Elmira Hiccups to One-Point Weekend

February 13, 2006 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


2005-06 Record: 17-25-6, 40 points (8-13-2 home, 9-12-4 road), Fourth Place, Eastern Division

Week 18 Schedule: (All games are broadcasted LIVE on Wheels AM-820 WWLZ)

Tuesday, February 14 7:05 pm vs. Roanoke Valley Vipers (29-13-9, 67 pts) Fifth Place, Eastern Division Friday, February 17 7:05 pm vs. Danbury Trashers (13-27-5, 67 pts) First Place, Eastern Division Saturday, February 18 7:05 pm vs. Adirondack Frostbite (30-13-3, 63 pts) Second Place, Eastern Division Sunday, February 19 7:00 pm @ Danbury Trashers (29-13-9, 67 pts) First Place, Eastern Division

Week 17 Game Results:

2/8/06 Danbury 5 @ Elmira 2

Danbury, CT - The Danbury Trashers scored 4-unanswered goals to come from behind to beat the Elmira Jackals 5-2 Wednesday night at the First Arena. It took nearly half of the opening period for either team to find the net, but Danbury finally did with a power play goal by Trashers center Jeff Daw, assisted by David Hymovitz and Jean-Michel Daoust at 8:53. The goal came 29 seconds after Elmira forward Eddie Lowe was sent to the penalty box for interference. Nick Boucher had a solid period letting in only one goal on 12 shots faced with a series of amazing saves made on a flurry of Danbury shots. Nearly ten minutes after the first goal of the game, Elmira tied up the score when Jason Sessa hit the net just inside the post for his 13th goal of the season at 17:41, with the assist given to Eddie Lowe. Thats the way the teams would go into the locker room with a tie game and Danbury leading in shots 12-10. The second period was full of action as Elmira took the lead 6:48 into the period when fill-in captain Kevin Cooper put home an unassisted goal to make the score 2-1. Five minutes later Danbury would draw level on a goal by Shawn Collymore at 11:53. Just under a minute later Elmira Jackals veteran Eddie Lowe drop the mitts for a solid fight against Danbury's Alex Goupil which brought the crowd to their feet and earned Lowe a well-earned ovation of applause. Unfortunately Danbury took most of the momentum when former Jackal Jamie Thompson scored on a breakaway, giving Danbury a3-2 lead at 15:30. Collymore added his second goal of the night at 6:46 capping off the third straight goal scored by the Trashers in the second period. Elmira had their chances to come back from the two-goal deficit courtesy of five Danbury penalties, but the Jackals power play struggled and could not capitalize. Collymore would punish the Jackals for failing to score, as he finished off his hat-trick at 15:48 of the third. That's how the game would end with Danbury on top of the Jackals 5-2. Trashers goalie Sylvain Daigle held Elmira to only two goals on 29 shots to earn the win for Danbury, while Jackals goaltender Nick Boucher made 25 saves on 30 shots in the loss for Elmira. Danbury was 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Jackals were a dismal 0-for-8 with the man advantage.

2/10/06 Richmond 5 @ Elmira 2

Elmira, NY - The Richmond Riverdogs scored five consecutive goals on their way to a 5-2 win over the Elmira Jackals Friday night at the First Arena. In the early stages of the first period both goaltenders kept the scoreboard blank with some solid saves. However, 11:59 into the period the Riverdogs broke the dead-lock to take a 1-0 lead as Jason Cassells redirected a shot from Bill Vandermeer. The Riverdogs doubled their lead at 14:19 with a goal from John DiPace. In the second period the Riverdogs took complete control of the game as they out-shot the Jackals 17-5 in the middle frame. Richmond added to their lead when they went up 3-0 on a shorthanded goal by DiPace at 4:4, his second goal of the night. At 12:15, while the Jackals were on a power play, Richmond's Mike Oliveira was granted a penalty shot, but he was denied by goalie Ryan McIntosh. The Riverdogs just kept adding to their lead at 9:44 thanks to Cassells' second goal of the for a 4-0 lead. Richmond did not waste much time in erasing any hopes for a home team comeback in the third period. Just 2:55 in Richmond scored their 5th straight goal as Brian Goudie blasted a slap shot from the point. Elmira was able to defy Mike D'Alessandro's shutout bid courtesy of a Chris Chaput goal, his 17th of the season at 4:13 to break the goose egg. A partial line-brawl broke out at 7:53, leading to game misconducts to John Donnelly and Richmond's John DiPace for being the second fight. Oliveira of the Riverdogs also receive an early exit for instigating the incident. Elmira was able to cut the Richmond lead to 5-2 at 14:22 when Carl Drakensjo snapped a shot into the back of the net, assisted by Bobby Gates and Josh Tataryn; Drakensjo's 4th goal of the year. Elmira out-shot the Riverdogs 16-7 in the third, but D'Alessandro did not let the Jackals back into the game. Mike D'Alessandro earned the win while stopping 32-of-34 in goal for Richmond, while Ryan McIntosh made 29 saves on 34 Riverdogs' shots.

