Drevitch Plays 1,200th Pro Game, Jackals Struggle On Long Road Trip
February 21, 2007 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release
Week 19 Recap:
The Elmira Jackals limped home Monday morning after finishing off a disappointing 4-game week long road trip. The Jackals returned without securing any points and suffered some key injuries during the trip. Wednesday night Elmira faced off against Kalamazoo for Pink Ice Night at Wings Stadium. They also added the services of Mike Oliveira, who scored 105 last season for Richmond. But the K-Wings shutout the Jackals 3-0 and Oliveira and Curtis Tidball were both injured during the game, keeping them out of the lineup for the remainder of the road trip. Friday night Elmira showed more energy, but they fell just short to Muskegon 4-3 as they faced two new Fury players, former Jackals Kevin Cooper and Brett Angel. Saturday night Elmira charged out to a 3-0 first period lead against the Fury, but Muskegon chipped away at the Jackals lead with two goals in the second and two more in the third period, as Muskegon won another tight contest 4-3. Sunday the Jackals would prefer to put out of their memory as Quad City scored a fluky goal just 21 seconds into the game and never looked back as they beat the Jackals 6-1.
The Jackals are looking to shrug off their recent dip in form as they begin a 5-game home stand at First Arena. Elmira will start things off this Friday February 23rd as they host the Rockford IceHogs for GLN Tax & Payroll Rally Towel Giveaway Night. Rockford will be in town for a 3-game weekend series, Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week. Next week the Jackals host Bloomington on Wednesday February 28th and Flint on Friday March 2nd before heading out for a 10-day road trip.
Week 19 Game Results:
2/14/07 Elmira 0 @ Kalamazoo 3
Kalamazoo, MI - Goaltender Ryan Nie and the Kalamazoo Wings shutout the Elmira Jackals 3-0 Wednesday night at Wings Stadium. Playing in their first road game, and third game overall, under new Head Coach Paul Gillis, the Jackals were looking to quiet the Valentine's Day crowd that congregated for Pink Ice Night at Wings Stadium. But Kalamazoo took an early lead when Kory Karlander scored his 29th goal of the season at 1:33, assisted by Nick Bootland and Justin Cross. Elmira settled down, with newcomer's Mike Oliveira and Brett Cross in the lineup, managing 10 shots on goal, but rookie goaltender Ryan Nie kept the game at 1-0 after twenty minutes.
The offensive chances for Elmira in the second period were few and far between as Kalamazoo out-shot the Jackals 13-7. Nick Bootland doubled the K-Wings lead when a hard wrist shot ripped the back of the net at 7:45, assisted by Justin Cross and Casey Handrahan. Elmira received the game's first power play when Jordan Hart hooked down Curtis Tidball, but the Jackals failed to capitalize against the UHL's top-ranked K-Wings penalty kill.
In the third period Justin Cross made it 3-0 K-Wings when he redirected a Jeff Brown shot from the point for a power play goal at 6:35, assisted by Brown and Tyler Willis. The Jackals managed just 7 shots on goal in the final period as Ryan Nie earned the shutout.
Goaltender Ryan Nie recorded his 3rd shutout of the season, stopping all 24 shots sent his way, as Kalamazoo improved to 29-17-5 on the year. Dave Lemanowicz made 34 saves on 37 shots as the Jackals fell to 23-27-1 on the season. Elmira was 0-for-3 on the power play; while Kalamazoo finished 1-for-1.
2/16/07 Elmira 3 @ Muskegon 4
Muskegon, MI - The Muskegon Fury had two-goals from Rustyn Dolyny as they beat the Elmira Jackals 4-3 Friday night at L.C. Walker Arena. The Jackals came out without newly acquired forward Mike Oliveira or forward Curtis Tidball, both injured during the Kalamazoo game on Wednesday night. Into the lineup went forward Noah Katz, a healthy scratch on Valentine's Day, and defenseman Anthony Sarno, who signed with the Jackals on Friday morning. Elmira received an early power play when Brett Angel took a roughing minor at 8:15, but the penalty actually benefited Muskegon. Captain Rustyn Dolyny blocked a Dale Lupul shot at the blue line, collected the loose puck and raced down the ice with Todd Robinson on his wing. Dolyny snapped a pass across the ice and Robinson one-timed the puck into the net for a short-handed goal and a 1-0 Fury lead at 9:21. But Elmira fought back when Derek Miller fired a pass up the left wing to Erik Anderson, who then fired a hard wrist shot past the glove of Muskegon goaltender Ryan Cyr at 12:31, tying the game at one. Elmira took two high-sticking penalties during the final seven minutes of the period, including a 4-minute double-minor on Marc Lefebvre, which the Jackals successfully killed off.
