Jackals Eliminated From The UHL Playoff Race

Published on April 4, 2006 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


Week 24 Game Results:

3/31/06 Elmira 2 @ Danbury 5

Danbury, CT - The Elmira Jackals were mathematically eliminated from the UHL Playoff race after suffering a 5-2 loss to the Danbury Trashers Friday night at the Danbury Ice Arena.

The Jackals started the night without their two latest acquisitions, Elmira College goaltender Greg Fargo and defenseman Andrew Morris, still awaiting clearance of their immigration petitions, but they did get the addition of 6'6" defenseman Brett Angel for the first time since his trade from Muskegon to Elmira.

David Hymovitz put the Trashers up from early in the first period when his backhand shot slid underneath Jackals goaltender Matt Meacham at 2:49. Danbury doubled their lead at 8:54 when J.M. Daoust's shot fought its way through Meacham and into the net. Then at 15:30, with the Jackals on the power play, David Beauregard stole the puck his own zone, skated up the ice and found Danny Stewart, who finished off the 2-on-1 for a shorthanded goal and a 3-0 lead. The Trashers out-shot the Jackals 12-to-7 in the first period.

Troy Smith made it 4-0 Danbury just 1:23 into the second period, which would turn out to be the only goal of the middle frame.

In the third period, Dave MacIssac scored Danbury's 5th straight goal at 7:55, while at the other end goaltender Jayme Platt was in the running for a shutout. But the Jackals had other plans for this night. Defenseman Brett Angel scored his first professional goal, a power play goal assisted by John Donnelly at 12:14, as he crushed a slap shot from the point through Platt to break the shutout. 57 seconds later Elmira again cashed in on the power play as Chris Chaput finished off a clever pass from Sam Paolini at 13:11, Trevor Burgess also assisted on the goal, which made the final score 5-2.

Jayme Platt earned the win, despite losing his shutout bid, stopping 22-of-24 in goal for the Trashers. Matt Meacham made 24 saves on 29 shots in the loss for the Jackals. Elmira was 2-for-7 on the power play, while Danbury was 0-for-1.

4/1/06 Roanoke 5 @ Elmira 2

Elmira, NY - The Elmira Jackals lost 5-2 to the Roanoke Valley Vipers during a penalty-riddled game Saturday night at the First Arena.

Elmira came in looking to avenge a 6-5 loss in Roanoke last Sunday and they scored first just three minutes into the game. Jarrett Konkle knocked in a rebound at 3:10 of the first period for a power play goal, his 33rd goal of the season, assisted by Trevor Burgess and Jason Sessa.

In the second period the short-staffed Vipers took an about-face as they scored three straight goals. Jan Jas scored at 5:19 on a 5-on-3 power play to tie the game at one. John Osborne backhanded a shot past goalie Tyson Gajda at 13:53 to put Roanoke ahead 2-1. Then Mike Wiggins scored with 23 seconds remaining in the period to give the Vipers a 2-goal lead after two periods.

In the final period, things got out of hand. First Flo Iberer scored his third goal of the season at 1:21, cutting the Vipers' lead in half. Iberer took the puck from the red line, skated down the left wing and blasted a shot through goalie Shawn Conschafter, assisted by Burgess and Chris Chaput. At 11:38, Conschafter went after defenseman Bobby Gates after a whistle, which led to a large scrum and eventually a goalie fight between Gajda and Conschafter at center ice. Gajda decidedly won the tilt and both goalies were given an early exit by referee Neil Christopher, forcing both backups, Matt Meacham for Elmira and Glenn Ridler for Roanoke to enter the game.

Mark Scott regained Roanoke's two-goal lead at 13:15 to make it 4-2 Vipers. That was followed by Roanoke's Matt Miller running Meacham behind the play at 14:18. Defenseman Brett Angel retaliated, earning 17 minutes of penalties for instigating, while Miller got a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for Charging the Goaltender. Craig MacDonald was awarded a 4-minute double minor and a 10-minute misconduct at 15:32 for going after Roanoke's John Osborne; Osborne in turn got two minutes for roughing and a game misconduct for abuse of an Off-Ice Official. Mark Scott then added his second of the night on the power play at 18:54 to cap off the 5-2 win for the Vipers.

