Jackal Bites

Published on February 5, 2003 under ECHL (ECHL)
Elmira Jackals News Release


Talk about turning things around quickly. On the heels of a disappointing weekend in which they picked up only two of six possible points, the Elmira Jackals managed to grab all six points this weekend in a three game homestand against Western Conference opponents.

Glenn Stewart had a great weekend for the team, scoring two goals and an assist on both Saturday and Sunday, while Marco Emond won all three starts for the Jackals. Newcomer Justin Plamondon scored his first goal in his first game with the team, and the power play continued to improve at 21.4% for the three games this weekend. 1/31/03 JACKALS 4 – Mallards 2

Elmira kicked off the weekend with a solid effort against the Quad City Mallards, firing 35 shots on goal in a 4-2 win. Brad Wingfield got things going at 6:13 with his 19th goal of the year from Randy Murphy and Aaron Phillips, but Quad City responded with J-F Dufour's fifth of the season to knot the game at 1-1 at the end of one period of play.

The second stanza saw the Mallards fall victim to the lone goal of the period by Rob Guinn, who slipped a shot through the five hole of Jeff Reynaert at 15:26. Wingfield and Ryan Esselmont added the help on the goal to push the Jackals ahead going into the third period.

Strking twice in the third to open up a 4-1 lead, the Jackals' Justin Plamondon scored in his first game for the team at 7:35 from Murphy and Wingfield. Then Phillips added his 19th of the year from Glenn Stewart and Mike Hofstrand at the 18:00 mark into an empty net with Reynaert on the bench for the extra attacker. A late power play goal by the Mallards crawled across the line with just 00.4 seconds left in the game, giving Dufour his second of the night from Mike Possin and Lubos Velebny. The squibber put some window dressing on the game for the Mallards, who were out shot 35 –32 by the Jackals. Marco Emond made several sensational saves during the contest, out-dueling Reynaert for the win.

2/1/03 JACKALS 6 – IceHogs 3

Elmira continued their domination of the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday, taking the last meeting of a four game season series 6-3 in front of a weekend-high 4,032 fans at the sold-out Coach USA Center.

Rockford did manage to grab a 1-0 lead on a goal by Kenzie Homer just 3:53 into the game. The power play marker from Matt Loen gave Rockford their only lead of the night, as Elmira stormed back to score the next five goals. Glenn Stewart tied the game at 1-1 with his first of the night from Mike Hofstrand and Aaron Phillips at 11:25. Marco Emond and Brant Nicklin both played well in the first period, and the teams could score no more through the opening 20 minutes.

The second period, however, belonged to the Jackals. Eddy Lowe kicked things off at 3:48 from David Lessard and Mike Thompson to make it 2-1, then Stewart's second of the night made it 3-1, with Phillips and Hofstrand helping. A power play goal for Phillips at 12:17 moved the Jackals out in front 4-1. Stewart collected his third point of the night on the goal, along with Randy Murphy who notched the other assist. The scoring bonanza finally ended at 17:37 with Lowe's second goal of the night from Thompson and R.C. Lyke. When the dust settled, Elmira had taken a 5-1 lead after two periods of play, scoring four goals on 11 shots in the period. Rockford was held to only five.

The third period saw Rockford finally wake up, scoring 1:33 in as rookie Steve Cygan continued his amazing rookie campaign. Jeff Antonovich and Alex Alexeev assisted on the goal, but Brad Wingfield's goal at 12:05 gave Elmira a 6-2 lead and took the wind out of the IceHog sails. A late marker by Eric Wendell at 17:20 made the game look better for Rockford, but a 6-3 final in favor of Elmira gave them the season series 3-1-0. It was the first time in those four games that the losing team had scored a goal. Emond finished with 19 saves on 22 shots, while Nicklin turned aside 30 of 36 Jackal offerings.

2/2/03 JACKALS 4 – Mallards 3

Looking to finish off the weekend with a sweep of their Western opponents, the Jackals set their sights on the Quad City Mallards once again on Sunday for a matinee matchup at the Coach USA Center.

The first period went as every first period went this weekend, ending with a 1-1 tie. Quad City dented the scoreboard first with Patrick Nadeau's power play goal at 14:26 to grab the initial lead, but Glenn Stewart continued to burn opposing goalies, scoring a man up marker of his own at 16:14 from Randy Murphy and Brad Wingfield to make it 1-1. Murphy fed the streaking Stewart as he headed in from the point on the opposite side of the ice, and the cagey veteran made no mistake as he buried the biscuit past an out of position Martin Fillion.

Brad Wingfield would etch his name in the score sheet just 17 seconds into the middle frame with a power play goal from Stewart and Murphy to give Elmira their first lead of the night. Mike Hofstrand made it a 3-1 cushion when he found the twine courtesy of Corey Neilson and Mike Thompson at 5:38, the first even strength goal of the game. Quad City pulled to within one when J-F Dufour scored his third goal in two games against the Jackals on the power play at 18:56 from Tom Menicci and Dylan Mills, making it 3-2 at the end of the period.

