Sports stats



Jackal Bites

October 25, 2004 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


Week 2 GAME RESULTS:

10/20/04 JACKALS 4 - Adirondack 3 (SO) (2-1 in Shootout)

Elmira, NY - The Elmira Jackals moved the 3-0 on the fresh 2004-05 season with a 4-3 shootout win over the Adirondack Frostbite Wednesday night at the First Arena. For the first time this season, the Jackals did not score first. Adirondack grabbed the lead with at power play goal from Justin Kelly merely 1:48 into the first period, marking the first time this year that Elmira has trailed in a regular season game. But the Jackals struck back late in the period, when Carl Drakensjo put together an unbelievable individual display as he stole the puck from Bruce Gardiner on a solo fore check and beat Derek Gustafson for a shorthanded goal to tie the game. The goal was Drakensjo's second of the season and it tied him with Rob Guinn for 10th on the Jackals All-Time Scoring chart with 78 points.

Elmira turned the tides in the second period, scoring twice to take a 3-1 lead into the final break. First Greg Koehler started his goal scoring account at 4:14 from Jamie Thompson and Drakensjo to give Elmira its first lead of the night. Then red-hot Jason Sessa tallied his 5th of the year on the power play from Koehler and Thompson at 9:37.

In the final frame, Adirondack would equalize in the span of 70 seconds. Frank Littlejohn blasted a quick turn-around shot from the hash marks from Kelly and Sylvain Cloutier at 5:20 to make it 3-2. Then David Burgess was sent free by Scott Drevitch and the winger beat Greg Hewitt to draw level.

In the shootout, Sessa and Cloutier each scored for their respective clubs, but Hewitt stopped 4-of-5 and Eddy Lowe buried his 5th round attempt to send the fans home happy. Hewitt finished with 40 saves on 43 shots in regulation for his third win; while Gustafson was 14-for-17 and 3-of-5 in the shootout to earn Adirondack's first point of the season.

10/22/04 Jackals 3 - Danbury 2

Elmira, NY - The Elmira Jackals remained unbeaten in the new campaign as they beat the Danbury Trashers 3-2 Friday night at the First Arena.

In the second meeting between these two franchises Elmira again scored first. Defenseman George Pujacs scored his first goal as a member of the Jackals at 4:00 of the opening period, assisted by Jason Sessa and Derek Campbell, to make it 1-0. However, Danbury leveled the score just one minute and forty one seconds later when Jim Duhart scored from Blake Bellefeuille and Brent Gretzky.

No goals were scored in the second frame, but Jackals goaltender Greg Hewitt turned away 21 shots directed at his net. In the third period, Elmira took the lead again, this time at the 7:36 mark when Greg Koehler found the net, assisted from Jamie Thompson and Carl Drakensjo. But the eventual game winner would come from Captain Trevor Burgess after he blasted home a shot from the point for a power play goal at 13:22 from Sessa and Koehler to make it 3-1. Danbury made things interesting when Mike Bayrack's one-timer flew into the back of the net at 17:33 from Bruce Richardson and John Morlang. But Elmira shut the door and held on to the one-goal lead, despite the Trashers pulling goalie Scott Stirling in the last minute.

Hewitt recorded his league-leading 4th win of the season stopping 42-of-44 shots, while his counterpart Stirling made 21 saves on 24 shots.

10/23/04 Richmond 5 - Jackals 2

Elmira, NY - The Elmira Jackals were dealt their first defeat of the 2004-05 season as they lost to the Richmond Riverdogs 5-2 Saturday night at the First Arena. Richmond, looking for revenge from being ousted by the Jackals last spring in the Colonial Cup Playoffs, jumped out on top in the first period and would never look back. David Hymovitz scored from J.J. Wrobel and Mark Turner at 6:47 to make it a 1-0 lead.

In the second period the Riverdogs started quickly. Ryan Prentice scored at 2:14 from Wrobel and Bryan Cummings to double their lead. Mark Langdon finished off an odd man rush as he took a pass from Hymovitz at 9:55; the rush was created when Hymovitz was sent forward coming out of the penalty box by Langdon. At 13:15 Elmira forward Jamie Thompson began getting his first place team back into the contest. Thompson finished off a partial breakaway for his first short-handed goal of the season, assisted by Simon Poirier. But later in the period the Riverdogs regained their three-goal lead when Francis Belanger tapped in a two-on-zero breakaway at 16:29.

