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Jackals End Tough Season With A Loss

April 11, 2005 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


Week 26 Game Results:

4/8/05 JACKALS 3 - Adirondack 1

Elmira, NY - The Elmira Jackals utterly dominated the 1st place Adirondack Frostbite for a 3-1 victory Friday night at the First Arena.

Elmira jumped out to their usual strong start in the first period on home ice. Jason Sessa caught goalie Derek Gustafson cheating off his near post and the winger snapped a wrist shot into the net at 7:46 assisted by Alex Mathieu and Bryan Cummings. The Jackals 1-0 lead came from one of Sessa's quickest releases of the season. Corey Foster was whistled for cross-checking at 9:38, the only penalty of the first period, but Elmira would get the last laugh. Mathieu scored a shorthanded goal at 10:46 from Jeff Antonovich to make it 2-0 Jackals, a lead they would carry into the intermission.

Adirondack received another early power play just 46 seconds into the second period and the 2nd best power play unit in the UHL would not waste this opportunity. Justin Kelly put the Frostbite on the board at 1:55 with a tap-in at the near post from a cross-ice pass from Greg Koehler; Hugo Belanger also assisted on the goal. But this night belonged to Elmira who once again had an answer to the Frostbite offense. Eddy Lowe scored his 19th goal of the season at 4:17 on the power play from Sessa and Trevor Burgess to regain the Jackals two-goal lead, 3-1.

Elmira defended bravely in the third period as Adirondack out-shot the Jackals 12-5 in the final twenty minutes. But the Frostbite would not beat red hot rookie Kevin Kurk a second time. Kurk made some stellar save in the third, included a couple of game savers in the last two minutes when Adirondack pulled Gustafson for the extra attacker.

Kevin Kurk was the undisputed 1st star of the game as he made 34 saves on 35 Adirondack shots for his 8th win of the season. Frostbite goalie Derek Gustafson stopped 21-of-24 in the loss.

4/9/05 ADIRONDACK 4 - Jackals 2
Glens Falls, NY - The Elmira Jackals received their 50th loss of the season as they fell to the Adirondack Frostbite 4-2 Saturday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
After being dominated at the First Arena the previous night, Adirondack played like they had something to prove in the first period. Playing in their final home game of the regular season, Adirondack struck first blood at 1:52 when Hugo Belanger finished off a 3-on-2 rush from Greg Koehler and Justin Kelly. Koehler made it 2-0 with a power play goal from Belanger and Scott Drevitch at 6:28. But the Frostbite weren't finished. They extended their lead to 3-0 with a goal from J.F. Labarre at 18:39, to complete their first period dominance.
The second period was balanced as the Jackals found their stride but couldn't find the net. Adirondack out-shot Elmira 11-6 in the second.
Tom Clayton got the Jackals on the board just 30 seconds into the third period as he made it 3-1 with a goal from Carl Drakensjo and Eddy Lowe. Adirondack answered at 3:51 with Greg Koehler's second goal of the night to regain their 3-goal advantage. Elmira made it interesting when George Pujacs scored at 5:35 from Jeff Antonovich and Alex Mathieu to make it 4-2, but that would be last goal scored by either team.
Derek Gustafson earned the win by stopping just 12-of-14 on the night, while a much busier Greg Hewitt made 36 saves on 40 shots in the loss for Elmira.

4/10/05 MOTOR CITY 4 - Jackals 1
Elmira, NY - The Motor City Mechanics won their 12th straight game with a 4-1 win over the Elmira Jackals Sunday night at the First Arena to close out the 2004-2005 UHL regular season.
Motor City got their first goal at 6:59 with a power play goal, Chris Gignac tipping home a shot from Mike Burgoyne for the only goal of the first twenty minutes.
In a span of five minutes in the second period the Mechanics put this game out of reach. Tom Welch scored his first two professional goals at 5:26 and 8:16 to make it 3-0 Motor City. Then Rob Sich scored his first pro goal at 10:03 for a four-goal lead. Elmira got one back when Tom Clayton scored his 8th goal of the season, assisted by Corey Foster and Eddy Lowe at 11:08, but that would the final scoring of the game.
Elmira out-shot the Mechanics 14-7 in the final period but failed to find the net as they dropped their final home game of the year.
Rod Branch made a whopping 47 saves on 48 shots for the win, while Kevin Kurk took the loss, stopping 31-of-35.
The Jackals finish the 2004-2005 season with a record of 24-51-5, missing the Colonial Cup Playoffs for the first time in the team's 5-year history.

