Chiefs Pick up Their First Shutout of the Season

January 12, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, Pa. - The Johnstown Chiefs picked up their first shutout of the season last weekend in Elmira, but treaded water with their record as they split the games. The Chiefs didn't gain any ground on Wheeling and remain three points out of first in the North Division with games on tap this Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Record: 22-12-2, 46 pts., 2nd place North Division

Leaders:

Goals - Jarrett Konkle (total): 19 Petr Pohl (team): 12

Assists - Ryan Del Monte: 19

Points - Petr Pohl: 30

+/- - Ryan Del Monte: +16

PIMs - Alex Penner: 94

PPG - Jarrett Konkle (total): 8 Randy Rowe (team): 5

SHG - Jarrett Konkle (total): 3 Randy Rowe (team): 2

Wins - Kris Mayotte: 14

GAA - Kris Mayotte: 2.68

SVP - Kris Mayotte: .914

This Week:

1/14 at Trenton, 7:00 p.m. - Home (3-0-1), Away (1-2-0) The Chiefs head to Sovereign Bank Arena on Wednesday with a two-game losing streak in hand on Trenton's home ice. Offense has been very hard for Johnstown to come by this season in Trenton. The Chiefs have scored just five goals in three games at S.B.A. and have not scored more than two goals in any of those contests. The Chiefs may have to again fend with former Johnstown goaltender Gerald Coleman, which could make goals even harder to come by. The Chiefs did manage four goals against Coleman on New Year's Eve, but in nine games with the Devils he is 7-1-0 with a 1.72 goals against average and a .935 save percentage. Ian Keserich is 1-1-0 at Trenton this season with a 2.51 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. Last season, the Chiefs were 4-1-0 against the Devils in Trenton.

1/16 vs. Elmira, 7:05 p.m. - Home (3-0-0), Away (1-2-0) The Chiefs and Jackals will be squaring off for the third time in the last four games on Friday night, and everyone is hoping that ice problems will be avoided. The last time Elmira came to Johnstown, a hole in the ice forced the postponement of the game on December 27 until the next day, and last weekend ice problems at First Arena threatened to postpone last weekend's games. The Chiefs will look to continue the trend of the home team dominating the season series between them and the Jackals. Elmira has not won at the War Memorial, but did pick up a point for making it to overtime on December 28, while Johnstown has won only once in three tries at First Arena. Last season proved just the opposite with Johnstown going 1-2-2 against Elmira at home and 3-1-0 on the road. Friday is also Pittsburgh Sports Pride Night. The Chiefs want everyone to bust out their Steelers, Pirates, Penguins, and Pitt University gear because the biggest Pittsburgh supporter will take home a Pittsburgh Sports Prize Pack.

1/17 vs. Dayton, 7:05 p.m. - Home (0-1-0), Away (2-1-0) In a scheduling quirk, this Saturday's game will be Dayton's last visit to the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the Cambria County War Memorial this season. The Bombers' first game in Johnstown was way back on October 24 - Johnstown's third home game - which they won 1-0. Saturday's game will have strong implications in the standings because Dayton enters the week two points behind the Chiefs for second place in the North Division. With only three games remaining this season between the teams, Johnstown will have a big chance to separate itself in the standings. Saturday's game will feature the Chiefs' second AmeriServ Sellout Challenge of the season. The challenge is for Chiefs fans to get that night's attendance to, or above, 3,880 because if they do everyone in attendance will take home a free ticket to a future Chiefs home game! -more-

Day by Day:

Mon. 1/12: Practice at the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the CCWM - 10:00 a.m.

Tues. 1/13: Practice at the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the CCWM - 11:00 a.m.

Wed. 1/14: Chiefs at Trenton Devils, 7:00 p.m.

Thurs. 1/15: Practice at the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the CCWM - 11:00 a.m.

Fri. 1/16: Chiefs vs. Elmira Jackals, 7:05 p.m. - Pittsburgh Sports Pride Night

Sat. 1/17: Chiefs vs. Dayton Bombers, 7:05 p.m. - AmeriServ Sellout Challenge #2

Sun. 1/18: Off

Broadcast Schedule:

Wed. 1/14: Chiefs at Trenton Devils, 7:00 - internet only

Fri. 1/16: Chiefs vs. Elmira Jackals, 7:05 p.m. - radio and internet

Sat. 1/17: Chiefs vs. Dayton Bombers, 7:05 p.m. - radio and internet

All Chiefs radio broadcasts can be heard on 1490 AM WNTJ and AM 990 WNTW, and live streaming audio of every Chiefs game is available courtesy of B2 Networks at www.johnstownchiefs.com or www.echl.com. The Chiefs radio network is presented by Dodge.

