Jackals Embark On Final Big Road Trip Of The Year

Published on March 28, 2005 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


Week 24 Game Results:

3/25/05 JACKALS 3 - Danbury 1

Elmira, NY - The Elmira Jackals came within 21 seconds of shutting out the Danbury Trashers as they earned a 3-1 victory Friday night at the First Arena.

After the 7-1 embarrassment at the First Arena by Danbury last Saturday, Elmira had something to prove tonight. The Jackals dominated the opening frame, starting the contest with a vintage 20-minute Elmira shelling to start the game. Eddy Lowe got the home side on the board with his 18th goal of the season at 7:12, finishing off a beautiful give-and-go with Jeff Antonovich to beat Ryan McIntosh; Trevor Burgess also assisted on the goal. Derek Campbell made it 2-0 Elmira when Charlie Elezi fed a perfect pass from behind the net to the unmarked Campbell who one-timed it into the net at 12:06; George Pujacs has the second assist on the goal. Elmira out-shot Danbury 13-9 in the first period.

Elmira seemed to ease off the throttle just a little bit in the second period, but goaltender Greg Hewitt was in top form as he stopped all 13 shots thrown at him by the Trashers in a scoreless period.

Elmira made it 3-0 at 12:57 of the third period when Alex Mathieu raced in on a two-on-one with Tom Clayton. With Clayton drawing attention on the left wing, Mathieu pulled the puck to his backhand and calming slid the puck past McIntosh for his 3rd goal in 4 games in a Jackals uniform. Pujacs and Hewitt received assists on the goal, it was Hewitt's 4th assist of the year. Danbury spoiled the shutout attempt just 21 second before the final buzzer. Jeff Daw smacked home a scramble in front of the net after the Jackals failed to clear the puck, Doug Christiansen assisting on Danbury's only goal of the game.

Greg Hewitt earned his 16th win of the year and 1st star honors in the game by stopping 43-of-44 Danbury shots. Ryan McIntosh made 20 saves on 23 shots in the losing effort for the Trashers.

3/26/05 ADIRONDACK 5 - Jackals 2

Glens Falls, NY - The Adirondack Frostbite overcame two one-goal leads by the Elmira Jackals to earn a 5-2 victory Saturday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Elmira started off the night building from the previous evening's dominance over Danbury. The Jackals struck first when Jeff Antonovich found Tom Clayton all along in the slot and the feisty winger slid a backhand shot past the sprawling Derek Gustafson at 9:34 for a 1-0 Elmira lead. Both teams would had power play chances in the period but neither team was successful.

In the second period Adirondack tied things up with a power play goal at 3:05 when Ryan Bennett flicked a rebound over the glove of Kevin Kurk. But the Jackals came storming back again with a three-on-one rush where Alex Mathieu snapped a hard pass across the ice to Jason Jaworski and the Jackals defenseman blasted a one-timer into the open net for a 2-1 lead at 10:27. The Frostbite once again leveled the score at 13:50 when Frank Bakrlik scored just moments after coming out of the penalty box. Adirondack out-shot Elmira 13 to 5 in the middle frame.

In the third period Adirondack regained the lead when Kamil Kuriplach blasted home a shot from the point at 3:43 to give the Frostbite their first lead of the game. A power play goal by Bob Rapoza extended the lead to 4-2 and they added an empty net, short-handed goal from J.F. Labarre at 19:54 to close out the scoring.

Derek Gustafson made 17 saves on 19 shots for the win, while Kevin Kurk took the loss while stopping 28-of-33 in goal for Elmira.

3/27/05 MOTOR CITY 4 - Jackals 1

Elmira, NY - The Motor City Mechanics won their 4th straight game with a 4-1 win over the Elmira Jackals Sunday night at the First Arena.

Motor City got their first goal at 2:39 of the opening period, when Chris Gignac won a face off to Joe Burton who partially fanned on his slap shot, wrong-footing Greg Hewitt for a short-handed goal.

In the second period the Mechanics added to their lead when Matt Hunter blasted home at shot a 9:59 from Burton and Blair Manning. The Jackals fought back with a strange goal five minutes later. Defenseman George Pujacs lifted the puck from the Elmira blue line in on the Motor City net, the biscuit bounced in front of goaltender Rod Branch and caromed up over the glove and into the net at 15:08, an unassisted, short-handed goal estimated at approximately 120 feet from the shot to the goal. Motor City got it back with a power play strike at 17:13 from Rick Smith for a 3-1 lead after two.

