Elmira At Danbury and Adirondack This Weekend

Published on March 6, 2006 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


Week 20 Game Results:

3/3/06 Muskegon 6 @ Elmira 5

Elmira, NY - The Muskegon Fury got a late winner from rookie Ryan Keller as they held on to beat the Elmira Jackals 6-5 Friday night at the First Arena.

In the first period, the Jackals were all over the Fury coming out of the gate, but were unable to capitalize. After the game balanced a few minutes in, it quickly shifted entirely in Muskegon's favor. Ryan Crane scored a shorthanded goal while Jackals goaltender Nick Boucher was tangled up outside the crease at 9:43 for a 1-0 score. The Fury added to their lead at 15:27 when Rustyn Dolyny's backhand shot redirected off the skate of Jackals captain Trevor Burgess and past a stranded Boucher. At 17:14 Muskegon took a 3-0 lead as Ryan Keller flipped a rebound over the Jackals goaltender while was lying face first on the ice. The Fury capped off a nightmare period for Elmira with their 4th goal at 19:08 courtesy of Dave Van Drunen.

At the start of the 2nd period Elmira Head Coach Perry Florio pulled Boucher in favor of rookie goaltender Tyson Gajda, who had yet to appear in a game for the Jackals. At the 4:40 mark the Jackals were able to get on the scoreboard as Burgess put a shot passed Fury goaltender Clayton Pool, assisted by Jarrett Konkle. But Muskegon answered the Jackals' goal at the 13:09 mark as Jeff Petruic scored a power play goal to regain the Fury's 4- goal lead 5-1. But the Jackals struck back thanks to some big time shooting from their blue-liners. Defenseman John Donnelly made it 5-2 with a goal from Konkle and Konstantin Kalmikov. Just 26 seconds later Elmira cut the Fury lead to two as Mathieu Wathier became the third Jackals' defenseman to score in the game, tallying his 2nd goal of the season at 15:55, assisted by Jason Sessa and Konkle. With just 18 seconds left in the period Konkle recorded his 4th point of the 2nd period by scoring his 24th goal of the year, assisted by Burgess and Flo Iberer at 19:42, a 5-4 score after two. Elmira out-shot Muskegon 17-10 in the second period.

Elmira did not waste any time in posting their 4th straight goal early in the third period. Kalmikov was able to complete the amazing comeback with his 10th goal for the Jackals this season at 4:22, assisted by Sessa, his 2nd assist of the night. As the third period continued, both teams played tremendous defense and were not about to allow the go-ahead goal. At 17:29 the Fury captured the go-ahead goal as Ryan Keller scored his 2nd goal of the night, breaking the 5-5 tie and striking a dagger in Elmira's stunning comeback. The Jackals pulled Gajda with a minute left, but failed to find a late equalizer. Elmira out-shot Muskegon 13-9 in the third, 30-19 over the final 40 minutes and 40-29 in the game.

Tyson Gadja took the loss for Elmira but played an amazing final two periods in his Jackals debut by making 17 saves on 19 Muskegon shots. Starter Nick Boucher stopped 6-of-10 shots before being pulled after the first period. Clayton Pool escaped with the win tonight, making 35 saves in Elmira's barrage of 40 shots. Muskegon was 1-for-4 on the power play and added a short-handed goal; Elmira was 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

3/4/06 Adirondack 5 @ Elmira 4 - Shootout (1-0)

Elmira, NY - Adirondack Frostbite goaltender Derek Gustafson stopped all five Elmira Jackals shooters in the shootout to earn a 5-4 win over Elmira Saturday night at the First Arena.

Adirondack was first to find the net when Ryan Prentice one-timed a pass from Blue Bennefield to put the Frostbite up 1-0 at 8:36 into the first period. Elmira was given a power play opportunity midway through the period, but they were unable to capitalize. However the Jackals did tie the game at 15:30, courtesy of Jason Sessa's 17th goal, an unassisted goal that snuck over the goal line just seconds after an Elmira power play had expired.

