Jackals End Losing Streak, But Out Of Playoffs

Published on April 2, 2007 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


The Jackals embarked on their final week-long road trip of the 2006-2007 regular season knowing that their playoff chances were hanging in the balance of their performance against two of the league's top teams. A while Elmira may sit back and wonder what could have been from their hard-fought defeats in Kalamazoo on Wednesday and Rockford on Friday, the team rallied Saturday night to snap their 8-game losing streak. Elmira was officially eliminated from the playoff chase after losing Friday's game 8-1, which was actually a 2-1 game until the third period. But the 3-2 shootout win Saturday in Rockford, their 9th shootout win of the season, marked just the first victory over the IceHogs during the year. Some other bright spots included Zach Sikich's stellar performance in recording his first win for Elmira, Frank Littlejohn's record-tying 37th goal of the season and Mike Oliveira's return to form with a 3-point week.

Week 26 Preview:

After their post-season hopes were dashed last weekend, Elmira goes into their 26th week of play this year knowing it will be the last action of the season. The Jackals will face off with the Port Huron Flags three times to close out the year, twice at First Arena and once at McMorran Place Arena. Since the Jackals cannot play the spoiler against Port Huron, with the Flags clinching on Sunday, what the Jackals have to play for are three fold. First send the Flags into the playoffs on a losing slump, second to stay ahead of Bloomington for the 9th place spot in the standings and third to see if Frank Littlejohn can set a new single season goal-scoring record. The action begins on Wednesday night at 7:05 pm at First Arena.

Week 25 Game Results:

3/28/07 Elmira 2 @ Kalamazoo 4

Kalamazoo, MI - Right wing Frank Littlejohn tied a franchise record for goals in one season, but the Elmira Jackals lost 4-2 to the Kalamazoo Wings Wednesday night at Wings Stadium.

The Jackals thoroughly dominated the shots on goal in the first period, out-shooting Kalamazoo 12-5 in the opening twenty minutes. However, on a controversial decision from referee Craig Welker, the K-Wings scored the only goal of the period when Ryan Gillis' shot from the left face off circle was stopped by goaltender Zach Sikich, yet somehow ended up in the net and the teams argued about whether or not the puck went through the outside of the goal or not. The goal was given and the K-Wings took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

In the second period, the Jackals persistence finally paid off on a power play. Defenseman Andrei Lupandin blasted a shot from the blue line over the glove of goaltender Tom Askey and into the top corner at 16:03, assisted by Mike Oliveira and Scott Drevitch. The goal was Lupandin's 9th of the season and first since coming to the Jackals from Quad City in a 5-player trade.

In the third period rookie Kevin Labatte scored his first professional goal at 3:18 when he fired a beautiful wrist shot off the inside of the far post. Nick Bootland doubled the lead at 7:15 when he scored a power play goal, giving the K-Wings a 3-1 lead. Elmira battled back as David Morelli sent Frank Littlejohn in on a breakaway at 14:26. The Jackals leading goal scorer did not waste his opportunity and he lifted a backhand shot up into the top sheft, pulling Elmira back within a goal. It was Littlejohn's 37th goal of the season, a career best, and it tied him with former Jackals forward Jarrett Konkle for the franchise record for goals in a single season. Elmira pressed the attack, searching for the tying goal, but with 32 seconds left Kory Karlander put the game on ice with an empty net goal to finish off the Jackals 4-2.

Tom Askey earned his 3rd straight win over Elmira by stopping 30-of-32 shots in goal for Kalamazoo. Zach Sikich took the loss for Elmira, making 29 saves on 32 Kalamazoo shots. Elmira was 1-for-6 on the power play, while Kalamazoo finished 1-for-4.

3/30/07 Elmira 1 @ Rockford 8

Rockford, IL - The Rockford IceHogs scored six goals in the third period to earn a 8-1 win and to eliminate the Elmira Jackals from the post season Friday night at the Rockford Metrocentre.

Coming into a must-win situation against Rockford the Jackals knew they would have to face an intensely energetic IceHogs squad that traditionally has a fast start at home. Elmira not only handled their hosts pressure, but actually raised the bar. The Jackals created three scoring chances in the opening minute of play, but hit a speed bump when Bruce Watson scored on Rockford's first shot of the game. Watson took a pass from Preston Mizzi in the slot and threw a shot on goal that found a way through goaltender Dave Lemanowicz at 2:02. But the Jackals pulled back to level terms at 9:48 when defenseman Joe Markusen poked in his own rebound. Markusen's goal, assisted by Mike Oliveira and Yevgeny Lazarev, tied the game and was his first goal since coming to Elmira via trade with Kalamazoo in early March.

