Chiefs Weekly Arrowhead

February 9, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, Pa. - The Johnstown Chiefs endured a tough three-day road trip through Elmira and Dayton last weekend, but salvaged two points with a win last Sunday in the season finale against Dayton. This weekend will feature the first half of Johnstown's season-long six game homestand as the Chiefs help celebrate Hockey Weekend Across America.

Record: 27-18-2, 56 pts., 4th place North Division

Leaders:

Goals - Jarrett Konkle (total): 23 Petr Pohl (team): 19

Assists - Petr Pohl: 23

Points - Petr Pohl: 42

+/- - Ryan Del Monte: +17

PIMs - Alex Penner: 94

PPG - Jarrett Konkle (total): 8 Petr Pohl (team): 7 SHG - Jarrett Konkle: 3

Wins - Kris Mayotte: 18

GAA - Kris Mayotte: 2.70

SVP - Kris Mayotte: .912

This Week:

2/13 vs. Reading, 7:05 p.m. - Home (4-0-0), Away (3-0-0) Johnstown will welcome Reading to the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the Cambria County War Memorial for the final time this season on Friday. The Chiefs won the most recent game against the Royals 5-3 on Jan. 31 in Johnstown. The Chiefs have won 11 straight games against Reading dating back to Feb. 1, 2008, and haven't lost to the Royals on home ice since Jan. 27, 2008. Don't be misled by Johnstown's dominance in the W-column, though. None of the games this season between the Chiefs and Royals have been decided by more than two goals, and the Chiefs' average margin of victory is just 1.42 goals. Friday's game features the Chiefs' brand new "Lucky 13" ticket price. Any seat in section 13 or any seat numbered 13 in the War Memorial can be purchased for just $13! Call 814-539-1799 to take advantage of this offer.

2/14 vs. Trenton, 7:05 p.m. - Home (3-0-1), Away (1-4-0) Johnstown and Trenton will wrap up their season series on Saturday. After winning the season opener in Trenton, Johnstown has dropped four straight against the Devils at Sovereign Bank Arena. It's been a completely different story in Johnstown, though, where the Chiefs have picked up at least one point in four games against the Devils. Trenton won the last meeting in Johnstown, a 5-4 overtime win, on New Year's Eve. Johnstown thrilled its fans with a comeback from a 4-0 deficit to force overtime, but Trenton took the win with a goal by David Leaderer with 15 seconds left. With Hockey Weekend Across America's theme for Saturday being "Bring a Friend to the Rink" the Chiefs are encouraging season ticket holders to use their buddy passes for this game. The Chiefs will also be holding their second Bingo Night of the season on Saturday.

2/15 vs. Wheeling, 2:35 p.m. - Home (0-3-0), Away (3-0-0) The Chiefs and Nailers are the second closest rivals, distance-wise, in the North Division with only 121 miles in between them. They're even closer in the North Division standings heading into play this week. Only one point separates the teams with Wheeling having one game in hand over Johnstown. They will pick that game up on Wednesday when they visit the Trenton Devils, and by the time Sunday rolls around this one could turn into another battle for first. With an 0-3-0 mark on home ice against Wheeling this season, the Chiefs haven't beaten then Nailers at home since a 3-0 win on April 4, 2008. The Chiefs will honor Johnstown's local hockey heroes on the final day of Hockey Weekend Across America. There will be a special pre-game ceremony in which the Chiefs will retire Johnstown Jets great Reg Kent's number seven. There will also be former players honored from the Chiefs, Wings, and Jets.

Day by Day:

Mon. 2/9: Off

Tues. 2/10: Practice at UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at CCWM - 11:00 a.m.

Wed. 2/11: Practice at UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at CCWM - 11:00 a.m.

Thurs. 2/12: Practice at UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at CCWM - 11:00 a.m.

Fri. 2/13: Chiefs vs. Reading Royals, 7:05 p.m.

Sat. 2/14: Chiefs vs. Trenton Devils, 7:05 p.m.

Sun. 2/15: Chiefs vs. Wheeling Nailers, 2:35 p.m.

Broadcast Schedule:

Fri. 2/13: Chiefs vs. Reading Royals, 7:05 p.m. - radio and internet

Sat. 2/14: Chiefs vs. Trenton Devils, 7:05 p.m. - radio and internet

Sun. 2/15: Chiefs vs. Wheeling Nailers, 2:35 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: (1-2-0)

2/6 at Elmira: L 1-0 The Chiefs had their three-game win streak snapped last Friday and were shut out for the second time in Elmira this season. This time it wasn't David Shantz, but Mitch O'Keefe who posted 18 saves to keep the Chiefs off the scoreboard. The lone goal against Ian Keserich came when Pierre-Luc Faubert tipped in a point shot from Travis Gawryletz at 4:11 of the first. Keserich made his first start for Johnstown since Jan. 10 in Elmira and turned in 20 saves in taking the loss. Andrew Sarauer also returned the Chiefs lineup and provided an instant spark. He hit Mike Bartlett with a breakaway pass in the first period, and clanged a shot off of the crossbar in the second. The Chiefs' record at First Arena this season fell to 1-3-0 with the loss.

2/7 at Dayton: L 8-3 The Bombers blitzed Johnstown with an all-out offensive at Hobart Arena last Saturday and sent the Chiefs to two straight losses. The eight goals given up by Johnstown were the most this season which was surprising since the Chiefs limited Dayton to eight goals in the first five meetings this season. Justin Bowers and Toby LaFrance exchanged goals 4:56 apart in the first, but Greg Labenski cashed in with less than two seconds left in the frame to give Dayton back the lead. Tomas Zaborsky made it 3-1 in favor of the home team early in the second before Johnstown rallied. Petr Pohl and Blair Yaworski hammered home power play goals to pull Johnstown back even. 19 seconds after Yaworski's goal, though, Zaborsky sniped a wrist shot past Ian Keserich to give Dayton a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Zaborsky finished his hat trick in the third, as did Labensky as part of the Bombers' five-goal raid to close the scoring. The loss dropped the Chiefs to fourth in the North.

