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Jackals Held Winless By Rockford On Weekend

February 26, 2007 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


The Jackals struggled in the first three games of their 5-game home stand. The in-form Rockford IceHogs and their goaltenders Frederic Cloutier and Jake Moreland held Elmira to just three goals in three games played as the visitors took all six points on the weekend series. Friday Cloutier was perfect as he stopped everything Elmira threw at him to earn a 3-0 shutout. The Jackals erupted on Cloutier in the first period of Saturday night's game, scoring two goals and having four fights in the opening twenty minutes. However, the Hogs rallied for four goals in the second period, nullifying the Jackals energetic start in a 4-2 Rockford win. Sunday Jake Moreland kept Elmira off the scoreboard until the third period as the IceHogs completed the 3-game sweep, 4-1.

One bright spot in the week for Elmira was Jackals leading goal scorer Frank Littlejohn was called up by the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL during the mid week. He appeared in one game against the Rochester Americans before returning to Elmira for the weekend. Littlejohn is the second Jackals player to be called up to the AHL this season

The Jackals will return to action quickly as they host the Bloomington PrairieThunder on Wednesday, February 28th at 7:05 pm. Elmira will entertain the Flint Generals on Friday March 2nd, before embarking on their longest road trip of the season, a 6-game, 9-day trip that begins in Flint on Saturday March 3rd.

Week 20 Game Results:

2/23/07 Rockford 3 @ Elmira 0

Elmira, NY - The Rockford IceHogs shutout the Elmira Jackals 3-0 Friday night at First Arena in the first of a three game weekend series.

Coming off the first full week of practice under new Head Coach Paul Gillis, the Jackals came out strong in the opening period. But it was Rockford's Robin Big Snake who collected a rebound and scored a power play goal at 13:53, from Nathan Lutz and Jason Ralph that put the IceHogs in front 1-0. Rob Chappell and Luke Fritzshaw dropped the gloves at 14:26, exciting the 3,466 fans at First Arena, but Elmira could not capitalize on the energy boost from Chappell's bout.

After a lackluster second period where Elmira was out-shot 13-10, Rockford doubled their lead when Jason Notermann poked in a rebound for another power play goal just 17 seconds into the third period; the goal came on a Jackals penalty that carried over from the end of the second period. Bryce Cockburn sealed the IceHogs victory with at goal at 16:40, assisted by Fritzshaw and Ralph.

Goaltender Frederic Cloutier earned his second shutout of the season as he stopped all 29 shots he faced and earned 1st star honors for his performance. It was the 5th time this season that the Jackals have been held scoreless during a game. Jackals starter Kris Tebbs played very well in goal, making 28 saves on 31 shots, but Elmira dropped to 23-31-1 on the season. Rockford finished the game 2-for-6 on the power play, while Elmira was 0-for-6.

2/24/07 Rockford 4 @ Elmira 2

Elmira, NY - The Rockford IceHogs overcame a two goal deficit to beat Elmira Jackals 4-2 in front of a sell-out crowd at First Arena Saturday night.

The Elmira Jackals surpassed the 100,000 fans mark for attendance this season at First Arena as they entertained a sell-out crowd of 4,031 Saturday. There was plenty of excitement in the first period as the Jackals jumped out to an early lead. Dan Veenema scored his 4th goal of the season at 2:44, assisted by David Morelli and Rob Chappell, putting the home ahead 1-0. Jeff Daw then tallied his first goal as a Jackal when he finished a beautiful pass from Brent Cullaton for a short-handed goal at 7:03. There were also four fights in the raucous opening twenty minute, Curtis Tidball fought Eric Lizon twice, Chris Mann squared off with Robin Big Snake and Eric Lind went after Paul Brown.

Despite all of the Jackals momentum in the first period, Rockford staged a strong comeback in the second. Bryce Cockburn put Rockford on the board at 5:43 from Robin Big Snake and Nathan Lutz. Kevin Ulanski tied the game at two at 9:54, from Big Snake on a 2-on-1. Nathan Lutz then put the IceHogs in front with a goal at 15:23, assisted by Cockburn and Jason Ralph. Ralph completed Rockford's 4-goal period at 17:12, assisted by Ulanski and the visitors took a 2-goal lead into the third period.

Elmira pulled starting goaltender Dave Lemanowicz and replaced him with Kris Tebbs for the third period. Tebbs shut the door on Rockford, stopping all 12 shots he faced, but the Jackals could not get anything else past IceHogs goalie Frederic Cloutier.

Cloutier earned his 30th win of the season as he stopped 13-of-15 shots for Rockford. Starter Dave Lemanowicz took the loss, blocking 22-of-26 shots in 40:00 minutes of action. Kris Tebbs made 12 saves on 12 shots in the final 20:00 of play. Rockford finished the game 0-for-6 on the power play, while Elmira was 0-for-3 in the game. Jackals captain Brent Cullaton received a match penalty at the 20:00 mark of the third period.

2/25/07 Rockford 4 @ Elmira 1

Elmira, NY - The Rockford IceHogs completed a 3-game weekend sweep of the Elmira Jackals with a 4-1 win Sunday afternoon at First Arena.

Rockford jumped out to the lead at 9:53 of the opening period when IceHogs' leading scorer Kevin Ulanski rushed in on a short-handed breakaway and beat goaltender Kris Tebbs for an unassisted goal. Mike Doyle doubled the visitors lead at 16:56 with a goal, assisted by Chaz Johnson and Jason Ralph.

