Elmira Remains Perfect In Flint, Falls Short In Fort Wayne
Published on November 20, 2006 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release
Week 6 Recap:
The Jackals had an up-and-down week as they completed their stretch of five consecutive road games with games in Fort Wayne and Flint over the weekend. Friday night in the Fort Wayne was billed as one of the big heavyweight clashes early in the season, but for Jackals Nation the team's first trip to Indiana left much to be desired. The Jackals allowed 5 goals in a 9-minute span in the second period as the Komets blew away Elmira 8- and Dale Lupul scored Elmira's only goal, his 6th of the season. Saturday night the Jackals rebounded with a victory, beating the Flint Generals 3-1 at Perani's Arena and improving to 4-0-0 against the Generals this season. Yevgeny Lazarev led the way with two goals, Erik Anderson added a goal of his own and goaltender Kris Tebbs came within two-minutes of his first shutout of the season, making 30 saves for his 7th win of the year.
This week the Jackals square off with the Chicago Hounds for the first time this season. Chicago is the expansion team that relocated from Richmond, Virginia and carries several interesting storylines. Jackals GM Robbie Nichols and Head Coach Kris Waltze both worked for Chicago's owner last year in Richmond and the three-game series (Wednesday, Friday & Saturday) marks the return to the First Arena of Hounds' forward Greg Koehler, the former Elmira Jackals and Adirondack Frostbite star.
Week 6 Game Results:
11/17/06 Elmira 1 @ Fort Wayne 8
Fort Wayne, IN - The Elmira Jackals suffered their worst loss of the season, losing 8-1 to the Fort Wayne Komets Friday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
The Jackals were awarded the first two power plays of the game, but it was the Komets who got on the board first with a power play goal. Defenseman Mario Larocque blasted a slap shot past Jackals goaltender Kris Tebbs at 10:52, a 5-on-3 goal assisted by Bruce Richardson and Guy Dupuis. Elmira had four power plays of their own in the first period, but failed to cash in on the advantage.
In the second period, the even play continued for about 8 minutes before the Komets completely took over. Guy Dupuis scored at 8:23 to double Fort Wayne's lead, setting a remarkable scoring run by the home team. The Komets would then send a Blitzkrieg on the Jackals, scoring two more goals in the span of 10 seconds following the Media Timeout. J.F. Labarre scored at 10:14 and J.C. Ruid made it 4-0 Fort Wayne just 10 seconds later at 10:24. Labarre then scored his second goal of the night, and the Komet's 5th consecutive goal at 16:20 for a 5-0 lead. The Jackals got on the board 58 seconds later when Dale Lupul scored his 4th goal of the season on a shot from the blue line that beat goaltender Kevin St. Pierre, assisted by Derek Miller and David Morelli, for a 5-1 score. But the Komets left little time before regaining their 5-goal lead as David Huckalo scored at 18:22 finishing off a 5-goal second period for Fort Wayne. The Komets also dominated in the shots department, out-shooting the Jackals 28-5 in the second period alone.
The Jackals replaced starting goaltender Kris Tebbs with backup Tyson Gajda at the start of the third period, But it couldn't stop the onslaught as J.F. Labarre scored his third goal of night, earning his hat trick at 2:41 directly from a turnover behind the Elmira goal. The game continued uneventfully for most of the period, until 18:57 when A.J. Bozoian's shot from the point eluded a screened Gajda capping off an 8-1 victory for Fort Wayne.
Komets goaltender Kevin St. Pierre earned the win making 18 saves on 19 shots in goal. Kris Tebbs took the loss, while stopping 34-of-40 shots in the first two periods. Tyson Gajda played the third period for Elmira, making 10 saves on 12 shots. Elmira finished 0-for-5 on the power play while Fort Wayne was 1-for-7.
11/18/06 Elmira 3 @ Flint 1
Flint, MI - The Elmira Jackals salvaged their 2-game road trip as they downed the Flint Generals 3-1 Saturday night at Perani's Arena.
Flint put a lot of pressure on Elmira's goal early in the first period. The Generals also earned the game's first two power plays, but the Jackals' 5th ranked Penalty Kill denied the home team on both occasions. With just under six minutes remaining in the opening period, Elmira was awarded with their first power play and wasted little time getting on the board. Yevgeny Lazarev took advantage of a poor turnover by Flint goaltender Bryan Worosz and scored on an open net for his 7th goal of the season, a power play goal at 14:51, assisted by Tommy Kotsopoulos and Brent Cullaton for a 1-0 Jackals lead. Seconds later Flint was called for another minor and the Jackals made them pay when Erik Anderson knocked home a power play goal, his 4th goal of the year, at 15:37 and Flint was reeling from allowing two goals in the span of 46 seconds.
The second period was filled with action, but lacked in goals as the Generals out-shot the Jackals 13-9 but hardly out played their visitors. Flint had 3 power plays in the 2nd period, but failed the score. The Jackals had a 5-on-3 advantage for almost a full minute, but couldn't add to their lead.
