Sports stats



Jackals End Muskegon's Unbeaten Run

November 6, 2006 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


Week 4 Recap: The Jackals have announced themselves as serious contenders to the entire UHL. Although Elmira's season is only 9-games old the Jackals have already accomplished something that the franchise has not been able to do in three years, they beat the Muskegon Fury. Not since the 2003-04 UHL season have the Jackals beaten the team that has twice disposed of Elmira in the Colonial Cup Finals, but on Saturday night in from of a raucous crowd at First Arena, the Jackals stomped on the Fury 7-4. Friday night the Jackals scored two power play goals in the second period, tying the game 2-2. But Muskegon's Jon Insana blasted home a power play goal early in the third period leading Muskegon to a 4-2 win.

After a split with the top ranked team in the UHL, the Jackals are headed out on the road for the next five games. This week Elmira will make their first ever trip to the brand new US Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, Illinois for two games against the PrairireThunder. Then Sunday Elmira will roll in Flint for an afternoon contest before returning home after the weekend trip.

Week 4 Game Results:

11/3/06 Muskegon 4 @ Elmira 2

Elmira, NY - The Muskegon Fury blew an early two-goal lead, but emerged in the third period to beat the Elmira Jackals 4-2 Friday night at the First Arena.

Muskegon capitalized on the few mistakes Elmira gave them Friday night. Elias Godoy beat out an icing and snapped a shot into the top corner for a 1-0 Fury lead at 3:34 of the first period, assisted by Rustyn Dolyny and Philippe Plante. Late in the period Adam Smyth took a second Elmira turnover and beat an unsuspecting Shawn Degagne for a 2-0 advantage at 16:36, an unassisted goal.

Elmira bounced back and dominated play in the second period, out-shooting the Fury 16-to-10 in the middle frame. Captain Brent Cullaton, playing his first game for the Jackals after being injured in the preseason, set up Elmira's first goal of the night. Cullaton fed a beautiful pass to Scott Drevitch at the point and Drevitch unloaded a heavy slap shot that was tipped by Erik Anderson at 8:09 of the second period. The power play goal, assisted by Drevitch and Cullaton, was Anderson's first goal in a Jackals uniform. The Jackals then leveled the score at two when Scott Wray re-directed Cullaton's shot from the left face-off circle at 12:16, Elmira's second power play goal of the period, assisted by Drevitch and Cullaton.

But halfway through the third period the Fury would break through on the power play to regain the lead. Jon Insana slapped in a one-timer from the slot at 10:30 of the third period, giving Muskegon the lead on their 8th power play of the night. Prior to Insana's goal, Elmira's stifling penalty kill had been able to keep Muskegon's high-powered offense in check on their man-advantages. Elmira pressed to find the equalizer, but a third and final turnover led to Adam Smyth's second goal of the game at 18:54 and it iced the evening for Muskegon, 4-2.

Goaltender Clayton Pool earned the victory; making 34 saves on 36 shots in goal for Muskegon. Elmira's Shawn Degagne took the loss, but looked very strong while stopping 26-of-30 shots. Elmira finished 2-for-8 on the power play, while Muskegon was 1-for-8.

11/4/06 Muskegon 4 @ Elmira 7

Elmira, NY - The Elmira Jackals answered the bell with an energetic bang, beating the Muskegon Fury 7-4 Saturday night at the First Arena and ending Muskegon's unbeaten start to the 2006-2007 season.

Muskegon jumped out to an early lead when Jon Insana blasted a slap shot past goaltender Kris Tebbs at 8:43 of the first period. But Elmira struck back when Frank Littlejohn scored his 2nd short-handed goal of the season at 12:49, tying the game. Defenseman Scott Drevitch hammered home a slap shot from the blue line at 19:19, a power play goal, assisted by Littlejohn and Brent Cullaton and the Jackals carried the 2-1 lead into the break.

In the second period, Elmira's power play offense erupted after Muskegon's Adam Smyth took a 5-minute major penalty for fighting. Captain Brent Cullaton opened his goal scoring account at 4:44 of the 2nd period, assisted by Drevitch and Scott Wray for a 3-1 lead. Then on the same power play, Littlejohn redirected a Cullaton shot from the point for his second goal of the game at 6:21. The goal, assisted by Cullaton and Erik Anderson gave Elmira a 4-1 advantage. But the undefeated first place Fury were not about to go quietly into the night. Muskegon answered with two quick goals of their own; one a 5-on-3 power play goal from Todd Robinson at 9:14 and the other a goal by Philippe Plante at 10:33 just after the Jackals returned to full-strength.

But again Elmira's most experienced defenseman had the answer. Drevitch unleashed his second howitzer of the game, a blistering shot from the left face off circle that ripped the back of the net at 12:58, assisted by David Morelli and the Jackals lead was 5-3. The Fury pulled back within one goal at 17:57 with Plante's 2nd goal of the game and left Elmira with a slim 5-4 lead after two periods of play.

Erik Anderson gave the Jackals a much-needed insurance goal early in the third period. Anderson fired a scorching wrist shot over the shoulder of goaltender Ryan Cyr just 4:33 into the final period, assisted by Wray and Dale Lupul for a 6-4 Elmira advantage. Although the Jackals seemed to keep giving the visitors hope as they wracked up some undisciplined penalties in the third period, Captain Cullaton removed all doubt from the rocking crowd of 3,594 fans at the First Arena. While killing a penalty, defenseman Chris Mann stole a pass in front of Elmira's net and made a poised clearing pass to a streaking Cullaton at the blue line. Cullaton gained the offensive zone, shadowed by two Muskegon defenders, and bombed a slap shot from the top of the face off circle past Cyr for his second goal of the night at 14:41. The goal, assisted by Mann, was Elmira's UHL-leading 7th short-handed goal of the season, their second shorty of the game and put Muskegon out of reach 7-4.