With a big hill to climb the Jackals came out flying in the third period and Jamie Thompson's second goal of the night cut the lead to one, as he banged home a rebound from Poirier and Carl Drakensjo at 2:01 of the third. But Richmond was able to deflate Elmira's sails for the final time when a mix-up between goaltender Greg Hewitt and defenseman Vaclav Zavoral gave Prentice an empty net to steal his second goal of the night and finish off the scoring at 6:57.

Former Jackals goaltender Ryan McIntosh got the win in his first start of the season; stopping 38-of-40 shots for the win. Hewitt, who suffered his first loss of the season, was not to blame as he turned aside 36-of-41 in another gritty effort from #34.

10/24/04 Adirondack 5 - Jackals 4

Elmira, NY - After winning their first four games of the season, the Jackals lost their second straight game, losing to the Adirondack Frostbite 5-4 Sunday afternoon at the First Arena.

The Frostbite scored first and didn't take long to do so; Bruce Gardiner finding the net at 1:56 of the opening period from Ryan Bennett and Henrik Bergfors. But the Jackals struck back quickly, leveling the score just 60 seconds later. Jason Sessa blasted home a vicious slap shot from the left-side face off circle for his team-leading 4th power play goal assisted by Greg Koehler and Trevor Burgess. Less than two minutes later Carl Drakensjo scored his third goal of the year when he slammed in a rebound from Chris Shaw and Jeff Antonovich at 4:30 for a 2-1 Elmira lead. The joust continued when defenseman David Vychodil tied the game at 10:42 from Frank Bakrlik and Scott Drevitch. The Jackals regained the lead once again just 30 seconds later when Greg Koehler beat goaltender Derek Gustafson, assisted by Nathan Gillies and Simon Poirier. However, the Frostbite took away the Jackals lead, and Elmira would never recover. Adirondack made it 3-3 at 18:05 Frank Littlejohn one-timed a face off win from Sylvain Cloutier past rookie goalie Kevin Kurk, who was making his professional debut.

Following a first period where six different players scored goals, Adirondack would pick up where they left off. The boys from Glens Falls took the lead again, former Jackal Trevor Segstro released Hugo Belanger on a breakaway and the Frostbite captain slotted the puck past Kurk at 8:08. Adirondack make it 5-3 seconds later as defenseman Kamil Kuriplach scored the eventual game winner, assisted by Gardiner and Bennett at 8:54. Greg Koehler's second goal of the night at 11:03 from Poirier and Jamie Thompson cut the lead back to one, but that would be the last time the puck found the net for either team.

The third period finished as a scoreless, and penalty free, affair as the Frostbite (1-3-2) earned their first victory of the season. The Jackals (4-2-0) pulled Kurk late in the game, but could not complete the comeback. Derek Gustafson stopped 25-of-29 for his first win of the year, while the rookie Kevin Kurk made 39 saves on 44 Adirondack shots.

JACKALS PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: (WEEK 2)

Greg Koehler - C 4 GP, 4 goals, 3 assists, 7 pts, +1

Greg Koehler began to break out in Week 2, showing the fans in Elmira a bit of the form that had him at the top of the UHL in scoring early last season. Koehler scored 7 points, 4 goals and 3 assists, in 4 games this week, finishing with a +1 rating as the Jackals split their week's contests. The Scarborough, Ontario native started with a goal and an assist in each of the first two games, wins against Adirondack on Wednesday and Danbury on Friday. Despite a 5-2 loss to Richmond Saturday, Koehler maintained an even rating for that game. Sunday in a 5-4 loss to Adirondack, the 29 year-old scored twice and added an assist for his largest single game point total of the year thus far.

Greg Hewitt - G 3 GP, 2-1-0, 3.33 GAA, .922 SV%, 118 saves

Coming off the UHL Goaltender of the Week honors, Greg Hewitt continued to mystify opposing forwards with his skill between the pipes for Elmira. Hewitt made 40 saves and stopped 4-of-5 attempts in the shootout to beat Adirondack on Wednesday. Friday night, Hewitt beat Danbury for the second straight meeting, holding the Trashers to just 2 goals on 44 shots. The Ontario native was not to blame in the 5-2 defeat to the Richmond Riverdogs, being the victim of a two-on-zero breakaway and two straight five-on-three power plays. Hewitt finished the week with a 3.33 GAA and a 0.922 save percentage.