Rockford turned up the heat on Elmira in the second period, bombarding goaltender Dave Lemanowicz early on. The Jackals weathered the storm and created some offense, only to give up a goal on a counter attack. Moments after Frederic Cloutier denied a Jackals attack, defenseman Luke Fritzshaw jumped into the offense on a 3-on-2 break and cranked a shot into the net at 9:37, assisted by Mizzi and Kaleb Betts, giving Rockford a 2-1 lead.

The third period was all IceHogs as they set a team high for goals scored in the third periods this season. Bruce Watson scored his 2nd goal of the game at 1:50, Bryce Cockburn scored at 3:19, then Watson completed his hat trick with a power play goal at 3:54 and Mizzi scored at 4:26, giving Rockford a 6-1 lead in under five minutes. After Mizzi's goal Dave Lemanowicz was relieved by Zach Sikich in the Elmira goal, but Sikich could not stop the bleeding. Jason Notermann scored at 9:45 and then Erik Lizon scored his first professional goal at 14:42 to complete the IceHogs third period rout.

Frederic Cloutier earned the win in goal for Rockford, stopping 27-of-28 shots to help improve the IceHogs to 44-21-6 on the year. Dave Lemanowicz took the loss in 44:26 of action, making 28 saves on 34 shots. Zach Sikich played the final 15:34 for Elmira, blocking 7-of-9 shots as the Jackals dropped to 27-44-1 on the year and tying a season-high 8-game losing streak.

3/30/07 Elmira 3 @ Rockford 2 - (2-0 In Shootout)

Rockford, IL - Rookie goaltender Zach Sikich turned in a phenomenal performance as the Elmira Jackals snapped an 8-game losing streak, beating the Rockford IceHogs 3-2 in a shootout Saturday night at the Rockford MetroCentre.

There were plenty of intense moments in the first period, in spite of the lack of goals. The two teams combined for 80 minutes in penalties during the first twenty minutes, that saw Rockford's Paul Brown get 27 PIMs in one play and Elmira's Dan Veenema receive a game misconduct for coming to the aid of Scott Drevitch.

The offense finally opened up in the second period as Preston Mizzi scored his 29th goal of the season at 10:57, set up by goaltender Jake Moreland, whose lead pass found Mizzi at the red line and sent him free on a partial breakaway. But the Jackals answered right back 12 seconds later when Mike Oliveira slammed a one-timer past Moreland at 11:09, assisted by Yevgeny Lazarev. But Rockford countered back when Matt Gens scored at 12:01, putting the IceHogs back ahead 2-1.

In the third period, Bobby Kukulka tied the game for Elmira with a power play goal at 4:26, as he knocked in a rebound from a Frank Littlejohn shot; the assists went to Littlejohn and Erik Anderson. Both teams created scoring chances to win the game in regulation, but both Zach Sikich and Jake Moreland made great saves to send the game into a shootout.

In the extra session, both David Morelli and Mike Oliveira scored for Elmira and goaltender Zach Sikich put on a clinic as he stopped all four IceHogs attempts to earn a gutsy 3-2 win.

Sikich was stellar in goal for the Jackals as he made 35 saves on 37 shots in regulation and was a perfect 4-for-4 in the shootout to earn his first win in an Elmira uniform and 5th win of the season. Jake Moreland took the shootout loss for Rockford, blocking 25-of-27 shots in the game and 2-of-4 in the shootout. Elmira snapped an 8-game losing streak

Jackals Player & Goaltender of the Week: (Week 25)

Mike Oliveira - C 3 GP, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points, -3, 0 PIMs

Left wing Mike Oliveira started to make strides towards returning to his All-Star form on the road this week for the Jackals. Oliveira, who had 61 goals and 105 points for Richmond last season, is coming off a serious wrist injury that sidelined him for over a month. This week Oliveira led the team in scoring by recording a point in each of the three games. He assisted on one of Elmira's 2 goals against Kalamazoo Wednesday, assisted on the only Jackals goal in Friday's 8-1 loss in Rockford, then finished out the week with a goal in regulation and another in the shootout in Elmira's 3-2 win over Rockford. For his brief season with Elmira, Oliveira has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 9 games played.

Zach Sikich - G 3 GP, 1-1-0, 3.11 GAA, 0.910 SV%, 71 saves

Rookie goalie Zach Sikich has begun to elevate his game to the level Elmira needs to win games. Sikich played well Wednesday in Kalamazoo, making 29 saves in a 4-2 loss that included an empty net goal. Friday Sikich played the final 15:34 in relief of starter Dave Lemanowicz, allowing two goals in Rockford's 8-1 win. But Sikich emerged Saturday night as the stronger goaltender, making 35 saves in regulation and stopping all 4 of Rockford's shootout attempts to earn the game's 1st star honors and his first win in an Elmira uniform. On the week Sikich had a 3.11 GAA and a .910 save percentage.

