Jackal bites

Published on January 26, 2004 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


GAME RESULTS:

1/22/04 JACKALS 4 - Muskegon 2

The Jackals moved to 12-2-0 when leading after two periods as they knocked off the number one team in the Western Conference, the Muskegon Fury, 4-2. Rookie Nathan Gillies opened the scoring and then capped off the night, as he had a two-goal performance for the third straight week. Dean Jackson earned second star honors with a goal and an assist, and Jamie Thompson scored his tenth of the year as the Jackals rolled to victory. Jackals goaltender Peter Aubry stopped 32 of 34 shots for his 14th win of the season, and Elmira moved up to 39 points overall. Muskegon responded to Gillies goal, just one minute later in the first. Jason Lawmaster tied the game, and seven minutes into the second the Fury took the lead as Scott Hollis notched his 26th goal of the season. Sylvain Daigle made 30 saves on 34 shots in the losing effort.

1/23/04 RICHMOND 5 - Jackals 2

Coming off a huge victory over the Muskegon Fury the Jackals could not build upon their win as they floundered in Virginia, losing to Richmond 5-2. Richard Pitirri scored twice in the first period, sandwiched around a Brad Both strike, to give Richmond the early lead. Cal Benazic scored on a power play to give the Jackals some hope, but the first period ended with a 3-1 Riverdogs lead. The Jackals held Richmond to just 4 shots in the second period, but it wasn't enough to keep the 'Dogs off the scoreboard. Dave Shields made it 4-1 just 61 seconds into the second period, but captain Mike Thompson continued his current form scoring at the seven minute mark to keep Elmira close. Elmira kept the pressure on goaltender Maxime Gingras but the would not find the solution. Eric Perricone added an empty netter to cap off the night, a 5-2 Richmond win. Peter Aubry stopped 21 of 25 shots (the 26th being the empty net goal), while Gingras made 32 saves on 34 Jackal attempts.

1/24/04 RICHMOND 2 - Jackals 1

Saturday night at the Richmond Coliseum was similar, but different from the previous night's matchup. Similar because the Jackals out-shot the Riverdogs and lost the game (2-1), but different since Elmira played a much better game, which kept them in it all the way to the final buzzer. Richmond jumped out to the lead just 3:44 into the first period when Kevin St. Jacques brilliantly set up David Brosseau on a 2-on-1 which left goaltender Ryan McIntosh stranded. The Jackals responded by bombarding the net of Maxime Gingras, who repelled everything he saw. After a scoreless second period the Jackals equalized while shorthanded. Just 12 seconds into a Richmond power play, Eddy Lowe forced a Luch Nasato turnover and raced in on Gingras with a defenseman on his back. Lowe beat Gingras with a stinging wrist shot to grab all the momentum. However, Richmond still had 1:48 on their power play, just what they needed to regain control on the game. St. Jacques again thread the needle, get a post-to-post pass across to a wide open Jay Murphy who did not miss in making the score 2-1. Elmira pounded 45 shots on goal, but could not tie the game even with the extra attacker on the ice in the closing seconds. Gingras finished with 44 saves, while Jackals tender Ryan McIntosh, who had a stellar showing of his own, made 24 saves on 26 shots.

MR. GILLIES GOES TO BINGHAMTON

Rookie right wing Nathan Gillies, fresh off his third two-goal game in three weeks, is on the move. Last year's captain of the Union College Dutchmen, Gillies was called up to the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League after the Jackals big 4-2 win over Muskegon Thursday night. The move came so abruptly that Gillies had actually made it on the team bus preparing to depart for Richmond. When he received word, the rookie had to get his lumber out of the team stick bag and travel east down Route 17. The 23-year old from Cambridge, ONT leads the team in rookie scoring with 21 points and his 14 goals equal him with Quad City's Jon Francisco for most goals by a rookie. The trip to the AHL is Gillies' first of his young career, joining his older brother Trevor, who plays for the Lowell Lockmonsters. Gillies scored the first and fourth goals on Thursday night in Elmira's first meeting of the season with Muskegon, currently the number one team in the overall UHL standings.

JACKALS PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: (WEEK 14)

Eddy Lowe - C 3 GP, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 pts, 2 PIMs, 1 SHG

Center Eddy Lowe was the only Jackal to tally at least one point in each of Elmira's three contests of the week. Lowe had an assist in the Jackals 4-2 victory over Muskegon, added another helper Friday night in a 5-2 loss to Richmond, and scored the lone Jackals' goal Saturday against the Riverdogs, an unassisted shorthanded goal. The goal was Lowe's 11th of the season, and put him in a three-way tie for fifth on the team's scoring charts with 21 points.

