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Elmira Sweep Season Series With Missouri

February 27, 2006 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


Week 18 Game Results:

2/24/06 Elmira 6 @ Missouri - Shootout (2-1)

St. Charles, MO - Konstantin Kalmikov scored two goals and added a shootout goal as he led the Elmira Jackals to a 6-5 shootout victory over the Missouri River Otters Friday night at the Family Arena.

Missouri came out of the gate gunning for the team that beat them 4-3 on January 21st at the First Arena, and they cashed in when Blake Stewart scored a short-handed goal at 5:15. But Elmira came storming back as they regained control in the period. Trevor Burgess snapped home a power play goal from the blue line, assisted by Sam Paolini and Chris Chaput at 10:41 tying the game. After the media timeout Burgess went right back to work. He sent a long pass from his own zone, finding a streaking Kevin Cooper at the Missouri blue line. Cooper slipped right between the Otters' defense and tucked a backhand shot between goaltender Kevin Reiter's legs for a 2-1 Elmira lead at 11:13, Burgess and Mathieu Wathier assisted on the play.

The Jackals wasted little time adding to their lead once the intermission was over. Konstantin Kalmikov made it 3-1 Elmira just 31 seconds into the second period, assisted by Todd Grant. But Missouri refused to simply roll over and unleashed a three-goal run in the next four minutes. The River Otters cut the lead to one goal 42 seconds later when former Jackal Paul Falco converted on a breakaway at 1:13 for a 2-2 tie. Jim Duhart gave Missouri tied the game at three by knocking home a rebound for an unassisted power play goal at 4:00. Mark Odut followed 63 seconds later to give the Otters the lead again, scoring at 5:03 for a 4-3 advantage that held up through the rest of the 2nd period.

Elmira battled back, trying to find the tying goal, but Reiter made some stunning saves as he held the Jackals at bay for most of the final 40 minutes. Chris Chaput finally broke through Reiter's armor as he scored to tie the game at four assisted by Cooper and Paolini at 17:36 of the third period. Kalmikov then moved in for the kill. He scored his second goal of the night, picking up his own rebound and beating a scrambling Reiter for a 5-4 Elmira lead at 18:06 assisted by Jason Sessa. But Missouri had one more trick left in their bag. Jim Duhart made Elmira pay for a turnover in their own zone and the Otters' captain scored his second unassisted goal of the game at 18:52, tying the game at five and sending the festivities to a shootout.

Again it was Kalmikov leading the way for the visitors. The Kharkov, Ukraine native snapped a wrist shot past Reiter in the 2nd round of the shootout for a 1-0 Elmira lead. J.P. Beilsten drew Missouri level in round 3, but then gave the Jackals the win as he converted his 5th round shot for a 2-1 win.

Jackals goaltender Nick Boucher stopped 27-of-32 shots in regulation and 4-of-5 in the shootout for his 9th win of the season. Kevin Reiter stopped 34 saves on 39 Elmira shots in the loss for Missouri. Elmira was 1-for-7 on the power play in the game, while Missouri went 1-for-6.

2/25/06 Elmira 4 @ Missouri 1

St. Charles, MO - The Elmira Jackals improved to a perfect 3-0-0 this season against the Missouri River Otters with a 4-1 win Saturday night

Friday night Missouri came out flying against the Jackals in the first period; Saturday was quite the opposite. The Jackals peppered the Otters net in the opening twenty minutes, out-shooting Missouri 14-8 in the first period. Rookie defenseman Bobby Gates put Elmira in the lead as he unleashed a cannon from the blue line that scorched past goalie Brendan Cuthbert at 8:48. For Gates it is his second goal of the season, assisted by Kevin Cooper and Chris Chaput.

In the second period, Elmira came out with the same energy and intensity and got another goal from their corps of talented rookies. Defenseman Chris Mann scored his first professional goal at 6:28, an unassisted wrist shot from the high slot, for a 2-0

Elmira lead. Left wing Sam Paolini scored his 12th goal of the season as he redirected a Jarrett Konkle shot past Cuthbert for a power play goal at 7:49, assisted by Konkle and Flo Iberer and Elmira's lead was 3-0. But Missouri got back some momentum near the end of the period. Brad MacMillan tipped a shot from Mark Odut past goaltender Nick Boucher to put the Otters on the board at 17:20.

But in the third period, Elmira would clamp down as they held on to their two-goal lead. Missouri gambled by pulling Cuthbert for the extra attack with two full minutes left in the game, but it would not help. Jason Sessa iced the game with Elmira's 4th goal of the night, his 16th of the season, by sending a shot from the red line into the empty net at 19:09, assisted by Chaput and Konstantin Kalmikov.

Nick Boucher quietly worked himself into a 23 saves on 24 shots effort to earn his 10th win of the season and the sweep of Missouri. Brendan Cuthbert stopped 24-of-27 in the loss for Missouri. Elmira was 1-for-8 on the power play, while Missouri was 0-for-7.