Shawn Conschafter earned the win for Roanoke, stopping 36-of-38 in goal for the first 51:38 of the game. Glenn Ridler finished the game and blocked all five shots he faced. Tyson Gajda played a strong game in goal for Elmira, making 31 saves on 34 shots in the loss, while Matt Meacham turned aside 5-of-7 shots in relief. Elmira out-shot Roanoke 43-41 and went 1-for-6 on the power play; the Vipers were 2-for-10 on the power play in a game with 35 penalties totaling 144 minutes.

4/2/06 Roanoke 1 @ Elmira 5

Elmira, NY - The Elmira Jackals got two goals from Josh Piro and broke a 3-game losing streak with a resounding 5-1 win, crushing the short-staffed Roanoke Valley Vipers Sunday afternoon at the First Arena

It only took Elmira 2:45 to find the net in the first period when Chris Chaput netted the first goal of the game, getting assists from Sam Paolini and Anthony Blumer. Roanoke answered back with a goal scored by Simon Rizk off of a huge rebound from a shot by John Osbourne at 6:09. Josh Piro was able to give the Jackals the lead when he roofed a shot past the Viper goaltender on a diving play for his second goal of the season, assisted by Carl Drakensjo. Play was stopped for a moment when referee John Searle caught a stick to the face and fell to the ice. Searle would sit out the rest of the first but return to the ice for the start of the second. Jason Sessa gave the Jackals some insurance by knocking in a slap shot from the blue line at 11:33 for the unassisted goal. The period would end with the Jackals leading 3-1 and out shooting the Vipers 11-19.

No goals were scored in the second period of play, but both Roanoke Valley and Elmira had their chances to score. Roanoke was unable to capitalize on two power plays in the first half of the period, and Elmira was not able to increase their lead on their power play at 13:52 of the period. Roanoke Valley picked up the slack and out shot Elmira 15-8 in the period, but Elmira still carried the edge with more shots in the game 27-26. The teams would head into the second intermission with the Jackals still holding onto the 2-goal lead.

Elmira was able to tally 2 more goals before the end of the game putting them four goals up on the Vipers 5-1. The first of the pair came at 7:09 when Jarrett Konkle roofed a shot passed Viper net minder Glenn Ridler, assisted by Konstantin Kalmikov and Kevin Cooper. The second came off the stick of Josh Piro for his second goal of the night; John Donnelly and Sam Paolini assisted the play at 14:52 of the period. That's the way the game would end with the Jackals on top 5-1 and ahead in shots 39-34. Konkle's goal was his 33rd of the season, putting the rookie forward just three goals behind Glenn Stewart who holds the Jackals single season goals record with 36 in the 2002-03 season.

Elmira goaltender Tyson Gajda had a great performance in goal, making 33 saves on 34 shots to earn his 4th win of the season. Roanoke Valley goalie Glenn Ridler stopped 34-of-39. Elmira finished 0-for-4 on the power play, but shut down Roanoke, who went 0-for-7 with the man-advantage.

Jackals Player & Goaltender of the Week: (Week 24)

Chris Chaput - C 3 GP, 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points, -1, 4 PIMs

Rookie Chris Chaput led all Jackals in scoring this week with 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist). He scored one of two power play goals Friday night in the 5-2 loss in Danbury. Saturday Chaput had an assist on one of Elmira's two goals in their 5-2 loss to Roanoke. Then Sunday he scored one of the Jackals' 5-goals in their 5-1 rout of the Vipers. For the season Chaput leads all Jackals with 65 points (26 goals, 39 assists) in 67 games played, which puts him 8th in the UHL in Rookie scoring, a mere 10-points behind rookie leader Ryan Keller (77 points).