JACKALS PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: (WEEK 26)

Eddy Lowe - C 3 GP, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 pts, E, 4 PIMs
Center Eddy Lowe closed out his professional career with 3 points in three games. He scored a power play goal Friday night, then added two assists over the weekend. He finishes his 5-year Jackals career as the team's All-Time Leading Scorer with 228 points (115 goals, 113 assists) in 361 games in a Jackals uniform.

Kevin Kurk - G 2 GP, 1-1-0, 2.50 GAA, 0.929 SV%, 65 saves
Kevin Kurk finished off the season with a strong two games in net. Friday night he stopped 34-of-35 in a 3-1 win over the Adirondack Frostbite. Sunday, Kurk made 31 saves on 34 shots in a 4-1 loss to Motor City. He finished the week with a 2.50 GAA and a 0.929 save percentage.

JACKAL BITES:

* VOTED PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Captain Trevor Burgess was announced as the Star-Gazette 2004-2005 Player of the Year as voted by the fans and media. The Captain had 45 points (8 goals, 37 assists) in 74 games played this year.

* BOOSTER SHOTS - The Jackals Booster Club announced their year end awards on Friday night. D Trevor Burgess was named MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, while RW Jason Sessa took home Offensive Player of the Year and G Kevin Kurk was the Rookie of the Year.

* NO HOCKEY IN MAY - For the first time in the team's 5-year history, the Elmira Jackals are not going to the playoffs. The Jackals went to the post season in each of its first four seasons, included two trips to the Colonial Cup Finals in 2001-02 and 2003-04.

* PENALTY RACE IS OVER - Rookie LW Derek Campbell finished the season with the highest number of penalty minutes on the Jackals. With 228 minutes, he beat out fellow rookie Chris Shaw for the team lead.

* ALL-TIME GREAT - C Eddy Lowe, the original Jackal, played what many expect to be his final game of professional hockey Sunday at the First Arena. The Next Mayor of Elmira finished his 5-year Jackals career as the team's All-Time Leading Scorer with 228 points (115 goals, 113 assists) in 361 games played for Elmira.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Elmira Jackals Team Leaders:

Goals: Jason Sessa (34)
Assists: Jeff Antonovich (39)
Points: Jason Sessa (64)
Plus/Minus: Craig Macdonald (+3)
Penalty Minutes: Derek Campbell (228)
Power Play Goals: Jason Sessa (16)
Short Handed Goals: Eddy Lowe, Carl Drakensjo (2)
Shots: Jason Sessa (235)
Shooting Percentage: Jarrett Konkle (27.3%)
Saves: Greg Hewitt (1811)
Wins: Greg Hewitt (16)
GAA: Kevin Kurk, Greg Hewitt (3.71)
Save Percentage: Kevin Kurk (.898)

Jackals Jam
Don't forget to check out the last edition Jackals Jam on WENY-TV. Broadcaster Owen Newkirk and WENY Sports Director Neille Giffune will recap the 2004-2005 season of Jackals hockey, including an interview with General Manager Todd Brost, a Jackals player profile, and the much anticipated blooper reel. Jackals Jam airs every Sunday night at 11:00 pm on WENY-TV (ABC).


Coach's Show

Don't miss The FINAL Elmira Jackals Coach's Show broadcast of the season LIVE Tuesday night April 12th from Patrick's Pub, 303 College Ave. at 7pm. Join General Manager Todd Brost and Voice of the Jackals Owen Newkirk, along with center Eddy Lowe and left wing Tom Clayton 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.

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