2/8 at Dayton: W 2-1 In an amazing turnaround after the previous night's shelling, Ian Keserich turned in 44 saves to lead Johnstown to a win in the season-series finale against the Bombers. Dayton opened the scoring for the second straight night when Christian Gaudet slipped a shot past Keserich to the glove side. The Parma, Ohio native would not allow another shot to pass, while Ryan Del Monte and Mike Bartlett provided all the scoring that Johnstown would need. Del Monte's was his 12th of the season while Bartlett's game winner was his second of the season and eighth overall. With the win, Johnstown took the season series over Dayton four games to three including a 3-2-0 record in Ohio against the Bombers. That marks a vast improvement over last season's 0-4-1 mark against the Bombers in the Buckeye State.

CHIEFS CHOPS:

Scoring Streaks:

Goals:

- None

Assists:

- Jarrett Konkle; 2/7-2/8: 2 gms (2A)

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

Points:

- Mike Bartlett; 2/7-2/8: 2 gms (1G, 1A)

- Ray Macias; 10/30-11/2: 4 gms (1G, 4A)

- Jarrett Konkle; 2/7-2/8: 2 gms (2A)

Quick Hitters:

- Johnstown is 2-1-0 in games after getting shut out this season

- Rookie defenseman Brett Beauchamp recorded his first pro point, an assist on Mike Bartlett's game winning goal on Feb. 8 at Dayton

- Bartlett's game winner on Feb. 8 was his second of the season.

- Ian Keserich's 44 saves on Feb. 8 were the most in a win this season, and second most overall, for the Chiefs. Kris Mayotte's 53 saves in a 4-3 OT loss against Florida on Nov. 30 were the most.

- Johnstown's win in Dayton on Sunday was the team's first road win since the 3-0 win over Elmira on Jan. 9 (broke a five-game road losing streak)

Hard Luck Losses: Ian Keserich has found himself taking some tough losses this season in spite of playing a sound game in net. On three different occasions Keserich has been in net when the Chiefs were handed a shutout loss. He was out-dueled by David Shantz twice - 1-0 on Oct. 24 and 2-0 on Dec. 26 - and by Mitch O'Keefe last Friday. In each of the losses, Johnstown was limited to less than 25 shots with the most production being on Oct. 24 with 23 shots. In a bit of karma coming back to him, Keserich does have Johnstown's lone shutout this season. He blanked Elmira with an impressive 38-save effort on Jan. 9. For the season, Keserich is 8-9-0 with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage.

Home is Where the Goals Are: Johnstown's scorers should be happy about the Chiefs' upcoming six-game homestand, but the goalies and defenders probably won't be as joyous. That is because the Chiefs produce much more in terms of offense at the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the Cambria County War Memorial, but the defense has had trouble containing opposing attackers, too. The Chiefs' 86 goals at the War Memorial are the second most in the North Division behind only Wheeling's 109 home goals. Johnstown is middle-of-the-road defensively with 76 goals allowed at home, which ranks fourth among the seven-team North. That's almost astronomical, though, when compared to Johnstown's division-leading road defense at 61 goals allowed. When goals for and goals against are combined, the War Memorial is the second-most offensive building in the division with 6.75 goals scored per game. Wheeling's WesBanco Arena is far-and-away the highest at 8.04 goals per game. The Chiefs' 14 wins and .625 win percentage are tied with Elmira for the second most in the division while Trenton leads with 15 and .640 respectively.

Save the Date: This is a reminder regarding some of the Chiefs' big promotions/events coming up in the near future.

- Feb. 13-15 - Hockey Weekend Across America: This is a weekend-long celebration of hockey in America, and Johnstown, that will be highlighted by a ceremony to honor Johnstown's hockey heroes on Sunday, Feb. 15. That afternoon, former Johnstown Jet great Reg Kent will have his number seven jersey retired in a pregame ceremony.

- Feb. 13 and March 13 - "Lucky 13" Ticket Nights: On the superstitiously bad luck Friday the 13ths that the Chiefs play on, Chiefs fans can get lucky with cheap tickets! Any seat in section 13 or any seat numbered 13 in the arena can be purchased for just $13 on either of these nights. This offer is available through advance ticket purchase by calling the Chiefs' office at 814-539-1799.

- Feb. 20 - Going Green Night #2 Presented by Business Records Management: To help in the going green effort the Chiefs, and Business Records Management, want you to bring your unwanted documents to the game to be securely disposed of and recycled. Anyone who brings documents to the game to be shredded will be entered in a raffle for great prizes, and folks buying walk up tickets can get one free kid's ticket with an adult ticket.

- Feb. 22 - Face Off Against Hunger: The Chiefs and Rotary International are teaming up to fight hunger in our area with a food drive at the game on Sunday, Feb. 22. Fans who donate non-perishable food items will receive $2 off their walk up ticket.

- March 4 - Pups and Pucks Night: For the second year in a row the War Memorial will be going to the dogs. Dog owners throughout the area are invited to bring their "best friend" to enjoy an exciting night.

- March 8 - AmeriServ Sellout Challenge #3: It's your last chance to sell out the arena and get free tickets to a future Chiefs game!



ECHL Stories from February 9, 2009


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