Tyson Gajda - G 2 GP, 1-1-0, 2.15 GAA, 0.941 SV%, 64 saves

Tyson Gajda returned from injury this week and didn't miss a beat. He posted a 2.15 Goals Against Average and a 0.941 Save Percentage while earning a split in his two starts. Saturday night, his first game since missing two weeks with a groin injury, Tyson stopped 31-of-34 and then fought Vipers' goalie Shawn Conschafter at center ice, totally dominating the altercation and leaving to a standing ovation from the home crown. Gajda earned 15 minutes in penalties and left the game with the Jackals trailing by one goal. Sunday he looked even better as he allowed just one goal past him to record his 4th victory. On the season Gajda is 4-4-1 in 10 games played, posting a 3.23 GAA and a 0.910 save percentage - better than any Jackals goaltender this year.

Jackals Player & Goaltender of the Month: (March)

Konstantin Kalmikov - C 14 GP, 13 goals, 6 assists, 19 points, +3, 6 PIMs

Konstantin Kalmikov had a great month of March for the Jackals. He averaged 1.4 points per game and had a phenomenal 22.4% shooting percentage, while appearing in all 14 of the Jackals games during the month. He had more points (19), goals (13), shots (57) and power play goals (4) than any other Elmira player in March. He was named the Sher-Wood UHL player of the week for Week 23 by tallying 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in three games against Adirondack and Roanoke; he is the first Jackals skater to earn that award this season. Overall, Kalmikov has 57 points (27 goals, 30 assists) in 68 games played between Elmira and Motor City this season; he has 45 points in 49 games for Elmira.

Tyson Gajda - G 8 GP, 3-3-1, 3.52 GAA, 0.902 SV%, 220 saves

Rookie Tyson Gajda has made a smooth transition into the Jackals #1 goaltender position after a surprise trade that sent Nick Boucher to Muskegon. Gajda, who had only appeared in 6 games over the last two years in pro hockey, has finally been given the opportunity to shine and he has not disappointed. The rookie went 3-3-1 with a 3.52 GAA and a 0.902 save percentage. He stopped 4-of-5 shooters in a shootout loss to Adirondack, his first shootout as a professional goaltender. He then beat both Danbury and Adirondack, the top two teams in the Eastern Division, in back-to-back games, while stopping 72-of-77 shots. His third win in the month came on St. Patrick's day, in a sold-out Wings Stadium on their Green Ice night, stopping 38 shots in a 3-2 win over Kalamazoo. For the season, Gajda has a 3.23 GAA and a very impressive 0.910 save percentage.

Jackals Rookie of the Month: (March)

Jarrett Konkle - LW 14 GP, 9 goals, 7 assists, 16 points, +6, 6 PIMs

Rookie Jarrett Konkle led all Elmira rookies in scoring during the month of March. He had four multiple-point games and scored points in 9 of his 14 games this month. Konkle led the team with a +6 rating and of his 9 goals during March; he had 2 power play goals, 1 short-handed goal and 2 game-winning goals. With 45 shots on goal, Konkle scored on 20.0% of his shots, the second highest percentage on the team amongst players with more than 10 shots on goal. Overall Konkle leads the team in goals with 34 this season, two shy of Glenn Stewart's 2002-03 mark of 36, which is the Jackals franchise record for goals scored in a single season.

JACKAL BITES:

- SEASON-ENDING MATH - The Elmira Jackals were officially eliminated from the Playoff race Friday night in their 5-2 loss to the Danbury Trashers. Perhaps to add insult to injury, Quad City, the team the Jackals needed to lose down the stretch, emphatically blanked Missouri Friday night 4-0.

- CHASING HISTORY - Rookie LW Jarrett Konkle scored two more goals this weekend, improving his team leading total to 34 goals. Not only does it tie Jason Sessa's goal total for last season (2004-05), but he is also just two goals away from Glenn Stewart's single season Jackals record of 36 goals in one year. Konkle has 6 games remaining over the next two weeks to set a new franchise record for goals in one season.

