Jackals Return From Long Road Trip

April 5, 2005 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


Week 25 Game Results:

3/30/05 RICHMOND 4 - Jackals 3

Richmond, VA - The Richmond Riverdogs got two goals from David Brosseau as they held off the Elmira Jackals 4-3 Wednesday night at the Richmond Coliseum.

Ryan Prentice got the home side out in front at 7:01 when he was credited with forcing home a scramble in the crease. But the Jackals came back when Tom Clayton picked up a rebounded and lifted a backhand up over the fallen Dan McIntyre to tie the game at one; a power play goal at 14:18, assisted by Jason Sessa. Richmond answered in less than one minute. David Brosseau scored at 15:02 to regain the Riverdogs lead. Then Brosseau scored his second of the period at 18:46 to make it 3-1 Richmond. Elmira did not give up and with 1.9 seconds remaining on the clock in the first period Jeff Antonovich scored to bring it back to 3-2, assisted by Clayton and Eddy Lowe.

The second period came and went uneventfully. Both teams managed only 16 total shots, just 8 shots a piece on goal in the middle frame.

In the third period Richmond stunned the visitors almost as quickly as the opening face off was dropped. J.J. Wrobel scored 24 seconds into the final frame, giving Richmond a 4-2 lead, which would ultimately become the game winner. Elmira closed the gap at 12:26 when Elmira College senior Jason Cassells scored his first professional goal, assisted by Trevor Burgess and Charlie Elezi, making the score 4-3.

Dan McIntyre made 26 saves on 29 shots for the win, while Kevin Kurk took the loss while stopping 31-of-35 in goal for Elmira.

4/1/05 MOTOR CITY 5 - Jackals 2

Fraser, MI - The Motor City Mechanics made it two straight victories over the Elmira Jackals with a 5-2 victory at Great Lakes Arena Friday night.

Playing their first game against Motor City this season with the NHL players in the lineup, Sean Avery was scratched with a hand injury, the Jackals matched the Mechanics intensity in the first period. But in a penalty-riddled first period Motor City would take the lead when Rick Smith backhanded a rebound past Greg Hewitt at 17:07 assisted by Chris Chelios and Derian Hatcher. There were a total of seven minors called by referee Shaun Davis.

The Jackals began the second period on the power play but it was the Mechanics who would score during Elmira's advantage. Bryan Smolinski scored a short-handed goal at 1:13, which sparked Motor City to a big second period. Smith scored his second goal of the game at 12:38 and then Joe Burton finished off a beautiful feed from Blair Manning to make it 4-0 at 13:49. 50 seconds later Elmira got on the scoreboard, quickly answering with a goal from Derek Cambell at 14:39. Campbell put home a rebound from Alex Mathieu and Jason Sessa to give Elmira some life going into the final period.

In the third period Motor City seemed to be coasting on their three goal lead and Elmira was eager to capitalize. The Jackals cut the lead to two at 13:59 when leading scorer Jason Sessa flat-out blasted a shot threw rookie goalie Zach Sikich from the top of the left face-off circle, Sessa's 33rd goal of the year. But their comeback stalled there and Burton grabbed his second goal of the evening at 19:30 to finish off the win 5-2.

Zach Sikich earned the win in his first professional start by stopping 25-of-27, while Greg Hewitt turned aside a colossal 53 shots in goal for Elmira.

4/2/05 MUSKEGON 6 - Jackals 1

Muskegon, MI - The Muskegon Fury took down the Elmira Jackals with a 6-1 victory Saturday night at the L.C. Walker Arena.

The Jackals played an exceptional period defensively to open the game. In their last meeting, Muskegon beat Elmira 9-1 at L.C. Walker Arena, so with Kevin Kurk in the net, the road warriors were determined to earn revenge on the Fury. Elmira dominated the first 10-minutes of the game, out-shooting Muskegon 6-1 when the media timeout was called. But a minor penalty called to George Pujacs gave the UHL's best power play an opportunity to regain the shots lead, but Kurk's stellar form would not allow a goal. Muskegon finished the period with a 17-10 advantage in shots on goal.