JACKAL BITES:

* MOVIN' ON UP - With 5 points in Week 2, RW Carl Drakensjo caught and passed both Rob Guinn AND Glenn Stewart on the Jackals All-Time Scoring list. Drak is now 9th All-Time with 82 points in his Elmira career, and is just 1 point behind current center Jeff Antonovich for 8th place.

* IRON MAN - G Greg Hewitt appeared in 5 straight games to start the year and was given the night off only for Sunday, the final game of the first two weeks. Hewitt has logged 300 minutes and has stopped 192 shots in goal so far; going 4-1-0 with a 2.80 GAA and a .932 save percentage.

* EL CAPITAN - D Trevor Burgess doesn't merely wear the "C" on his jersey for Elmira, he is also on the verge of becoming one of the top 5 scorers in franchise history. With 3 points so far this season, including scoring the game winner last Friday against Danbury, Burgess (96 pts) is one point behind Greg Olsen (97 pts) for 5th on the Jackals All-Time scoring chart.

* GOALS, GOALS, GOALS! - Not only have the first-place Jackals jumped started the season with 4 wins in 6 games, but they have done so with an offensive mind. Elmira currently leads the UHL with 21 goals scored through their first six contests in 2004-05.

* THE CHASE IS ON - The Jackals have three players within 2 points of the UHL lead in scoring so far this season. RW Jason Sessa is tied for second with 9 points, while C Greg Koehler and LW Jamie Thompson are in a 9-way tie for 7th with 8 points this year.

* SKATING NEAR THE TOP - RW Jason Sessa did not lead the Jackals in scoring in Week 2, but his 2 goals and 2 assists has kept him near the top in many offensive categories. Sessa is currently in a 5-way tie for second place in the UHL in points (9), is tied for second in goals (6), is tied for the lead in power play goals (4) and is tied for second in power play points (5).

NEWS AND NOTES:

Elmira Jackals Team Leaders:
Goals: Jason Sessa (6)
Assists: Jamie Thompson (5)
Points: Jason Sessa (9)
Plus/Minus: Jamie Thompson, Trevor Burgess (+2)
Penalty Minutes: Chris Shaw (31)
Power Play Goals: Jason Sessa (4) Short Handed
Goals: Carl Drakensjo, Jamie Thompson (1)
Shots: Jason Sessa (28)
Shooting Percentage: Carl Drakensjo (50.0%)
Saves: Greg Hewitt (192)
Wins: Greg Hewitt (4)
GAA: Greg Hewitt (2.82)
Save Percentage: Greg Hewitt (.932)

GOALS FOR THE GLOVE HOUSE UPDATE:

Jamie Thompson had a big weekend for the Goals for Glove House Fundraiser adding five more points to his season total. The Jackals forward picked up an assist Friday night versus Danbury, notched two goals in Saturday's contest against Richmond and finished the weekend with two more assists Sunday afternoon. Through six games Jamie has eight points, tied for seventh best in the UHL.

With each point that Jamie makes throughout the season he and Harding Harley-Davidson are asking you to pledge a gift to support Glove House programs and services.

To be a part of the fundraiser just fill out a pledge form at any of the convenient locations list below and drop your form in the box provided at each location. Jamie's points will be tallied at the end of the season determining your gift to help our communities children and families.

You can fill out a pledge card at any of the following locations throughout the season:
The DogHouse Jackals Merchandise Shop
Harding Harley-Davidson
Select Jackals Home Games
Star-Gazette
Glove House
Dick's Sporting Goods

Coach's Show

Don't miss the The Elmira Jackals Coach's Show broadcast LIVE this Tuesday night from Patrick's Pub, 303 College Ave. at 7pm. Join Head Coach Todd Brost and Voice of the Jackals Owen Newkirk, along with center Greg Koehler and left right wing Carl Drakensjo for the broadcast. Tune in on WiNGZ 104.9 FM or stream it online at www.jackalshockey.com.

• Discuss this story on the International Hockey League 2 message board...

International Hockey League 2 Stories from October 25, 2004


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 Elmira Jackals Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central