Last Week: (1-1-0)

1/9 at Elmira: W 3-0 The Chiefs picked up their first win in Elmira this season thanks in no small part to Ian Keserich turning in a 38-save performance for the Johnstown's first shutout of the season. Jarrett Konkle scored his third shorthanded goal of the season, second as a Chief, for the eventual game winner at 15:52 of the second period. It was the Chiefs' 11th shorthanded goal of the season which is best in the ECHL. Elmira brought a lot of offensive pressure and out-shot Johnstown 38-17 for the game, 15-10 in the third period, but Keserich was on his game. With the Chiefs protecting the lead late in the third period, Elmira pulled goalie David Shantz for the extra attacker, but the gamble failed to pay off. Sean Berkstresser scored a bank shot empty net goal from about 130 feet away and then assisted on Ryan Del Monte's empty netter with five seconds left in regulation. The win was Keserich's seventh of the season.

1/10 at Elmira: L 5-3 Johnstown was able to pull out the win on Friday in spite of a sputtering offense that managed a season-low 17 shots. Saturday the Chiefs weren't as fortunate. Ryan Del Monte gave Johnstown a great start with a 1-0 lead 1:01 into the game, and then the goal trading began. Elmira tied the game at 14:45 of the first and took the lead at 8:02 of the second with Chris Korchinski assisting on the first and scoring the second. Jarret Konkle and Jason Spence scored 6:04 apart with a Steve Yetman goal sandwiched in between to leave the score tied at 3 after two periods. Johnstown's offense got bogged down in the third period and only managed four shots on goal. Elmira countered with 14, two of which ended up in the Chiefs' net. Benoit Doucet scored the eventual game winner at 3:36 and Pierre-Luc Faubert added an empty netter with 38 seconds left to play.

CHIEFS CHOPS:

Scoring Streaks:

Goals:

- Jarrett Konkle; 1/9-1/10: 2 gms (2G)

- Ryan Del Monte; 1/3-1/10: 3 gms (3G)

Assists:

- Sean Berkstresser; 1/9-1/10: 2 gms (2A)

- Petr Pohl; 12/19-12/20: 2 gms (2A)

- Ray Macias; 10/30-11/2: 3 gms (4A)

Points:

- Sean Berkstresser; 1/9-1/10: 3 gms (2G, 2A)

- Jarrett Konkle; 1/9-1/10: 2 gms (2G)

- Ryan Del Monte; 1/3-1/10: 3 gms (3G)

- Petr Pohl; 12/19-12/20: 2 gms (1G, 2A)

- Ray Macias; 10/25-11/2: 4 gms (1G, 4A)

Not Early Birds: In their past 12 games the Chiefs have scored the first goal of the game four times (won each but one), and their first goal has typically been a long time coming over that stretch. Eight times in the last 12 games it has taken the Chiefs into the second period to score their first goal with the longest first goal taking 37:44 to be tallied on 12/31 against Trenton. Over the 12-game span it has been an average of 26:36 when the Chiefs' first goal is scored (includes shutout on 12/26), they have been trailing five times when they did get on the board, and their record during that time is 5-6-1. The fastest goal they have scored recently was 1:01 into a 5-3 loss to Elmira on 1/10. Looking back to the beginning of the season the Chiefs scored the first goal five times in their first 10, were tied or leading every time they tallied their first of the game, and scored first five times before the first period was 10 minutes old. Not surprisingly, the Chiefs' record in their first 10 was 7-3-0.

We're Halfway There: This weekend Johnstown reached the midway point of its road, and season, schedule when it played its 17th and 18th away games at First Arena in Elmira. The road has been kind to the Chiefs this season where they have a 12-6-0 record. Those 12 wins away from the UMPC Health Plan Ice Rink at the Cambria County War Memorial are the most in the division and the conference, and are tied with Stockton (26 road games/10 home) for the most in the ECHL. The Chiefs' success on the road is tied directly to how well they've taken care of their own end of the ice. Their road GAA is the second best in the league at 2.33 as they've allowed only 42 goals in 18 games (VIC - 2.13). That is more than a goal per game better than their home GAA which is 3.5 (63 in 18). That stinginess on defense has allowed the Chiefs to get the most out of an offense that is averaging 3 goals per game on the road (54 in 18) and ranks fifth in the division.

Power Outage: To say Johnstown's power play has been struggling lately is an understatement. After an 0-for-5 performance last Saturday in Elmira, the Chiefs are 0-for-14 in their last four games and have not scored on the power play since 17:44 of the second period on New Year's Eve. The team's record is evidence of the power play's struggles at the Chiefs are 1-3-0 in their last four. Things have been particularly hard for Johnstown on home ice with the man advantage where it is clicking at just 10 percent in 18 games. The Chiefs are 10-6-2 at home for the first half of the season. Johnstown is missing its leading power play scorer as Randy Rowe (5 PPG) is currently skating with Lake Erie in the AHL. All-Star Jon Landry is still tied for second among ECHL defensemen with four PPG, but hasn't scored on the man advantage since November 15 at Dayton. Jarrett Konkle ranks sixth in the league with eight PPG, but seven came with Fresno before the team folded.



ECHL Stories from January 12, 2009


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