- HE NEEDED A FEW TIMEOUTS - Rookie center Craig MacDonald has really stepped up to fill the void left after Chris Mann's season-ending injury. Not only has MacDonald gone back to defense for the past two weeks, but he also led the way in penalties. MacDonald amassed 40 minutes in three games, consisting of 5 minors, 2 majors and 2 ten-minute misconducts. He improved to 202 PIMs this season, which trails Mann (313) and Brett Angel (213).

- A NEW ACCOUNT - Rookie defenseman Brett Angel scored his first professional goal Friday night, March 31st, at the Danbury Ice Arena. Angel blasted a heavy slap shot from the blue line into the net; a power play goal in the third period, breaking Goaltender Jayme Platt's bid for a shutout. Angel has 7 points (1 goal, 6 assists) in 49 UHL games this season.

- THE 50-200 CLUB - The Jackals have four players with 50 or more points and 200 or more shots this season. Chris Chaput, Jarrett Konkle, Konstantin Kalmikov and Kevin Cooper are all in the exclusive club and Jason Sessa is just one shot away from joining. D Trevor Burgess had 3 assists this week to make him the 6th Jackal to reach 50 points (6 goals, 44 assists) this year.

- SCORE MORE-WIN MORE - F Josh Piro scored two goals Sunday in Elmira's 5-1 trouncing of Roanoke. With 3 goals this season, it was just the second game in which Piro lit the lamp, but his winning percentage is very strong. The Jackals have won both games that Piro has scored goals and in both contests Piro had the Game Winning Goal.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Elmira Jackals Team Leaders:

Goals: Jarrett Konkle (34)

Assists: Trevor Burgess (44)

Points: Chris Chaput (65)

Plus/Minus: Anthony Blumer (+6)

Penalty Minutes: Chris Mann (313)

Power Play Goals: Jarrett Konkle (15)

Short Handed Goals: Jarrett Konkle (3)

Game Winning Goals: Kevin Cooper, Jarrett Konkle (3)

Shots: Jarrett Konkle (217)

Shooting Percentage: Jarrett Konkle (15.7%)

Saves: Tyson Gajda (284)

Wins: Tyson Gajda (4)

GAA: Tyson Gajda (3.23)

Save Percentage: Tyson Gajda (0.910)

Eastern Division Standings:

EASTERN GP W L SOP PTS PCT.

Danbury 70 42 17 11 95 .679

Adirondack 67 42 20 5 89 .664

Richmond 68 35 27 6 76 .559

Elmira 70 26 37 7 59 .421

Roanoke 70 17 47 6 40 .286

Coach's Show

Don't miss The Elmira Jackals Coach's Show LIVE Tuesday night at 7pm. Listen to Head Coach Perry Florio, the Voice of the Jackals Owen Newkirk, along with forward Konstantin Kalmikov and defenseman Brett Angel for the broadcast on Wheels AM 820 WWLZ or stream it online at www.jackalshockey.com - Fans are encouraged to email their questions for any of the Coach's Show participants to jackalsinfo@jackalshockey.com no later than 3 pm on Tuesday before the show.

First Arena Rec Rink Hockey Information

The ice is HOT at First Arena - Visit our website for a complete list of Public Skating times and Arena Programs at www.firstarena.com - Come in to the COOL place to be!

The First Arena Rec Rink offers public skating, skating lessons, hockey programs, figure skating, birthday parties, and much more....

2005-06 Record: 26-37-7, 59 points (11-20-3 home, 15-17-4 road), Fourth Place, Eastern Division

Week 25 Schedule: (All games are broadcasted LIVE on Wheels AM-820 WWLZ)

Wednesday, April 5 7:05 pm vs. Danbury Trashers (42-17-11, 95 pts) First Place, Eastern Division

Friday, April 7 7:05 pm vs. Danbury Trashers (42-17-11, 95 pts) First Place, Eastern Division

Saturday, April 8 7:35 pm @ Adirondack Frostbite (42-20-5, 89 pts) Fifth Place, Eastern Division

Sunday, April 9 4:05 pm vs. Richmond Riverdogs (35-27-6, 76 pts) Three Place, Eastern Division

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from April 4, 2006


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