Jackals Drop Game One 6-2 In Glens Falls

Published on April 2, 2003 under ECHL (ECHL)
Elmira Jackals News Release


The Elmira Jackals and Adirondack IceHawks officially opened the 2003 Colonial Cup Playoffs on Tuesday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center. As the only series to open on Tuesday, all eyes were focused on this 2 vs. 3 seed matchup, especially given the Jackals' seeming inability to beat the IceHawks in recent action. Elmira, however, looked to build on their playoff success of last season when they marched to the Colonial Cup Finals.

The first period opened with the Jackals almost converting on a pair of close scoring chances, but taking the first two penalties in the game to give the IceHawks some momentum. A power play goal at 5:12 off the stick of James Patterson opened the scoring, with Alex Dumas and Dominic Chiasson picking up the assists. Chaisson made it 2-0 when he scored at 15:13 through heavy traffic in front of the Jackals net, beating Emond over his blocker after a faceoff win from J.C. Ruid. But Brad Wingfield atoned for his earlier penalty box time when he scored a power play goal at 17:41 by bulling his way to the front of the IceHawk net, pushing a shot in past Jason Wolfe with assists from Aaron Phillips and Glenn Stewart. Shots on goal in the first period were 12-10 in favor of Elmira.

Second period action was once again fraught with scoring opportunities for both teams, but only the IceHawks were able to dent the scoreboard, doing so at 6:27 during a five-on-three advantage. Hugo Belanger scored on a point shot, beating Emond high over his left glove with help from Chiasson and Steven Low. Elmira had chances in front of Jason Wolfe once again, but he managed to keep the Jackals off the board all period, denying a few point-blank chances as well as coming up big while scrambling in his crease twice. The IceHawk defense also tightened in the period, deflecting many would be shots on goal out of harm's way. Elmira continued to out shoot the IceHawks, 12-11 for the period and 24-21 through two periods of play.

Starting the third period with just under a minute and a half of carryover power play time, the Jackals took advantage of the situation when Randy Murphy scored at 1:03 of the period from David Lessard and Corey Neilson. With the game now at 3-2, the Jackals looked to tie it with momentum in hand. Instead, Adirondack turned the tables with three consecutive goals for a 6-2 win. Trevor Senn scored at 6:03 for a two-goal lead, followed by a Belanger short-handed marker at 7:44. At 11:13 of the period, Belanger completed the hat trick to round out the scoring for Adirondack. Elmira fired 36 shots at Wolfe, but the rookie netminder played well all night, picking up his first career playoff victory. Marco Emond stopped 27 shots in the loss, Elmira's third consecutive 6-2 defeat at the hands of the IceHawks.

Adirondack now leads the Best of Five series, 1-0. Game Two will be played on Friday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 pm. Game Three will take place at the Coach USA Center on Saturday night, a 7 pm start. All fans are encouraged to wear white for the duration of the playoffs, to help White Out the IceHawks. Also as part of Saturday's game, donations will be accepted for the Samaritan Center, including non-perishable food items, clothing, and money.

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