Chaz Johnson made it 3-0 Rockford at 4:18 of the second period, when he fired in a one-timer from the slot for a power play goal, assisted by Ralph and Gens. Elmira out-shot the IceHogs 11-10 in the second period, but were denied by some stellar goaltending from Rockford starter Jake Moreland.

The Jackals got on the board in the third period courtesy of Frank Littlejohn. Littlejohn showed quick reflexes and he knocked in a rebound off the back wall, beating Moreland at 4:03 for a power play goal and Littlejohn's 29th goal of the season. Defenseman Luke Fritshaw scored the final goal of the game, a 5-on-3 power play goal, assisted by Kevin Ulanski at 18:32, closing out a 4-1 Rockford victory.

Jake Moreland earned the win in goal for the IceHogs as he made 20 saves on 21 shots. Kris Tebbs took the loss for the Jackals, blocking 21-of-25 shots. Rockford finished the game 2-for-7 on the power play; Elmira was 1-for-8 on the night.

Jackals Player & Goaltender of the Week: (Week 20)

Dan Veenema - C 3 GP, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point, +1, 2 PIMs

There is no doubt that rookie forward Dan Veenema leads the Jackals in heart, determination and work ethic. Veenema only knows one gear: full speed ahead. In a week where the Jackals struggled for offense, Veenema was one of the bright spots. He scored his 4th goal of the season Saturday night and led the team with a +1 rating over the three game weekend. On the season Veenema has 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists) in 36 games played. Perhaps more remarkable is the fact that the Dresden, Ontario native has only 8 penalty minutes to his name, despite his hard-hitting style of play.

Kris Tebbs - G 3 GP, 0-2-0, 3.00 GAA, 0.897 SV%, 61 saves

Goaltender Kris Tebbs saw action in all three games for the Jackals this weekend. Tebbs started Friday night and looked very impressive despite the 3-0 defeat. Saturday he relieved Dave Lemanowicz for the third period, stopping all 12 shots he faced. Sunday Tebbs made 21 saves as the Jackals could only manage 1 goal offensively. For the week he posted a 3.00 goals against average and a 0.897 save percentage, especially strong numbers considering the Jackals were held winless on the weekend.

JACKAL BITES:

. CONTRIBUTING TO THE CAUSE - Center Jeff Daw scored his first goal as a Jackal this weekend in the first period Saturday night. The goal was short-handed and was the Jackals UHL-leading 21st short-handed goal of the season.

. RECORD BREAKDOWN - The Jackals are 20-14-1 this season against the bottom five teams in the UHL. However, Elmira has a 3-19-0 record against the current top four teams in the overall standings.

. ANOTHER AHL CALL UP - RW Frank Littlejohn earned the Jackals second AHL call up this week. He appeared in 1 game for the San Antonio Rampage against the Rochester Americans. It was the 5th AHL team Littlejohn has suited up for in his career.

. SGROI BACK IN ACTION - RW Mike Sgroi returned to action with the Binghamton Senators this week. He has been sidelined with a neck injury suffered soon after his call up in December. Sgroi appeared in all 4 games this week for the B-Sens, scoring his first AHL goal of the season and adding 10 minutes in penalties.

. LOTS OF SPECTATORS - The Jackals had another sell out crowd of 4,031 fans on Saturday night as they hosted Rockford. That number put Elmira over the 100,000 fans mark for the season. In 30 home games this season the Jackals have drawn 103,662 fans, an average of 3,455 fans per game.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Elmira Jackals Team Leaders:

Goals: Frank Littlejohn (30)

Assists: Brent Cullaton (38)

Points: Brent Cullaton (55)

Plus/Minus: Derek Miller (+3)

Penalty Minutes: Curtis Tidball (286)

Power Play Goals: Frank Littlejohn (12)

Short Handed Goals: Frank Littlejohn (7)

Game Winning Goals: Frank Littlejohn (4)

Shots: Scott Wray (280)

Shooting Percentage: Noah Katz (20.0%)

Saves: Kris Tebbs (987)

Wins: Kris Tebbs (12)

GAA: Dave Lemanowicz (3.19)

Save Percentage: Dave Lemanowicz (0.907)

Eastern Conference Standings:

EASTERN GP W L SOP PTS PCT.

Muskegon 56 42 13 1 85 0.759

Kalamazoo 56 33 18 5 71 0.634

Flint 57 24 27 6 54 0.474

Port Huron 55 21 28 6 48 0.436

Elmira 57 23 33 1 47 0.412

JACKALS COACH'S SHOW

Don't miss the Jackals Coach's Show on Monday, February 26th broadcast live from the Pioneer Sports Bar & Grill on South Main Street in Downtown Elmira. Join Voice of the Jackals Owen Newkirk, Jackals Head Coach Paul Gillis, along with forward Marc Lefebvre and goaltender Dave Lemanowicz from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm on News Talk 1230 & 1450 AM WENY.

First Arena Rec Rink 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: 23-33-1, 47 points (13-16-1 Home, 10-17-0 Road), Fifth Place, Eastern Conference

Week 21 Schedule: (All games are broadcasted LIVE on MAGIC 92.7 & 97.7 FM)

Wednesday, February 28 7:05 pm vs. Bloomington PrairieThunder (18-36-3, 39 pts) Fifth Place, Western Conference

Friday, March 2 7:35 pm vs. Flint Generals (24-27-6, 54 pts) Third Place, Eastern Conference

Saturday, March 3 7:30 pm @ Flint Generals (24-27-6, 54 pts) Third Place, Eastern Conference

Sunday, March 4 5:00 pm @ Port Huron Flags (21-28-6, 48 pts) Fourth Place, Eastern Conference



International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 26, 2007


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