Jackals Player & Goaltender of the Month: (March)

Frank Littlejohn - RW 14 GP, 7 goals, 4 assists, 11 points, -7, 27 PIMs

Right wing Frank Littlejohn led the Jackals in goals and points during the month of March. He scored 7 goals, including his 37th of the season on March 28th in Kalamazoo, tying him with Jarrett Konkle for the Jackals single season goals record. Littlejohn also added 4 assists, with his 11 points keeping him in the Jackals team lead with 54 points this season. He added 27 minutes in penalties, for a season total of 199 in 68 games played, the second most PIMs on the team.

Dave Lemanowicz - G 9 GP, 3-6-0, 4.27 GAA, 0.873 SV%, 241 saves

Dave Lemanowicz had an up and down month of March in goal for the Jackals. He kicked of March with a bang, winning three of his first five starts and posting a 0.915 save percentage during that stretch. However, Lemanowicz fell on harder times, losing his last four starts in March with a 6.51 goals against average in those appearances. For the month Lemanowicz has a 4.27 GAA and a 0.873 save percentage to go along with his 3-6-0 record.

Jackals Rookie of the Month: (March)

Dan Veenema - LW 15 GP, 1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points, -6, 34 PIMs

Rookie Dan Veenema hit a hot stretch at the beginning of March, which led to his first Jackals monthly award. He scored all six of his points this month during his first ten games. He continues to be an intense physical presence for the Jackals, with his high-flying, hard-hitting style of play. In 52 games for the Jackals this season, Veenema has 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists) and 42 penalty minutes, most of those coming in March.

JACKAL BITES:

* COMPARISONS - The 2006-07 Jackals earned their 28th win of the season Saturday in Rockford, passing their 2005-06 win total of 27. However, the Jackals currently have two more losses and need 4 points in their final 3 games to equal the 61 points earned by last year's team. As of Monday, the Jackals have a .390 winning percentage, lower than the 2005-06 percentage of 0.401.

* ALL TIED UP WITH THREE TO GO - RW Frank Littlejohn tied former Elmira College star Jarrett Konkle as the only two players in Jackals history to score 37 goals in a single season. Littlejohn scored his 37th goal on Wednesday, March 28th in Kalamazoo and he has 3 more games during this season in which to pass Konkle to set a new record.

* STATUS CHANGES - C Erik Anderson will become a vet after the conclusion of the 2006-2007 season. Anderson, who has played in all 73 games for Elmira this season, came into the year with 280 career games played, but is now well over the 300 pro games minimum to earn Veteran status in the minor leagues.

* A SECOND YEAR ROOKIE - There are four current Jackals rookies who will keep their first year status into the 2007-2008 season. D Kim Brandvold (53 games played), LW Dan Veenema (52 GP), D Rob Chappell (44 GP), and goaltender Zach Sikich (2,454 minutes) will all be rookies next year after staying under the maximum of 60 games played for skaters and 3,600 minutes for goaltenders. D Nick Harloff (123 GP), RW Andrew Leach (61 GP) and LW David Morelli (71 GP) will all lose their rookie status at the end of the year.

* GOALS FOR AND AGAINST - This season the Jackals have a -71 goal differential with 204 goals scored and 275 goals allowed. On top of this, Elmira needs to score 27 goals in their final 3 games to avoid setting a new franchise record for fewest goals scored in one season. Currently the 2005-06 Jackals hold the mark with 231 goals scored.

* SHOOTOUT DOMINANCE - The 2006-2007 Jackals have been a handful for their opponents during shootouts this season. The Jackals have a UHL best 9-1 record in shootouts and they lead the league in both attempts for and attempts against. Jackals skaters have scored on 24-of-46 attempts (52.2%), while Elmira goaltenders have allowed a very stingy 11-of-47 attempts (23.4%). Regardless of the results for the final 3 games, this year's Jackals will set a new team record for Fewest Shootout Losses, besting the 2004-05 record of 5 shootout losses. They will also set a team record for the Fewest Shootout Appearances in one season; the previous record being the 15 shootouts of the 2005-06 season. This Elmira squad is 5 shootout wins behind the franchise record of 14 shootout wins from the 2001-02 team that had a 14-8 record in 22 shootouts that season.

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from April 2, 2007


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