Peter Aubry - G 2 GP, 1-1-0, 3.01 GAA, .898 SV%, 59 saves

Goaltender Peter Aubry picked up a huge win at home as the Jackals beat the #1 team in the overall UHL standings 4-2 at the First Arena Thursday night. Aubry stopped 32 shots in the win, his 14th of the year, while holding Muskegon, who leads the league in total power play goals (51), to 0-for-7 with the man advantage. Friday night the Jackals and Aubry did not fair as well, falling 5-2 in Richmond, but Aubry had to work for his 21 saves, spoiling a clean breakaway among other fantastic saves. Aubry's GAA for his two-game week was 3.01.

JACKAL BITES:

· ROOKIE UNLEASED - With two goals against Muskegon Thursday night, right wing Nathan Gillies insured at least one two-goal performance for the third straight week. Gillies had also had two-goal games on Jan. 6th in Richmond and Jan. 16th versus Adirondack. His 14 goals on the season are tied for the league's rookie lead, with Quad City's Jon Francisco.

· GILLIES TO BINGHAMTON - Immediately after scoring two goals against Muskegon Thursday night, Nathan Gillies was called up to the Binghamton Senators. It is the first trip to the American Hockey League for the rookie, who leads the team in scoring for the month of January (6 goals, 2 assists) despite playing in only 9 of 11 games to date.

· LEADER IN PENALTIES? - In January, the UHL's number two receiver of penalty minutes Kris Mallette (192) is not leading the Jackals for the beginning of 2004. The honor goes to James Sheehan, who has 38 minutes in 11 January games.

· MAKING SAVES IN 2004 - Goalie Ryan McIntosh has shined in January for Elmira. In 4 games played (3 starts), McIntosh has a 2.12 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 197+ minutes in the net for the Jackals.

· ALL SHE WROTE - J.F. Boutin's 8-game home assist streak came to an end Thursday in the Jackals 4-2 win over Muskegon. Boutin had tallied 11 assists in 8 straight home games since December 12th, which is tied with Fort Wayne's Colin Chaulk for the season's longest home assist streak.

· HOME GAME ENVY - The Jackals are on a current league high 5-game consecutive road non-win streak. Elmira has not been victorious on the road since the 6th of January in a 5-4 shootout win in Richmond.

· TRANSACTIONS/PLAYER NEWS - RW Nathan Gillies was called up by the Binghamton Senators (AHL) on 1/22/04. D Matt Osborne, D John Donnelly, and LW Neil Posillico all cleared waivers last week and are free agents. LW Greg Koehler is on a call up with the San Antonio Rampage (AHL). D Mark Jerant remains on call up with Hershey (AHL). RW Carl Drakensjo is on the 21-day IR with a broken left leg.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Elmira Jackals Team Leaders: Goals: Greg Koehler (18)
Assists: Randy Murphy, Don Smith (26)
Points: Greg Koehler (43)
Plus/Minus: James Sheehan (+13)
Penalty Minutes: Kris Mallette (192)
Power Play Goals: Don Smith (7)
Short Handed Goals: Randy Murphy, Nathan Gillies, Eddy Lowe, Jamie Thompson (1)
Shots: Don Smith (139)
Shooting Percentage: Nathan Gillies (18.4%)
Shootout Goals: Randy Murphy, Don Smith (3)
Shootout Percentage: Don Smith (75.0%)
Saves: Peter Aubry (814)
Wins: Peter Aubry (14)
GAA: Ryan McIntosh (2.88)
Save Percentage: Peter Aubry, Ryan McIntosh (.901)

Don't miss The Elmira Jackals Coach's Show every Tuesday night live from Patrick's Pub, 303 College Ave. at 7pm. Join Jackals Head Coach Todd Brost, Owen Newkirk, and WiNGZ's Joe Monroe, along with Mike Thompson and Ryan McIntosh for the broadcast. Tune in on WiNGZ 104.9 FM or stream it online at www.jackalshockey.com.

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULED GAMES:

Friday, January 30 @ Fort Wayne (26-11-3), fifty-five points, second place - Western Conference

Saturday, January 31 vs. Richmond (22-14-3), fourty-seven points, first place - Eastern Conference

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from January 26, 2004


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