In the third period the Jackals bravely defended their two-goal lead, but couldn't quite keep the shutout for goaltender Kris Tebbs. Jackals defenseman Chris Mann was called for interference at 18:09 of the final period, and down two goals Flint coach Kevin Kerr called a time out, then pulled Worosz for a 6-on-4 advantage with the extra attacker. Seven seconds into the power play, Flint got on the board as Jason Selleke slapped the puck into the net for a 2-1 score. Flint again pulled their goalie in the final minute of play, but Lazarev had the answer as he stole a clearing attempt at the red line and fired a long shot into the empty net, an unassisted goal, for a 3-1 Jackals victory. The goal was Lazarev's 2nd of the game and 4th empty net goal of the season.
Kris Tebbs earned the game's 1st star as he stopped 30-of-31 shots for his 7th win of the season. Bryan Worosz took the loss, while making 19 saves on 21 shots for Flint. Elmira finished 2-for-8 on the power play and Flint was 1-for-8.
Jackals Player & Goaltender of the Week: (Week 6)
Yevgeny Lazarev - RW 2 GP, 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 points, Even, 0 PIMs
Yevgeny Lazarev has quietly led the Jackals in goals so far this season. Amid all of the talent in the lineup, Lazarev has consistently found the net, as he tallied two more goals to up his team lead to 8 goals on the year. Saturday in Flint he had a two-goal night, scoring a first period power play goal, then adding an empty net goal to seal the 3-1 win over the Generals. On the season Lazarev has 14 points (8 goals, 6 assists) in 14 games played, he has two short-handed goals and boasts a 17.8% shooting percentage.
Kris Tebbs - G 2 GP, 1-1-0, 4.20 GAA, 0.901 SV%, 64 saves
Jackals starter Kris Tebbs has shown a remarkable level of consistency in goal for Elmira. Tebbs and the Jackals suffered a difficult 8-1 defeat in Fort Wayne Friday night, but the Jackals starter could hardly be faulted for his efforts, making 34 saves on 40 shots in the first two periods of the game. Saturday Tebbs helped the Jackals rebound with a solid 3-1 win over Flint, where he carried a shutout until the 18:16 mark of the 3rd period when Flint pulled their goaltender on a power play to score a 6-on-4 power play goal off a deflection in front. On the weekend Tebbs had a 4.20 GAA and salvaged a 0.901 save percentage despite the tough loss to Fort Wayne. For the season he has a 7-3-0 record, a 3.42 GAA and a 0.914 save percentage.
JACKAL BITES:
* INJURY UPDATE - Goaltender Shawn Degagne has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since early November. Degagne hurt his shoulder during the November 3rd game against Muskegon. Degagne is currently working very hard to rehab the injury and the team doctors have given Degagne a minimum of 4-6 weeks from the date of the injury before he could possibly return.
* DON'T LEAVE YOUR NET EMPTY - Right Wing Yevgeny Lazarev has proven to be lethal when opposing teams pull their goaltender for an extra attacker. Lazarev scored his team-leading 4th empty net goal of the season in the final minute of Saturday's 3-1 win in Flint. He scored two goals in the game and leads the Jackals with 8 goals this season.
* MOVING UP THE RANKS - Forward Frank Littlejohn had 17 PIMs this week, giving him 1,545 PIMs in his UHL career. Over the weekend Littlejohn passed former Jackals forward Brad Wingfield (1,544) for 8th place on the UHL's All-Time Penalty Minute List. Littlejohn is also 1 goal away from tying former Port Huron defenseman Barry McKinlay (188 goals) for 21st on the UHL's All-Time Goals List.
* MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR - Forward Curtis Tidball is currently leading the UHL in penalty minutes (118). Tidball is also tied for 1st in the UHL in Major penalties (6) with Rockford's Robin Big Snake.
* NO DISADVANTAGE - The Elmira Jackals as a team are leading the UHL in short-handed goals this season. The team has scored 10 short-handed goals in their first 14 games played and forward Frank Littlejohn leads the Jackals with 3 SHG, good for 3rd best individually in the UHL.
* TEAM TOUGH - The Jackals continue to lead the UHL in Penalty minutes this season. In 14 games played Elmira has 587 minutes, an average of 41.93 PIMs per game.
Coach's Show
Don't miss the next broadcast of The Elmira Jackals Coach's Show LIVE Monday night
at 6 pm at the Pioneer Sports Bar & Grill in Elmira. Join Jackals Head Coach Kris
Waltze, Voice of the Jackals Owen Newkirk, along with forward Mike Sgroi and
defenseman Wes Blevins for the broadcast on News Talk 1230 & 1450 AM WENY or stream
it online at www.jackalshockey.com 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 The First Arena Rec Rink offers public skating, skating lessons, hockey programs,
figure skating, birthday parties, adult hockey leagues and much more.... 2006-07 Record: 9-5-0, 18 points (4-3-0 Home, 5-2-0 Road), Tied-Second Place,
Eastern Conference Week 7 Schedule: (All games are broadcasted LIVE on MAGIC 92.7 & 97.7 FM) Wednesday, November 22 7:05 pm vs. Chicago Hounds (4-6-0, 8pts) Fourth Place,
Western Conference Friday, November 24 7:35 pm vs. Chicago Hounds (4-6-0, 8pts) Fourth Place, Western
Conference Saturday, November 25 7:35 pm vs. Chicago Hounds (4-6-0, 8pts) Fourth Place, Western
Conference
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International Hockey League 2 Stories from November 20, 2006