In the second period, Dolyny erupted for two goals in the span of 12 seconds to put the Fury in front. Dolyny scored the go-ahead goal at 13:05, from Mike Watt and Adam Smyth and then off the ensuing face off Dolyny scored his second goal of the game at 13:17 to give Muskegon a 3-1 lead. But the Jackals took the momentum into the locker room at the end of the period courtesy of a Dan Veenema goal at 19:05. Veenema took a pass from Erik Anderson, skated down the left wing on a two-on-one and cranked a venomous slap shot past the left pad of Cyr and into the net for his 3rd goal of the season, assisted by Anderson and Chris Mann, making it 3-2 Fury.
Evan Kotsopoulos regained Muskegon's two-goal lead when he scored at 5:16, from Todd Robinson and Dave Van Drunen. But Elmira answered immediately Brent Cullaton scored his 17th goal of the season just twelve seconds later. Cullaton one-timed a perfect pass from Scott Wray into the net at 5:30, assisted by Wray and Dale Lupul, pulling the Jackals back within one goal. Elmira continued to pepper the Muskegon goal, even pulling their goaltender for the final minute of play. But despite some excellent chances, the Jackals could not find the tying goal, falling to the Fury 4-3.
Ryan Cyr earned the win in goal for Musekgon, stopping 39-of-42 shots as the Fury improved to 40-11-1 on the season. Kris Tebbs took the loss for the Jackals, while making 33 saves on 37 shots and Elmira fell to 23-28-1. Muskegon finished 0-for-5 on the power play; while Elmira was 0-for-2.
2/17/07 Elmira 3 @ Muskegon 4
Muskegon, MI - The Muskegon Fury erased a 3-goal deficit on their way to a 4-3 win over the Elmira Jackals Saturday night at L.C. Walker Arena. Coming off a narrow defeat to the Fury on Friday night, the Jackals were looking to take an early lead in order to quiet the crowd and put pressure on the UHL's 1st place team. The Jackals did just that when David Morelli took a pass from Frank Littlejohn on the right side of the Muskegon crease and snapped a shot behind goaltender Clayton Pool for a 1-0 Elmira lead at 8:56. The goal was Morelli's 15th of the season, assisted by Frank Littlejohn and Derek Miller. The Jackals then received a vintage move from Littlejohn when he took a pass from David Hymovitz, sped down the right wing and unloaded a heavy slap shot from the top of the face off circle that burned past Pool for a 2-0 lead. The blast was Littlejohn's team-leading 28th goal of the year and was assisted by Hymovitz. The Jackals continued to pressure the Fury defenseman, as they several failed attempts by Muskegon to clear their zone, leading to a Derek Miller goal at 15:33. Miller kept a clearing attempt in at the right point, then fired a shot that deflected off a Muskegon defenseman and past Pool, an unassisted goal and Miller's 2nd goal of the season. After Elmira took a 3-0 lead, Fury head coach Bruce Ramsey pulled Pool from the net and replaced him with rookie backup Ryan Cyr.
In the second period, Muskegon upped the tempo and the pressure on the Elmira goal. Mike Watt got the Fury on the board with a goal at 3:37, assisted by Philippe Plante and Rustyn Dolyny. Muskegon cut the lead to 3-2 at 7:41 when Bill Zalba scored his 4th goal of the season. The Fury continued their assault on Dave Lemanowicz, who made some spectacular saves to keep the Jackals ahead by a goal. Elmira head coach Paul Gillis was forced to use his team's timeout with seven minutes remaining in the period, but it succeed as the Jackals carried their 3-2 lead into the 2nd intermission.
Muskegon got a greasy goal from Evan Kotsopoulos at 2:22, tying the game on a broken play in front the Jackals net. That's the same way that Muskegon took the lead. Elmira failed to clear the puck from the front of their net, and after a scramble in front that led to several point blank saves from Lemanowicz, Todd Robinson snapped the loose puck into an open net at 15:08, putting the Fury ahead 4-3. The Jackals tried to rally, by pulling their goaltender for the final minute of play, but again they came up just short in Muskegon 4-3.
Ryan Cyr earned the win in goal for Muskegon as he stopped all 21 shots he faced in the final 44:25 of the game, after coming in to relieve starter Clayton Pool late in the first period. Pool made 7 saves on 10 shots in 15:33 of action. Jackals goaltender Dave Lemanowicz blocked 38-of-42 Muskegon shots as Elmira drops to 23-29-1 on the season. Muskegon and Elmira both finished the game 0-for-3 on the power play.
2/16/07 Elmira 1 @ Quad City 6
Moline, IL - The Quad City Mallards left the Elmira Jackals with a bitter 6-1 defeat Sunday afternoon at The MARK of the Quad Cities, capping off a disappointing 4-game road trip for the Jackals.
The Mallards stormed out of the gate with a fluky goal just 21 seconds, putting the Jackals instantly on their heels. Off just the second face off of the game, Jami Yoder threw a soft wrist shot towards the net from the blue line that took a deflection and arced slowly over goaltender Dave Lemanowicz and into the net. The Mallards took advantage of the momentum as they doubled their lead on a Luke Stauffacher goal scored at 4:01, from Sean Starke and Justin Chwedoruk. The Jackals tried to get some offense going, but were limited by taking four minor penalties in the first period, giving Quad City a plethora of power play time.