Quad City had a strong first shift to open the final stanza, but shortly thereafter Glenn Stewart scored at 2:21 for his fourth goal in two games. Hofstrand and Aaron Phillips added the assists to make it 4-2 Jackals. The Mallards again paddled to within quacking distance as Nadeau added his second of the night at 5:02 from Tony Lawrence, but Marco Emond and company shut the door the remainder of the way. Even with Fillion on the bench at the end of the game, Elmira kept the Mallards off the board for a 4-3 win and a three game weekend sweep.

* * *

Elmira ends the week back in second place in the UHL's Eastern Conference with 58 points and a 27-20-4 record, two points ahead of third place Adirondack. The Jackals will head to Port Huron on Monday, playing Tuesday night against the Beacons at 7:05 pm. Then Elmira returns home to face the Western Conference leading Missouri River Otters on Thursday. The club will wrap up the week in Glens Falls on Saturday night, taking on the Adirondack IceHawks at 7:30 pm. All games can be heard on your Home for Jackals Hockey, WiNGZ 104.9, with pre-game show starting one half-hour before game time with Tom Callahan.

Tickets for Thursday's and all remaining Jackal home games may be purchased through the Coach USA Center Box Office, open 10 am to 6 pm Monday – Friday, and 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday. Seats may also be obtained through all TicketMaster locations, on line at www.TicketMaster.com, or charge by phone at (607) 722-3711.

PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS

PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMIATION: GLENN STEWART, LW

Stewart twice notched two goals and an assist in this weekend, doing it in consecutive games on 2/1 and 2/2... He scored both a power play goal and a game winner on Sunday against the Mallards, and set up another power play goal as the Jackals went 2 for 4 with the man advantage... Three of Stewart's seven points game on the power play this weekend.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK NOMINATION: MARCO EMOND

Emond posted a 3-0-0 record this week to go with a 2.67 GAA and .908 save percentage. His spectacular play lifted Elmira in all three games this weekend, especially in the first and second periods of Friday's Quad City game, making several key saves to help Elmira stay in the game and eventually break away for the win.

PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH NOMINATIONS - JANUARY

PLAYER OF THE MONTH NOMINATION: RANDY MURPHY, C

Murphy notched 13 assists and 16 points during January, twice going on four game scoring streaks during the month. Murphy recorded four multiple-point games during January as the Jackals went 8-6-0. His power play goal against Missouri on 1/14 came in the last minute of play to steal the win for Elmira.

GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH NOMINATION: MARCO EMOND

Marco notched his second career shutout with a 3-0 blanking of Adirondack on 1/23... Marco's 7-3-0 record in January included a three game win streak from 1/17 to 1/23.

JACKAL BITES:

- Elmira's power play continues to get better, with the team going 3 for 14 with the man advantage this week (21.4%), including a 2 for 4 performance in Sunday's 4-3 win over Quad City. The Jackals are now 7 for 28 in their last six games, good for a 25% success rate.

- Glenn Stewart grabbed seven points in three games this weekend, including back-to-back two goal, one assist performances on Saturday and Sunday. Three of Stewart's seven points came on the man advantage this weekend.

- This is the first time all season that Marco Emond has played three games in three nights for the Jackals, going 3-0-0 and earning goaltender of the week honors. The win streak is one short of his longest of the season (4 games) set from 11/16 to 11/23.

- Elmira improved to 1-1-0 with their red jerseys on Sunday. The debut of the jerseys didn't go quite as well as the 4-3 win over Quad City did, a 6-1 loss to Adirondack back on 1/18 at the Coach USA Center.

- The Jackals power play has gone 7 for 28 in their last six games, clicking at 25% over that span.

- Elmira will enjoy one of two Friday nights off this season on Feb. 7th. Their other Friday off came back on Jan. 3rd, the last day of their New Year's break.

- Out of the Jackals' 25 remaining games, only seven are against the Western Conference. Of those seven games, four are in February, with all three remaining games in March against Kalamazoo.

NEWS AND NOTES:

The Jackals Coach's Show will not take place this week due to the Jackals' travel schedule. The Coach's show broadcasts live from Patrick's next on Monday, Feburary 10th at 7 pm. Show time is at 7 pm, and as always it will air live from Patrick's Deli and Tavern, 303 College Avenue in Elmira.

Due to the Jackals' travel schedule, the Monthly Dinner Series at Horigan's has been moved to Monday, February 10th at 6 pm. Horigan's is located at 365 Davis St. in Elmira. The team will be there to sign autographs, take pictures, and talk with fans on hand. There will also be a trivia contest for kids and adults, with prizes for the winners. Join the Jackals at Horigan's, where Irish Hospitality is always on tap!

Jackalshockey.com is currently under renovation and will be back soon with a brand new look! Check back in the coming weeks for more news, more insight, and more features than ever before!

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Groundhog Day. Approximately 40,000 people gathered for the event, which predicted six more weeks of winter. Nice job, Phil.

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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.

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