Jackals Player & Goaltender of the Week: (Week 19)

Chris Chaput - C 2 GP, 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points, +1, 2 PIMs

Rookie center Chris Chaput led all Jackals in scoring over the weekend with a 4-point effort. Chaput, who also leads the team in scoring this season with 54 points, had a balanced two-point night in each game in Missouri. He started with a goal and an assist Friday night and backed it up with a 2-assist game Saturday. For the year, the Jackals Rookie has 54 points (21 goals, 33 assists), tying him for 6th in scoring amongst UHL rookies.

Nick Boucher - G 2 GP, 2-0-0, 3.00 GAA, 0.895 SV%, 50 saves

Goaltender Nick Boucher capped off a solid weekend in goal for Elmira with two wins, improving his record this season to 10-16-4. Boucher swept the Missouri River Otters in St. Charles, starting with a shootout win Friday night where he made 27 saves in regulation and then stopped 4-of-5 Otters shooters in the shootout. Saturday he turned in a very impressive 24 save outing while allowing just a single goal in a 4-1 victory. For the week he posted a 3.00 GAA and a 0.895 save percentage. For the season, Boucher has a 3.63 GAA and a 0.898 save percentage.

Jackals Player & Goaltender of the Month: (February)

Jason Sessa - RW 11 GP, 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points, +2, 20 PIMs

Jason Sessa has snapped rookie Chris Chaput's streak of two-straight Jackals' player of the Month awards. Sessa led all Jackals in scoring during the month of February with 15 points (7 goals, 8 assists) in 11 games, averaging almost 1.5 points per game. He also scored one power play goal, one game-winning goal, and one empty net goal and went 2-for-3 in shootout attempts during the month. Sessa has been red hot since joining the Jackals in early December, scoring 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists) in just 32 games played. Sessa scored at least one point in all but one of his 11 games during February and he is currently on a 7-game point-scoring streak (10 points in his last 7 games).

Nick Boucher - G 7 GP, 4-3-0, 3.59 GAA, 0.893 SV%, 208 saves

Nick Boucher earns the Jackals goaltender of the month for February by leading the team to four wins in seven starts. He finished the month with a 3.59 goals against average and a 0.893 save percentage. Two of the wins came in shootouts and the Jackals starter was near perfect, stopping 8-of-11 attempts in the month for a 73% success rate.

Jackals Rookie of the Month: (February)

Chris Chaput - C 11 GP, 6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points, +2, 12 PIMs

Chris Chaput has won his third straight Jackals Rookie of the Month award. Chaput has led the team in scoring since early December and finished February just one point behind Jason Sessa for the top monthly total. Constantly on the score sheets, Chaput has averaged 12 points per month, with no signs of slowing down. The Rhode Island native is currently on an 8-game point streak, tallying 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) over that stretch. Chaput is currently 6th amongst UHL rookies with 54 points (21 goals, 33 assists) in 54 games.

JACKAL BITES:

- HIS FIRST RED LIGHT - Rookie defenseman Chris Mann scored his first professional goal Saturday night in Missouri, which turned out to be the game-winner. Mann, who leads the UHL in Minor Penalties (67) and is 5th in total PIMs (249), has 7 points (1 goal, 6 assists) in 52 games this season and will remember that red light for years to come.

- HIS SECOND RED LAMP - Rookie defenseman Bobby Gates scored his second goal of the season, and of his pro career, Saturday in Missouri. Gates unleashed a cannon shot from the blue line that scorched the back of the net, giving him 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) in 15 games this season for the Jackals.

- TWO STREAKERS - Forwards Chris Chaput and Jason Sessa have been red hot for the Jackals as of late. Chaput has an 8-game point streak going (12 points) while Sessa has a 7-game point streak (10 points).

- SERIES SWEEP - The Jackals took 2 wins and 4 points from Missouri this weekend and closed their season series with a perfect 3-0-0 record. Missouri is the only team that the Jackals are undefeated against this season.

- OUT OF 12th PLACE - With the sweep of Missouri over the weekend, Elmira passed Port Huron to move into 11th place overall in the UHL. The Jackals are now 11 points behind Richmond in the 8th and final playoff position and just 3 points behind Flint for 10th place.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Elmira Jackals Team Leaders:

Goals: Kevin Cooper (25)

Assists: Chris Chaput (33)

Points: Chris Chaput (54)

Plus/Minus: Mathieu Wathier (+1)

Penalty Minutes: Chris Mann (249)

Power Play Goals: Jarrett Konkle (12)

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

Game Winning Goals: Kevin Cooper (3)

Shots: Kevin Cooper (173)

Shooting Percentage: Sam Paolini (14.8%)

Saves: Nick Boucher (911)

Wins: Nick Boucher (10)

GAA: Nick Boucher (3.63)

Save Percentage: Nick Boucher (0.898)

Eastern Division Standings:

EASTERN GP W L SOP PTS PCT.

Danbury 57 34 13 10 78 .684

Adirondack 53 33 16 4 70 .660

Richmond 55 26 24 5 57 .518

Elmira 54 20 28 6 46 .426

Roanoke 52 14 32 6 34 .327

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. This week the show will be broadcast live from the Coach's Office inside the First Arena. Come listen to Head Coach Perry Florio, the Voice of the Jackals Owen Newkirk, along with defenseman Sean Kotary and new forward Jason Cassells for the broadcast. Tune in 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....

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