Nothing but penalties at the start of the second as each team was given two minors on four separate occasions on top of a set of matching penalties all within the five starting minutes. During a media time out at 10:20 Chris Mann and Blue Bennefield dropped the gloves and went to town on each other boosting the tone of the game. Jarrett Konkle was the man who broke the tie at 11:40 into the second for his 25th goal of the season. Assists were given to Konstantin Kalmikov and Jason Sessa for the Jackals' first and only lead of the game. Elmira could only hold the lead for seven minutes when Ryan Bennett somehow found a hole in Tyson Gajda's pads and tied the game at two at 18:12. Ten seconds before the end of the period the Frostbite struck again as Hugo Belanger intercepted a terrible breakout pass in the Elmira zone and buried it for the unassisted goal. The Frostbite would head to the locker room holding the lead at 3-2 and out shooting the Jackals 21-16.

Adirondack scored their third goal in under three minutes at the start of the third period. Kevin Watters snapped a power play goal past Gajda at 0:54 to put Adirondack up 4-2. Elmira answered back at 8:22 with a goal by Kevin Cooper setup up by Chris Chaput and Trevor Burgess. Konstantin Kalmikov tied up the game at four when he netted the equalizer at 12:21, getting assists from Sam Paolini and Jason Sessa. That's how it remained for the rest of the period forcing both teams to a shootout.

Elmira was unable to put any of their five attempts past Adirondack goaltender Derek Gustafson as he shutdown Kalmikov, Konkle, Sessa, Tataryn and Paolini. The only player to score in the shootout was Hugo Belanger of the Frostbite in round two to get the shootout win 1-0.

3/5/06 Richmond 4 @ Elmira 1

Elmira, NY - Evgeny Lazarev scored two goals as the Richmond Riverdogs came away with a 4-1 victory over the Elmira Jackals Sunday at the First Arena.

The Riverdogs took an early 1-0 lead just 1:02 into the first period as Lazarev picked off a cross-ice pass, skated in on a breakaway and slid the puck past Jackals' goaltender Nick Boucher. The Jackals answered back at 10:08 as Konstantin Kalmikov unleashed a wicked wrist shot from the left face off circle that banked off the inside of the top corner post on its way past Richmond's goaltender Mike D'Alessandro; Jason Sessa and Mathieu Wathier assisted the goal. At the end of the first the Jackals had out shot the Riverdogs 15-6, but the score was still 1-1.

Richmond quickly regained the lead 1:43 into the second period, as John DiPace was able to bang in a rebound from Todd Grant's shot that hit the post. At the 6:34 mark the Riverdogs increased their lead to 3-1 when Lazarev's shot ricocheted off Boucher, hit Flo Iberer and bounced into the Elmira net. The goal was credited to Lazarev, his second of the game. The Jackals had multiple scoring opportunities, but D'Alessandro closed the door on all of them. At the end of the second period the River dogs out shot the Jackals 13-12.

Richmond was able to tack on another goal in the third period as Matt Goody scored at the 12:14 mark. At the end of the third the Jackals had out-shot the Riverdogs 13-6 but just couldn't find away to get the puck past D'Alessandro.

Mike D'Alessandro got the win; making 39 saves on 40 shots. Nick Boucher took the loss for Elmira, stopping 21-of-25 shots.

Jackals Player & Goaltender of the Week: (Week 20)

Konstantin Kalmikov - C 3 GP, 3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points, +4, 4 PIMs

Konstantin Kalmikov earns the Jackals Player of the Week by lighting the lamp in all three games of the weekend. Friday against Muskegon, he scored the tying goal that capped a 4-goal comeback and added an assist in Elmira's 6-5 loss. Saturday against Adirondack, Kalmikov against scored a late tying goal in the third period, forcing the game to a shootout. Sunday, the Kharkov, Ukraine native scored Elmira's only goal of the game, a beautiful wrist shot that hit the inside of the post in the top corner of the net. He finishes the week with 5 points (3goals, 2 assists) and a +4 rating, boosting his season point total to 41 (17 goals, 24 assists) in 55 games.

Tyson Gajda - G 2 GP, 0-1-1, 3.63 GAA, 0.889 SV%, 48 saves

Tyson Gajda recorded his first minutes as a Jackal this weekend. Friday against Muskegon, Gajda started the 2nd period in relief of starter Nick Boucher and stood on his head. In his first action since signing with the team on February 21st, Gajda stopped 17-of-19 as the Jackals erased a 4-0 deficit, only to lose the game 6-5 in the finals minutes of the third period. Gajda then started the next night against Adirondack, making 31 saves on 35 shots in a 5-4 shootout loss; he stopped 4-of-5 attempts in the shootout, his first of the year. For the weekend, Gajda posted a 3.63 GAA and a 0.889 save percentage.

