Jackals Back Home to Face the Royals
February 17, 2017 - ECHL (ECHL)
Elmira Jackals News Release
Game 50: Elmira Jackals (9-33-6-1) vs. Reading Royals (29-17-1-2)
7:05 p.m., First Arena, Elmira, New York
The Jackals and Reading Royals continue their season-long DeMet's Candy Cup Challenge with a three-in-three, beginning tonight at First Arena. It is the seventh match of the season series, which concludes Mar. 11 in Elmira. The Royals lead the DeMet's Candy Cup Challenge five wins to one .
The Royals snapped a three-game losing streak, which came on the heels of a six-game winning streak, with a 6-5 shootout win in Adirondack Tuesday night. With seven wins in their last 10 games, the Royals are 29-17-1-2 on the season, giving them 61 points and placing them in second place in the North Division.
The Jackals picked up points in their final two games of last week's road trip, losing in overtime and a shootout to the Quad City Mallards. They are now 9-33-6-1 on the season. With 25 points, the Jackals are in sixth place in the North Division and 13th place in the Eastern Conference.
Broadcast Coverage
Jackals Pregame at 6:50 p.m. Radio: 1410 WELM
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TICKETS
The Kelly Cup
The Kelly Cup, the ECHL's postseason championship trophy, will be at First Arena tonight during the game. Fans can take pictures with the Cup, which will be located in the Rotunda throughout the night.
Last time out
For the second straight night, the Jackals overcame a 2-0 deficit and also rallied from 3-2 down to force overtime, before losing, 4-3, in a shootout to the Quad City Mallards Feb. 12 at the iWireless Center.
The Jackals found themselves down 2-0 in the first half of the opening period on goals from Sam Warning at 6:01 and Justin Kovacs at 9:55. On the strength of their power play, the Jackals mounted a comeback, which began with a 5-on-3 goal by Matt Lane on a one-timer from the right circle at 15:34. Lane knotted the game at two in the second period with another power-play goal at 6:12.
The Mallards regained their lead 11:21 into the third period on a quick stick goal in front by Brady Brassart. That was matched late in the third period by a deflection goal for Kenton Miller on the power play at 17:14, sending the game into overtime for the second straight night. After a scoreless overtime period, the Mallards got the only goal of the shootout by Justin Kovacs, prevailing in the game, 4-3 .
Home and away
The Jackals have played more road games (29) and fewer home games (20) than every team in the ECHL heading into the week. That means over the final 23 games of the season, the Jackals have 16 home games and seven road games remaining on their schedule.
The Jackals are winless in their last nine road games, their longest drought of the season, falling to 3-21-4-1 away from First Arena. In fact, the Jackals have lost eight straight road games on three separate occasions and have 51 goals for as opposed to 121 goals against in 29 road matches.
In 20 home games, the Jackals are 6-12-2-0, with four straight home losses, and have a -14 goal differential, with 57 goals for and 72 goals against. Despite playing nine fewer home games, the Jackals have scored six more goals on home ice .
We're going to overtime
Saturday in Quad City, the Jackals lost during the 3-on-3 overtime period for the sixth time in eight decision this season, falling to 2-6 in overtime. With Sunday's shootout loss to the Mallards, the Jackals are now 3-7 in games decided past regulation time. The only two wins in the 3-on-3 overtime are against the Manchester Monarchs, one in Elmira (Nov. 27) and one in Manchester (Jan. 20) and their shootout win came Oct. 25 vs. Adirondack.
The six overtime losses match the 2009-10 team for the second most decided during the course of overtime play. They are one behind the 2010-11 Jackals for the most in their ECHL history and that team also has the most combined losses past regulation with 10.
The Jackals are tied with Atlanta for the second most overtime losses in the ECHL this season, trailing only Rapid City (8). Only Manchester (8) and Rapid City (8) have lost past regulation more than the Jackals' seven overtime + shootout losses .
