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Jackals cling to first place after up and down week

November 22, 2004 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


Week 6 Game Results:

11/18/04 ADIRONDACK 6 - Jackals 5

Elmira, NY - Playing in their second morning School-Day game of the season the Jackals fell short of a third period comeback, losing to the Adirondack Frostbite 6-5 Thursday.

Power play goals were key early in this contest as the Frostbite jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the first period. Sylvain Cloutier and Hugo Belanger each scored power play goals in the first twelve minutes, but Elmira got one back when Greg Koehler scored at 12:38 on the power play from George Pujacs and Darren Van Oene.

The Jackals would draw level at 6:30 of the second period when Carl Drakensjo lifted a sizzling wrist shot over the shoulder of Derek Gustafson for the game's first even strength goal; assisted by Eddy Lowe and Adam Nittel. But Adirondack answered just 38 seconds later when Jason Jaworski found the net at 7:08 for a 3-2 lead. The Frostbite made it 4-2 at 11:13 on a goal by Bruce Gardiner, their second straight even strength goal. Again Koehler answered for the Jackals on the power play, scoring his second of the game at 16:16 from Pujacs and Trevor Burgess. But Adirondack would add two more to their tally before the end of the second. Scott Drevitch scored the team's third power play goal of the game at 17:28 and then Gardiner notched his second of the contest at 18:08 for a 6-3 Adirondack edge.

With rookie Kevin Kurk replacing starter Greg Hewitt in the net for the final frame, the Jackals mounted a brave comeback, but would fall just short of catching their East Division rivals. First Pujacs slapped home a shorthanded goal at 1:14 from Eddy Lowe to put the Frostbite on the heels. Then Koehler finished off his hat trick at 15:11 with an even strength goal from Burgess and Tom Clayton. But despite some late scrambles in the Adirondack goal mouth, the Frostbite would cling to the 6-5 win.

Gustafson made 29 saves on 34 shots for the win, while Hewitt picked up the loss making 16 saves on 22 shots through two periods; Kurk stopped all 7 shots he faced in the third period.

11/19/04 JACKALS 3 - Danbury 2 (SO)

Danbury, CT - The Elmira Jackals earned their first road victory over the Danbury Trashers in franchise history as they twice came back from a goal down to gain a shootout victory Friday night.

More than 2,300 fans at the Danbury Ice Arena saw the Trashers take an early lead against a Jackals team that was playing without the services of captain Trevor Burgess, Simon Poirier and Jamie Thompson; all three suffered injuries Thursday against Adirondack. Samir Ben-Amor's shot from the left face off circle was screened from goalie Greg Hewitt and found the net just 49 seconds into the first period; assisted by Bruce Richardson.

Elmira would strike back at 2:37 of the second period as Eddy Lowe blasted a shot past Scott Stirling from the slot; Adam Nittel and Nathan Gillies each getting assists on the goal. Shortly thereafter, the Trashers regained their one-goal lead courtesy of Blake Bellefeuille, assisted by Jeff State at 3:25.

The Jackals did not waste anytime in the third period to get the equalizer. Nathan Gillies found the net at 1:23, from Greg Koehler and George Pujacs. The rest of the game was played very tightly, but neither team could find the clincher; both teams finished 0-for-6 on the power play.

This game would go to a shootout. Bruce Richardson put the home side on top in round one, and after some sensational goaltending from both keepers, Nathan Gillies would again play the role of leveling the contest. In round six defenseman George Pujacs undressed Stirling with some clever stick work, put the Jackals up 2-1 in the shootout, their first lead of any kind in the game. Hewitt then held Doug Christiansen at bay to give Elmira the two points.

Hewitt earned his UHL leading 9th victory and a league best 3rd shootout win of the season by stopping 33-of-35 and turning away 5-of-6 attempts in the shootout. Stirling took the loss Friday, making 38 saves in open play and went 4-of-6 during the shootout.

11/20/04 RICHMOND 4 - Jackals 1

Richmond, VA - In just his second game back in Richmond after being reassigned from the Binghamton Senators, center David Hymovitz scored three times in the first period to lead the Riverdogs to a 4-1 win over the Jackals Saturday night.

5,000+ people at the Richmond Coliseum barely got settled in their seats when Hymovitz put the Riverdogs on the board with the game's very first shot on goal at 49 seconds of the first period. On the power play at 6:06 he would one-time a shot past Greg Hewitt to give Richmond a 2-0 lead. Nathan Gillies put the Jackals on the board at 11:43 with a beautiful power play goal lifted into the top shelf over Richmond goalie Jeff Sanger, assisted by Greg Koehler and Darren Van Oene, but that would be the only time the red light went on for Elmira.

The Jackals defense began to unravel late in the period and Richmond took full advantage. First David Brosseau was sent free on a breakaway and he finished his chance at 15:35 for the third 'Dogs goal of the night. Hymovitz got an assist on that goal, then at 18:29 got a breakaway of his own and neatly finished off his first period hat trick for a 4-1 Richmond lead.

Despite two tough periods in response from the Jackals, and several punishing blows to the Richmond goal posts, neither team would find the net again.

Sanger shined in net, stopping 32-of-33 for the win, while Hewitt made 32 saves on 36 Richmond shots in the loss.