In the second period Quad City unloaded offensively on a travel-weary Jackals squad. Blake Stewart scored at 7:56 to make it 3-0 Quad City on a wrist shot from the right face off circle. The Jackals got on the board at 10:04 when Marc Lefebvre poked in a power play goal, his 2nd goal of the season, assisted by Erik Anderson and Brent Cullaton. But then the Mallards pulled away with three more goals to close out the period. Blake Stewart scored his 2nd goal of the game at 12:26, chasing starting goaltender Dave Lemanowicz from the game as he was replaced with KrisTebbs. But Tebbs could not stop the bleeding as Jeff Petruic scored his first goal of the season at 13:43 and Matt Radoslovich made it 6-1 Quad City at 16:19. Lefebvre almost scored his second goal of the game during a short handed shift, but he was denied twice from right in front of the crease by Mallards starter Zach Sikich.
The third period lacked the energy and intensity of the first two periods as the Mallards sat comfortably on their 5-goal lead. Quad City out-shot Elmira 10-8 in the final period.
Goaltender Zach Sikich earned the win in goal for Quad City as he made 33 saves on 34 shots, as Quad City improved to 26-20-6 on the year. Jackals starter Dave Lemanowicz was tagged with the loss as he stopped 20-of-24 shots before being relieved after 32:26 by back up Kris Tebbs. Tebbs blocked 17-of-19 shots in the final 27:34 as the Jackals dropped to 23-30-1 on the year. Elmira finished the game 1-for-5 on the power play, while Quad City was blanked at 0-for-7.
Jackals Player & Goaltender of the Week: (Week 19)
Erik Anderson - C 4 GP, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points, -1, 0 PIMs Forward Erik Anderson led the Jackals with 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) in four games played this past week. He broke a 14-game goalless drought on Friday by scoring his 12th goal of the season against Muskegon. He also added an assist in that game and another assist Sunday against Quad City. For the season Anderson has 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in 54 games played and is just 10 goals away from scoring his 100th career professional goal.
Dave Lemanowicz - G 3 GP, 0-3-0, 4.34 GAA, 0.893 SV%, 92 saves Dave Lemanowicz stopped almost 100 shots during the week, despite the Jackals dropping all four games of the road trip. Lemanowicz made 34 saves and had a 0.919 save percentage Wednesday night in a 3-0 loss in Kalamazoo. Saturday he stopped 38 shots and had a 0.905 save percentage in a narrow 4-3 loss at Muskegon. Sunday he split time with Kris Tebbs as the Jackals were downed by Quad City 6-1. For the week Lemanowicz had a 4.34 GAA and a 0.893 save percentage.
JACKAL BITES:
* HE NEEDED THAT - Center Erik Anderson scored his 12th goal of the season Friday night against Muskegon. It was his first goal in his last 15 games played, breaking a 14-game goalless drought. The goal was also his 90th of his pro career, leaving him just 10 goals shy of 100 career goals.
* LEADING MAN - Frank Littlejohn earned the Jackals 2nd AHL Call-Up of the 2006-2007 season. Littlejohn was promoted to the San Antonio Rampage, who play in Rochester on Wednesday night. He currently leads the Jackals with 28 goals and he leads the UHL in short-handed goals with 7.
* A NEW LOOK - Defenseman Anthony Sarno and forwards Mike Oliveira and Brett Cross all debuted for the Jackals during their 4-game road trip. Oliveira suffered an injury in his first game for Elmira, keeping him out for several weeks.
* AN ENORMUS MILESTONE - Defenseman Scott Drevitch played in his 1,200th professional hockey game on Wednesday February 14th at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo. Of those games, 1,040 were played in North America, which ranks him 57th All-Time in all levels of Minor League Pro Hockey.
* LOSTS OF TIME IN THE BOX - Right wing Frank Littlejohn has surpassed the 1,800 penalty minutes mark for his professional career. He has also recorded 1,661 of those PIMs in the UHL, ranking him 6th All-Time for PIMs in the UHL.
2006-07 Record: 23-30-1, 47 points (13-13-1 Home, 10-17-0 Road), Fourth Place, Eastern Conference
Week 20 Schedule: (All games are broadcasted LIVE on MAGIC 92.7 & 97.7 FM)
Friday, February 23 7:35 pm vs. Rockford IceHogs (32-15-5, 69 pts) Second Place, Western Conference
Saturday, February 24 7:35 pm vs. Rockford IceHogs (32-15-5, 69 pts) Second Place, Western Conference
Sunday February 25 4:05 pm vs. Rockford IceHogs (32-15-5, 69 pts) Second Place, Western Conference
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International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 21, 2007
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