grill in Elmira. Join the Voice of the Jackals Owen Newkirk, as he interviews the Jackals Head Coach and two Jackals players for the broadcast on News Talk 1230 & 1450 AM WENY or stream it online at www.jackalshockey.com - Fans are encouraged to email their questions for any of the Coach's Show participants to jackalsinfo@jackalshockey.com no later than 3 pm on Monday before the show or they can come to the Pioneer Sports Bar & Grill to experience the Coach's Show in person.
First Arena Rec Rink Hockey Information
The ice is HOT at First Arena - Visit our website for a complete list of Public Skating times and Arena Programs at www.firstarena.com - Come in to the COOL place to be!
The First Arena Rec Rink offers public skating, skating lessons, hockey programs, figure skating, birthday parties, adult hockey leagues and much more....
2006-07 Record: 17-18-0, 34 points (8-8-0 Home, 9-10-0 Road), Fourth Place, Eastern Conference
Week 14 Schedule: (All games are broadcasted LIVE on MAGIC 92.7 & 97.7 FM)
Friday, January 12 7:35 pm vs. Flint Generals (15-22-2, 32 pts) Fifth Place, Eastern Conference
Saturday, January 13 7:35 pm vs. Flint Generals (15-22-2, 32 pts) Fifth Place, Eastern Conference
Sunday, January 14 4:05 pm vs. Flint Generals (15-22-2, 32 pts) Fifth Place, Eastern Conference
International Hockey League 2 Stories from January 9, 2007
- Jackals Earn Two Points With Road Win - Elmira Jackals
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