Goaltender Kris Tebbs earned his 4th win in 5 starts in goal for the Jackals; making 37 saves on 41 shots. Muskegon's Ryan Cyr was credited with the team's first loss of the season, while stopping 28-of-35 shots. Elmira finished 3-for-12 on the Hill Top Inn power play, while Muskegon was 1-for 11. Elmira penalty-killers held the UHL's 2nd ranked Muskegon power play to a mortal 10.5% success rate (2-for-19) over the two-game weekend series.

Jackals Player & Goaltender of the Week: (Week 4)

Brent Cullaton - C/LW 2 GP, 2 goals, 4 assists, 6 points, +2, 2 PIMs

Jackals Captain Brent Cullaton made an instant impact in his debut for Elmira. Cullaton, who missed the first three weeks of the season with an injury, stormed out to a 6-point week in two games, while displaying the "C" on his shoulder for the first time. Cullaton assisted on both goals Friday night as the Jackals came from two-goals down to level with Muskegon in the 2nd period, only to fall short 4-2. Saturday was a different story all together. Cullaton had a 4-point game, scoring two goals, including a short-handed goal, and assisted on two more in a 7-4 romp over the previous unbeaten Fury. The Captain proved his worth ten-fold as he cashed in for a power play goal and 4 power play assists on the weekend.

Kris Tebbs - G 1 GP, 1-0-0, 4.00 GAA, 0.902 SV%, 37 saves

Jackals goaltender Kris Tebbs has wasted no time showing his exceptional form in goal for his new team. Saturday night against the unbeaten Muskegon Fury, Tebbs made 37 saves on 41 shots to hand the 1st place team their first loss of the season. In 5 starts (6 appearances) Tebbs has a 4-1-0 record with a 3.20 GAA and a 0.915 save percentage. After losing to Kalamazoo in his first start of the season, Tebbs has won his last four consecutive starts, two road wins over Port Huron and two home wins over Flint and Muskegon.

JACKAL BITES:

. NO DIS-ADVANTAGE - The Jackals continue to find ways to score goals while short-handed. Saturday night Elmira scored two more short-handed goals, putting their UHL-leading total to 7 SHG in 9 games played.

. REVERSE THE NUMBERS - The Fury came into Elmira averaging over 6 goals per game and allowing just 2.4 goals per game. The Jackals 7-goal output Saturday night was the largest total allowed by the new look Fury; Muskegon gave up seven or more goals only 4 times during the entire 2005-06 regular season.

. POWER PLAY GETS IT DONE - A big reason for Elmira's success against Muskegon was the play of their special teams. Elmira was 5-for-20 (25%) on the power play, upping their season percentage to 12-for-79 (15.2%) leap-frogging the Jackals from 9th in the UHL to 6th.

. LEADING BY EXAMPLE - The Jackals Captain Brent Cullaton finally made his Elmira debut after missing the first 7-games (3 weeks) with a hamstring injury. Cullaton really made his presence felt, scoring 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in two games, which is the highest single week point total by a Jackals player this season.

. STIFFLING DEFENSE - The Jackals penalty kill units continued to get it done in Week 4. Muskegon came in with the #2 ranked power play, but the Jackals allowed just

NEWS AND NOTES:

Elmira Jackals Team Leaders:

Goals: Yevgeny Lazarev, Scott Wray (5)

Assists: Scott Wray (7)

Points: Scott Wray (12)

Plus/Minus: David Morelli (+5)

Penalty Minutes: Curtis Tidball (99)

Power Play Goals: Scott Wray (3)

Short Handed Goals: Yevgeny Lazarev, Frank Littlejohn (2)

Game Winning Goals: David Morelli (2)

Shots: Scott Wray (47)

Shooting Percentage: Brent Cullaton (40.0%)

Saves: Kris Tebbs (183)

Wins: Kris Tebbs (4)

GAA: Kris Tebbs (3.20)

Save Percentage: Kris Tebbs (0.915)

Eastern Conference Standings:

EASTERN GP W L SOP PTS PCT.

Muskegon 10 9 1 0 18 0.900

Elmira 9 6 3 0 12 0.667

Kalamazoo 7 5 2 0 10 0.714

Port Huron 9 2 5 2 6 0.333

Flint 11 2 7 2 6 0.273

Coach's Show

Don't miss the next broadcast of The Elmira Jackals Coach's Show LIVE Monday night at 6 pm at the Pioneer Sports Bar & Grill in Elmira. Join Jackals Head Coach Kris Waltze, Voice of the Jackals Owen Newkirk, along with captain Brent Cullaton and defenseman Derek Miller for the broadcast on News Talk 1230 & 1450 AM WENY 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 Monday before the show or they can come to the Pioneer and ask their questions on the air with Route 81 Radio's new wireless microphone feature.

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, adult hockey leagues and much more....

2006-07 Record: 6-3-0, 12 points (4-3-0 Home, 2-0-0 Road), Second Place, Eastern Conference

Week 5 Schedule: (All games are broadcasted LIVE on MAGIC 92.7 & 97.7 FM)

Friday, November 10 8:05 pm @ Bloomington PrairieThunder (3-6-0, 6 pts) Third Place, Western Conference

Saturday, November 11 8:05 pm @ Bloomington PrairieThunder (3-6-0, 6 pts) Third Place, Western Conference

Sunday, November 12 5:00 pm @ Flint Generals (2-5-2, 6 pts) T-Fourth Place, Eastern Conference

• Discuss this story on the International Hockey League 2 message board...

International Hockey League 2 Stories from November 6, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Elmira Jackals Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central