Sports stats



Five Former Chiefs Going For Gold

February 16, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - The Johnstown Chiefs are proud to recognize today five former members of the club who will be going for gold as the Winter Olympics hockey tournament opens competition this afternoon.

The five men who once donned the black and gold are: Scott Gordon, John Tripp, Jakub Ficenec, Dmitri Patzold, and Vladimir Denisov.

Gordon, who is the head coach of the NHL's New York Islanders, was the Chiefs' goaltender for their inaugural season, 1988-89, in the ECHL. He went 18-9-3 in his third professional season and helped the Chiefs reach game seven of the Riley Cup Final against Winston-Salem. After his time in Johnstown Gordon went on to tend goal for the United States at the 1992 Winter Olympics and eventually became the first ECHL player to graduate to the NHL. He debuted with the Quebec Nordiques in the 1989-90 season and went on to play 23 games at hockey's highest level. Gordon, who is in his second year at the Islanders' helm, previously coached at the IHL, ECHL, and AHL levels. Prior to this season he has compiled an overall record of 285-200-43. He, and John Tortorella, will assist Team U.S.A. head coach Ron Wilson.

Tripp, Ficenec, and Patzold will all represent team Germany at the games. Tripp, a former Colorado Avalanche (#77 overall in 1995) and Calgary Flames (#42 overall in 1997) draft pick played parts of the 1998-99 and 1999-00 season with Johnstown. A right wing, he garnered 26 points (15G, 11A) and 76 penalty minutes in 45 games with the club. After a few more seasons in the minors, Tripp reached the NHL with the New York Rangers in 2002-03 for nine games, and then returned the following season with Los Angeles. His NHL career spanned 43 games resulting in nine points (2G, 7A) and 35 penalty minutes.

Ficenec, a defenseman, played three seasons of pro hockey in North America before returning to play in Germany's DEL for the 2001-02 season. In the 1998-99 campaign, Ficenec was the team's leading scorer from the blueline with 41 points (18G, 23A) over 59 games. His sound play in Johnstown earned him a promotion to the Portland Pirates of the AHL for the next two seasons, but he returned to Europe following his time there.

Patzold, a goaltender, was a part of the famous Chiefs team from the 2003-04 season that set the record for wins (45) and points (97) in a season. In his first ECHL season, Patzold posted a regular season record of 7-0-0 with a 2.71 goals-against average and a.908 save percentage. A fourth round draft pick (#107 overall) of San Jose in 2001, Patzold reached the NHL with the Sharks in 2007-08 and played in three games. Patzold and Ficenec are currently teammates with Ingolstadt ERC of Germany's DEL.

Denisov will skate for his native Belarus at this year's Olympics. He was signed by the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters for the 2007-08 season and spent five games with the Chiefs on their southern road trip in December of 2007. In that time he amassed two assists and 26 penalty minutes. A defenseman, Denisov split his two-year AHL career between Lake Erie and the Hartford Wolf Pack amassing 28 points (7G, 21A) and 228 penalty minutes over 128 games.

Mark your calendars! The Chiefs return to Johnstown Friday, February 19 and 20 against the Trenton Devils at 7:05. The Chiefs are offering a "Devil of a Mini Plan" for the pair of games against Trenton. $20 will get you tickets to each game and the same great seat for both nights. To order yours call the Chiefs front office at 814-539-1799 or by visiting the office from 9-5 Monday through Friday. Good seats still remain for individual tickets, go to ticketmaster.com or call 1-800-745-3000.



ECHL Stories from February 16, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Johnstown Chiefs Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central