In the third period Ryan Baker scored at 12:59 by physically forcing the puck along the ice through a stranded Hewitt for a 4-1 final score.

Rod Branch made 35 saves on 36 shots for his 24th win of the season, while Greg Hewitt took the loss, stopping 27-of-31 in the loss.

JACKALS PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: (WEEK 24)

George Pujacs - D 3 GP, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 pts, +1

Defenseman George Pujacs led all Jackals in scoring over the 3-game weekend with 3 points. He started off the series with style, getting two assists in the 3-1 victory over Danbury Friday night. Sunday Pujacs scored the Jackals only goal against Motor City from his own blue line, the longest Jackals goal of the season, which also happened to be short-handed.

Greg Hewitt - G 2 GP, 1-1-0, 2.50 GAA, 0.933 SV%, 70 saves

Greg Hewitt was in form this week as he turned aside 93% of the shots thrown at him. Hewitt was 21 seconds away from shutting out the Danbury Trashers Friday night; he stopped the first 43 shots he faced, but the 44th and final shot coming on a scramble in front of the net spoiled his clean sheet. Sunday, Hewitt made 27 saves on 31 shots in a 4-1 loss to Motor City. He finished the week with a 2.50 GAA and a 0.933 save percentage.

JACKAL BITES:

· PLAYING LONG BALL - D George Pujacs scored the longest goal of the season by a Jackal Sunday versus Motor City. Pujacs lifted a wrist shot from his own blue line all the way down into the Mechanics net traveling nearly 120 feet.

· NEARLY CLEAN SHEET - G Greg Hewitt came within 21 seconds of shutting out Danbury Friday in Elmira. The Trashers scored a scramble goal at 19:39 of the third period to spoil the shutout bid. Hewitt made 43 saves in the Jackals 3-1 win.

· BACK FROM BRIDGEPORT - RW Jason Sessa was recalled from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL. Sessa played 7 games for Bridgeport registering one assist during his call up.

· THOSE DARN FROSTBITE - The Jackals have had trouble with the Adirondack Frostbite all season. With a 5-2 loss in Glens Falls, NY Saturday night the Jackals fell to 3-11-2 versus Adirondack this year.

· WAR OF THE PIMS - Rookies F Derek Campbell and D Chris Shaw have battle for the Jackals lead in penalty minutes all season long. After coming off the IR this week and earning 43 minutes, Campbell regained the lead with 204 PIMs overall, the first Jackals to cross the 200 PIMs plateau.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Elmira Jackals Team Leaders:

Goals: Jason Sessa (32)

Assists: Jeff Antonovich (37)

Points: Jason Sessa (59)

Plus/Minus: Craig Macdonald (+3)

Penalty Minutes: Derek Campbell (204)

Power Play Goals: Jason Sessa (16)

Short Handed Goals: Eddy Lowe, Carl Drakensjo (2)

Shots: Jason Sessa (208)

Shooting Percentage: Jarrett Konkle (27.3%)

Saves: Greg Hewitt (1675)

Wins: Greg Hewitt (16)

GAA: Greg Hewitt (3.64)

Save Percentage: Kevin Kurk (.897)

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).

Coach's Show

THERE WILL BE NO COACH'S SHOW THIS WEEK (March 29th) DUE TO THE JACKALS ROAD TRIP THIS WEEK.

Don't miss the NEXT The Elmira Jackals Coach's Show broadcast LIVE Tuesday night April 5th from Patrick's Pub, 303 College Ave. at 7pm. Join Head Coach Dave Schultz and Voice of the Jackals Owen Newkirk, along with two Jackals players 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 before the show.

2004-05 RECORD: 23-45-5, 51 points (16-21-1 home, 7-24-4 road), Fourth Place, Eastern Division

Week 25 Game Schedule:

March 30 7:35 pm @ Richmond Riverdogs (30-39-5, 65 pts) Third Place, Eastern Division

April 1 7:30 pm @ Motor City Mechanics (29-36-7, 65 pts) Fourth Place, Central Division

April 2 7:35 pm @ Muskegon Fury (47-18-8, 102 pts)First Place, Central Division

April 3 5:00 pm @ Motor City Mechanics (29-36-7, 65 pts) Fourth Place, Central Division

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from March 28, 2005


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