Chiefs Bitten By Blades

February 25, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


ESTERO, Fl. - The Johnstown Chiefs' southern road trip got off to a rocky start on Wednesday night as they sustained a 4-3 loss to the Florida Everblades at Germain Arena.

Johnstown's record dropped to 31-20-3, and with Cincinnati winning 5-0 over Reading the Chiefs fell behind the Cyclones by two points for first in the North Division.

Florida opened up two different one-goal leads in the first period, but the Chiefs refused to be intimidated by the league-leading Everblades. They answered each time the home team took the lead and went to the first intermission tied at two. Milan Gajic's third of the season opened the scoring at 3:46, but a 3-on-2 rush by Toby LaFrance, Jarrett Konkle, and Ryan Del Monte set up Del Monte's 13th goal of the season to tie it at one with 10:14 gone by. Todd Griffith took a four-minute double minor for high sticking Kevin Baker just a few moments later and Florida's Ernie Hartlieb scored from the doorstep. Jarret Konkle came right back with his third power play goal in his last two games to put the Chiefs back on even footing. Johnstown had a 2-on-0 rush with Griffith and Petr Pohl with less than five seconds left in the period, but David Leggio made the key save.

Johnstown, which went 11-for-40 on the power play during its recent homestand, used its red-hot power play to take a 3-2 lead in the second period. Trevor Hendrikx took a pass at the near point from Jarrett Konkle and tested Leggio with a big slap shot. Hendrikx was denied, but Blair Yaworski was right there for the rebound and his 11th goal of the season. The league's leading power play scorer would have a say in the action, though, and Kevin Baker made it 3-3 with his 21st on the man advantage at 12:58 of the second. Johnstown was shorthanded five times in the second period and needed some big saves from Ian Keserich to stay tied after 40 minutes.

Johnstown and Florida exchanged power play chances early in the third period, but neither squad was able to cash in and the game remained knotted into the waning moments of the game. A defensive zone faceoff ended up being the Chiefs undoing. Johnstown was unable to clear off of the draw and Baker took a pass in the low slot. He one-timed it past Keserich for the game winner. Johnstown pulled Keserich for the extra attacker with just under a minute left, but couldn't convert to force overtime.

Keserich ended the game with 31 saves while the Chiefs went 2-for-9 on the power play.

Mark your calendars! The Chiefs are back on home ice on Wednesday, March 4 when they host the Wheeling Nailers. The Chiefs will also be holding their second annual "Pups and Pucks" night where fans can bring their dogs to the War Memorial and enjoy the game from the special dog section. Good seats are available, but going quickly! Act fast and be sure to get your seat by calling 814-539-1799 or 814-536-5156.



ECHL Stories from February 25, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central