JACKAL BITES:

- THE CENTURY MARK - RW Jason Sessa played in his 100th game for the Elmira Jackals Saturday night against Adirondack. The Long Island, NY native has scored 104 points (51 goals, 53 assists) in 101 games for the Elmira Jackals, one of a handful of Jackals who have averaged more than a point per game.

- HONORABLE MENTIONS - Though Konstantin Kalmikov was the player of the week; his two line mates deserve considerable mention. RW Jason Sessa has 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) and was +4 in 3 games this week, while LW Jarrett Konkle had 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) and was +6 on the weekend.

- ONE LINERS - The Forward line of Kalmikov, Sessa and Konkle accounted for a majority of Elmira's offense this weekend. In three games the Jackals posted 26 total points (10 goals, 16 assists) and the SKK line accounted for 16 points (6 goals, 10 assists) or 62% of Elmira's offense.

- ON THE PODIUM - Rookie defenseman Chris Mann passed the 250 PIMs and counting mark this week. In two games, Mann recorded 23 penalty minutes to increase his season total to 272 in 54 games played. That number moves the Ontario native up two spots to 3rd, the bronze medal position of the UHL in PIMs, behind only Rockford's Robin Big Snake and Danbury's Brad Wingfield. Mann also is in line for the gold medal in minor penalties with 71, which leads the league.

- NEW KID IN TOWN - Rookie goaltender Tyson Gajda saw his first action between the pipes for the Jackals this weekend. Gajda, who tallied more than 3,000 minutes in his last two college seasons at Oswego State, had appeared in just 6 games (232 minutes) in his first two years of pro hockey before signing in Elmira. In two games this weekend, Gajda was in the net for 99 minutes and was in strong form.

- A SECOND-TIMER - Defenseman Flo Iberer dropped the gloves Sunday afternoon with Richmond's John Shook. It was first time that Iberer has earned a Fighting Major in 42 games for the Jackals this season, but not the first time this year. The Austrian also dropped the gloves in his 2nd game of the season for Quad City, prior to his trade to Elmira. Iberer has 18 points (1 goal, 17 assists) and 29 PIMs this year for the Jackals.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Elmira Jackals Team Leaders:

Goals: Kevin Cooper (26)

Assists: Chris Chaput (34)

Points: Chris Chaput (55)

Plus/Minus: Mathieu Wathier (+3)

Penalty Minutes: Chris Mann (272)

Power Play Goals: Jarrett Konkle (12)

Short Handed Goals: Eddy Lowe, Jarrett Konkle (2)

Game Winning Goals: Kevin Cooper (3)

Shots: Kevin Cooper (183)

Shooting Percentage: Jarrett Konkle (14.5%)

Saves: Nick Boucher (938)

Wins: Nick Boucher (10)

GAA: Tyson Gajda (3.63)

Save Percentage: Nick Boucher (0.893)

Eastern Division Standings:

EASTERN GP W L SOP PTS PCT.

Danbury 60 35 14 11 81 .675

Adirondack 54 34 16 4 72 .667

Richmond 56 27 24 5 59 .518

Elmira 57 20 30 7 47 .412

Roanoke 54 14 34 6 34 .315

Coach's Show

Don't miss the next broadcast of The Elmira Jackals Coach's Show broadcast of the season LIVE Tuesday night February 28th at 7pm. Listen to Head Coach Perry Florio, the Voice of the Jackals Owen Newkirk, along with rookie goaltender Tyson Gajda and forward Sam Paolini for the broadcast on Wheels AM 820 WWLZ 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 Tuesday before the show.

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, and much more....

2005-06 Record: 20-30-7, 47 points (9-17-3 home, 9-15-4 road), Fourth Place, Eastern Division

Week 21 Schedule: (All games are broadcasted LIVE on Wheels AM-820 WWLZ)

Wednesday, March 8 7:05 pm vs. Rockford IceHogs (40-11-6, 86 pts) First Place, Western Division

Friday, March 10 7:30 pm @ Danbury Trashers (35-14-11, 81 pts) First Place, Eastern Division

Saturday, March 11 7:35 pm @ Adirondack Frostbite (34-16-4, 72 pts) Second Place, Eastern Division

Sunday, March 12 5:15 pm @ Adirondack Frostbite (34-16-4, 72 pts) Second Place, Eastern Division

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from March 6, 2006


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