JACKALS PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: (WEEK 6)

George Pujacs - D 3 GP, 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 pts, Even

Defenseman George Pujacs (poo-yah-ts) may not have led the Jackals in scoring Week 6 (he was second) but he did lead the team in one critical category: ice time. With injuries to key defenseman Trevor Burgess and Simon Poirier, Pujacs led short-staffed blue line crew by logging tons of ice time over the weekend. He had a goal and two assists in Thursday morning's 6-5 loss to Adirondack. He had an assist on Nathan Gillies game tying goal in the 3rd period and then scored the shootout winner in round 6 of the overtime session. Saturday Pujacs didn't have any points, but the Riga, Latvia native again held strong and was on the ice all night, in a game where Elmira only dressed five defenseman.

Greg Hewitt - G 3 GP, 1-2-0, 4.50 GAA, .865 SV%, 77 saves

Greg Hewitt had an up-and-down Week 6. He allowed 6 goals in just 2 periods of play against Adirondack Thursday, but rebounded emphatically Friday night by beating Danbury 3-2 in a shootout. Hewitt stopped 33-of-35 in regulation and then after allowing a goal in the first round of the shootout, denied the next five straight attempts for a 2-1 victory in the shootout. Saturday, Hewitt suffered a 4-1 loss in Richmond, all four goals coming in the first period, including 1 power play goal and 2 clean breakaway goals. The London, Ontario native still leads the UHL in wins (9), minutes (917), saves (492), and shootout wins (3).

JACKAL BITES:

* IT'S GOOD TO BE THE KING - C Greg Koehler is currently leading the UHL in scoring. Koehler has 32 points and league best 19 goals through 18 games. He is 8 points ahead of his closest competition, Robin Bouchard of Muskegon (24).

* YES CAPTAIN - D Trevor Burgess missed two games this weekend with an injury, but he still leads all defenseman in the UHL in scoring. Burgess has 16 points (2 goals, 14 assists) and is the leader in the entire league in assists (14).

* MORE OFFENSE FOR HIM - C Greg Koehler is on top in the UHL in shots on goal with 86, 4 more than Danbury's Jim Duhart. Koehler is also third in the UHL in power play points with 13 (6 goals, 7 assists).

* HE'S A HOSS - G Greg Hewitt maintained his lead in several goaltending categories. He is tops in the UHL in Wins (9), Minutes (917), Saves (492) and Shootout Wins (3).

* KEEP ROLLIN' -Since October 24th, C Greg Koehler has scored 27 points in 13 consecutive games. He also continued his UHL season best 6-game home goal-scoring streak with a hat trick against Adirondack on Thursday; he has scored 10 goals at the First Arena since November 6th against Kalamazoo

* ROOKIE TOUGHNESS - D Chris Shaw leads all rookies in the UHL in penalty minutes with 71. He is first amongst Defenseman and third amongst rookies in major penalties with 7 majors, one shy of the overall UHL top-5. Shaw currently has the most penalty minutes on the Jackals roster.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Elmira Jackals Team Leaders:

Goals: Greg Koehler (19)

Assists: Trevor Burgess (14)

Points: Greg Koehler (32)

Plus/Minus: Trevor Burgess, Carl Drakensjo, Adam Nittel (+3)

Penalty Minutes: Chris Shaw (71)

Power Play Goals: Jason Sessa (7)

Short Handed Goals: Carl Drakensjo, Jamie Thompson,

Eddy Lowe, George Pujacs (1)

Shots: Greg Koehler (86)

Shooting Percentage: Greg Koehler (22.1%)

Saves: Greg Hewitt (492)

Wins: Greg Hewitt (9)

GAA: Greg Hewitt (3.21)

Save Percentage: Greg Hewitt (.909)

Jackals Jam

Don't forget to check out the next edition Jackals Jam on WENY-TV. Broadcaster Owen Newkirk and WENY Sports Director Neille Giffune will recap another exciting week of Jackals hockey, including an interview with Head Coach Todd Brost, a Jackals player profile, and skills segment with Owen and a Jackal. Jackals Jam airs every Sunday night at 11:00 pm on WENY-TV (ABC).

GOALS FOR THE GLOVE HOUSE UPDATE:

Jamie Thompson, for the first time this season, did not add to his total in the Goals for Glove House Fundraiser. The Jackals forward suffered an injury against Adirondack on Thursday and did not play in the last two games of the week. Through fifteen games Jamie has seventeen points coming on five goals and twelve assists, putting him in a tie for 19th in scoring 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

Glove House

Dick's Sporting Goods

Cappy's

Club Nautilus

Pal's Sports Center

Klein's All-Sports

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 defenseman Bryan Cummings and center Eddy Lowe for the broadcast. Tune in on WiNGZ 104.9 FM or stream it online at www.jackalshockey.com - Fans are encouraged to email their questions for any of the Coach's Show participants to jackalshockey@jackalshockey.com no later than 3 pm on Tuesday.

2004-05 RECORD: 10-8-0, 20 points (7-4-0 home, 3-4-0 road), First Place, Eastern Division

Week 7 Game Schedule:

November 24 7:00 pm vs. Danbury Trashers (9-6-1, 19 pts) Tied-Second Place, Eastern Division.

November 26 7:30 pm vs. Flint Generals (8-5-2, 18 pts) Second Place, Central Division

November 27 7:30 pm vs. Richmond Riverdogs (8-5-1, 17 pts) Fourth Place, Eastern Division

November 28 5:05 pm @. Richmond Riverdogs (8-5-1, 17 pts) Fourth Place, Eastern Division



International Hockey League 2 Stories from November 22, 2004


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