2/11/06 Adirondack 7 @ Elmira 6 - Shootout (3-0)

Elmira, NY - The Elmira Jackals came three goals down in the final period to force overtime, only to lose in a shootout to the Adirondack Frostbite 7-6 Saturday night in front of 3,235 fans at the First Arena. In the opening period the Jackals jumped on the board first at 6:00 when Eddy Lowe scored assisted by newcomer Sean Kotary and Carl Drakensjo. Elmira then doubled their lead 40 seconds later as Chris Chaput scored his 18th goal of the season, with assists from Konstantin Kalmikov and Sam Paolini. The Frostbite were able to cut down the Jackals' lead and momentum with a goal scored at 7:19 by P.J. Byrne from the blue line. At 13:01 the Frostbite leveled the game when former Jackal Greg Koehler snapped a wrister through the legs of Ryan. In the second period, Adirondack wasted no time as they took their first lead of the game just 30 seconds in on a goal by Ryan Bennett. The Frostbite added their fourth consecutive goal at 9:49 thanks to Kevin Watters, to capture a 4-2 lead. At the 16:29 mark Adirondack extended their lead to 5-2 as Pierre-Luc Leblond scored on a rebound from David Moccia. Elmira was able to close in on the lead when Josh Tataryn scored on a very sharp-angled shot, assisted by Jason Sessa at 19:02. But again Adirondack had an answer. The Frostbite re-captured their 3-goal lead at 19:36 as Ryan Bennett scored his 2nd goal of the game with help from Chris Mei, to make the lead 6-3. 1:54 into the third period Kevin Cooper brought Elmira one goal closer as he found the back of the net, assisted by Sessa and Kotary. The goal was the Jackals' first power play goal in their last 3 games. Elmira then cut the lead to one Sessa scored at 3:46, his third point of the night, assisted by Paolini and Trevor Burgess. Cooper completed the comeback was a burst of speed down the right wing, sweeping past the Frostbite defenseman unassisted and tucking home his 2nd goal of the game at 9:11, tying the match at six. But despite the rowdy atmosphere from the home fans, Elmira couldn't find the elusive game-winning goal. In the shootout, Adirondack put on a clinic, all three of their shooters Berry, Belanger and Koehler scored and Kris Tebbs denied Kalmikov, Piro and Sessa negating the need for the last two rounds. Kris Tebbs of the Frostbite stopped 25-of-31 shots for the win, while Elmira's Ryan McIntosh made 30 saves on 36 shots in the loss. Elmira was 1-for-5 on the power play, Adirondack finished 0-for-3.

JACKALS PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: (WEEK 17)

Jason Sessa - RW 3 GP, 2 goals, 2 assist, 4 points, -2, 12 PIMs Jackals right wing Jason Sessa earned his second straight Jackals Player of the week. He had 4 points to lead all Jackals in scoring over 3 games. Sessa scored a goal Wednesday night in a 5-2 loss to Danbury, then had a 3-point night, a goal and two assists in a 7-6 shootout loss to Adirondack Saturday night. For the season Sessa has 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in 26 games played.

Ryan McIntosh - G 2 GP, 0-1-1, 5.50 GAA, 0.841 SV%, 58 saves Goaltender Ryan McIntosh gets the nod for Jackals goalie of the week after a very difficult weekend for Elmira net minders. McIntosh took a dismal 5-2 loss to Richmond Friday night, making 29 saves on 34 shots, he fought hard to help the Jackals come back from a 3-goal deficit to force a shootout in a 7-6 shootout loss to Adirondack Saturday night; McIntosh again had 29 saves in regulation. For the week he had a 5.50 GAA and an 0.841 save percentage.

JACKAL BITES:

* A NEW TEAM LEADER - With 3 goals over the past week, LW Kevin Cooper passed teammate Jarrett Konkle for the Jackals team lead in goals this season. Cooper has a team best 23 goals and 3 game-winning goals. His 36 points are good for third on the team in scoring (13 assists).

* A GREAT DEBUT - D Sean Kotary, acquired by the Jackals in a trade with Port Huron, played his first game for Elmira Saturday against Adirondack. Kotary recorded 2 assists in the game, giving him 18 points on the year (all assists).

* BACK FROM THE "A" - LW Sam Paolini returned to Elmira from his AHL call up with Rochester. Paolini, who appeared in 14 games with Rochester since December 22nd, had an assist in Saturday's wild 7-6 shootout loss to Adirondack.

* A MINOR LEAD - Rookie defenseman Chris Mann leads the UHL in minor penalties with 61 and is 6th in total minutes with 227, 33 minutes behind overall leader Brad Wingfield of Danbury.

* MILESTONES APPROACHING EVERYWHERE - C Eddy Lowe is coming up on 3 substantial milestones. He is 8 games away from his 500th pro game played, 5 points away from 300 points in his career and just one minute away from 600 penalty minutes.

* CLOSING IN ON THE CENTURY - LW Josh Tataryn is just 7 points away from the 100 point milestone for his career. He has 93 points (51 goals, 42 assists) in 188 games played.



International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 13, 2006


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