Head-to-head
Tonight is the seventh match in this season's DeMet's Candy Cup Challenge, with the Royals leading the season series with five wins in six games. The teams meet three times this week and then conclude the season series Mar. 11 in Elmira.
Reading's offense has had its way with the Jackals scoring at least three goals each game, with at least five goals in four of the six. They've outscored Elmira 31-12 in the series. Robbie Czarnik (4g, 5a) and Justin Crandall (3g, 6a) lead the series with nine points apiece. Steven Kaunisto is the top Jackals scorer against Reading with four points in six games.
In net, Mark Dekanich and Martin Ouellette have both appeared in three games against Elmira, with Ouellette posting a 2-1-0 record with a 2.12 goals-against average and .918 save percentage. Dekanich, who was lifted in the first period of their Jan. 14 match, is 2-0-0 with a 2.82 goals-against average and .905 save percentage.
Scouting the Royals
The Royals had a six-game winning snapped last week, losing three straight games at home against South Carolina and Norfolk, before opening up this week with a 6-5 shootout win over the Thunder. That makes them 7-3-0-0 in the last 10 games and 29-17-1-2 on the season. At 61 points, the Royals are in second place in the North Division six points behind Manchester, but just barely ahead of Adirondack and Brampton.
Reading is fourth in the ECHL at 3.76 goals per game, scoring three or more goals in nine of their last 10 games. Although they have a positive goal differential in all three periods, the Royals are particularly strong in the third, with a team-best +19 differential on 67 goals for and 48 goals against. Leading scorer Chris McCarthy (19g-28a-47pts) is currently on recall with the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms, so Justin Crandall (16g, 26a) and Robbie Czarnik (19g, 23a) are tied for the team lead with 42 points.
In net Mark Dekanich (26) and Martin Ouellette (20) have shared most of the action this season. Ouellette has seen the majority of the ice time since the turn of the calendar, appearing in 13 of Reading's 18 games since Jan. 6. Overall he is 11-7-0-1 with a 2.76 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. Dekanich is 13-10-1-1 with a 3.05 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage .
Special teams
The Royals power play is 0-for-9 in their last two games and 1-for-17 (5.9%) in their last four games. Overall they are 10th in the ECHL at 19.4%, going 33-for-170 on the season.
The Jackals power play broke out of a 2-for-33 slump by going 3-for-5 Sunday in Quad City, improving to 24-for-159 (15.1%) on the season, ranking 20th in the ECHL. They have power-play goals in back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 30-Jan. 6, going 4-for-10 in two games against the Mallards last weekend.
Reading's penalty kill has continued it's torrid pace with a perfect 11-for-11 over the last four games. In 28 games since Dec. 3, the Royals have allowed just eight power-play goals, surging up to 12th in the league at 83.4%.
The Jackals penalty kill had a much improved road trip, stopping 14 of 16 chances, an 87.5% rate in the four games. Overall, Elmira is 23rd in the ECHL on the kill at 79.4%, although it is better at home. At First Arena, the Jackals have allowed a league-best nine power-play goals and their 84.7% kill rate is 10th.
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Upcoming Games:
Friday, February 17th: Elmira Jackals vs. Reading Royals - 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, February 18th: Elmira Jackals at Reading Royals - 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 19th: Elmira Jackals at Reading Royals - 4:00 p.m.
Thursday, February 23rd: Elmira Jackals vs. Alaska Aces - 7:05 p.m.
Friday, February 24th: Elmira Jackals vs. Florida Everblades - 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, February 25th: Elmira Jackals vs. Florida Everblades - 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday, March 1st: Elmira Jackals vs. Manchester Monarchs - 7:05 p.m.
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ECHL Stories from February 17, 2017
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- Jackals Back Home to Face the Royals - Elmira Jackals
- Gameday - Adirondack (26-14-4-4) At Atlanta (18-24-6-1) - Adirondack Thunder
- The Royal Road Ahead: Reading Royals at Elmira Jackals - Reading Royals
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