In the second period Muskegon awoke their offense; the Fury scored three times in the first four minutes, stunning the Jackals. Scott Hollis one-timed the puck into the net just 38 seconds into the period for a 1-0 lead. Three minutes later the lead was two when Hollis tallied his second of the game at 3:44, Todd Robinson and Jeff Nelson assisted on both goals. 41 seconds later Elmira was shocked again when B.J. Gaustad scored from Robin Bouchard at 4:25 for a 3-0 Muskegon lead after two periods of play.

Muskegon added three more goals in the third period, David Wrigley and Rich Hansen both scoring their first professional goals, and Jeff Nelson also scored for the Fury to make it 6-0. But Elmira stuck a thorn in Clayton Pool's shutout bid when Alex Mathieu scored at 18:41 to spoil the clean sheet, assisted by George Pujacs and Bryan Cummings.

4/3/05 MOTOR CITY 6 - Jackals 1

Fraser, MI - The Motor City Mechanics made it two straight victories over the Elmira Jackals with a 5-2 victory at Great Lakes Arena Friday night.

Motor City kicked up the offense early in the first period. Jared Ross opened the scored at 1:40 from Chris Chelios and Sean Avery. Rick Smith scored his third goal in the last two games against Elmira 9:45 and then Ross scored his second of the period at 15:39 to make it 3-0 Mechanics. Motor City out-shot Elmira 22-6 in the opening period, partly due to the Mechanics having the only two power plays of the period.

In the second period Brian Smolinski struck quickly to make it 4-0, when he scored at 2:19. Elmira struck back halfway through the period when Trevor Burgess intercepted a pass from Chelios at the blue line, slipped around a defender and snapped a wrist shot past Rod Branch at 11:06 for an unassisted goal.

In the third period Motor City once again continued the trend of scoring quickly as they increased their lead to 5-1 just 1:40 into the final period the goal credited to Chris Gignac. Late in the period Chris Shaw dismantled Jason Reimers in one of Shaw's best fights of the season, adding a little excitement down the stretch. But Motor City got the last laugh when Joe Burton blasted a slap shot past Hewitt to make it 6-1 with less than a minute remaining in the game.

Rod Branch got the win in goal for Motor City stopping 22-of-23, while Greg Hewitt made 47 saves on 53 shots in goal for Elmira.

JACKALS PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: (WEEK 25)

Jason Sessa - RW 4 GP, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 pts, -4, 4 PIMs
RW Jason Sessa returned to the Jackals from his AHL call-up with Bridgeport. He then led the team by scoring three points in four games. Sessa leads the team with 62 points (33 goals, 29 assists) in 63 games played.

Greg Hewitt - G 2 GP, 0-2-0, 5.50 GAA, 0.901 SV%, 100 saves
Greg Hewitt had a very busy two games against Motor City this week. The Jackals goaltender faced 111 shots in two games, stopping 100 of them for a 5.50 GAA and a 0.901 save percentage. Hewitt leads the Jackals with a 3.71 GAA and a 0.896 save percentage.

JACKALS PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE Month: (March)

Nathan Gillies - RW 14 GP, 6 goals, 4 assists, 10 pts, -12, 11 PIMs
Right wing Nathan Gillies led the Jackals in scoring during the month of March, even though he missed the final game of the month due to his AHL call up with Bridgeport. Gillies has 35 points (19 goals, 16 assists) in 71 games played this season, which is 7th in Elmira.
Kevin Kurk - G 10 GP, 2-6-0, 4.00 GAA, 0.900 SV%, 315 saves
Goaltender Kevin Kurk has emerged as a proven brick wall in the net for Elmira. The rookie from Orchard Park, NY led the team in Goals Against Average (4.00), Save Percentage (0.900) and wins (2) for the month of March.

JACKAL BITES:

· AHL SCORING - RW Nathan Gillies has shined in his recent call up with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. In three games for Bridgeport, Gillies has 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) and 7 PIMs. He had a Gordie Howe Hat-Trick (goal, assist and a fight) on Friday versus Norfolk.

· BOMBARDED - The Jackals goaltenders were peppered with shots over the four-game road trip. 194 shots were thrown at the Elmira net in the four games, 173 saves were made; Motor City had 111 shots on Elmira in two games this past week.

· FIRST PRO GOAL - C Jason Cassells scored his first professional goal on Wednesday, March 30th at the Richmond Coliseum in a 4-3 loss to the Riverdogs. Cassells closed out his 14-day ATO with 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) in 7 games for Elmira.

· PENALTIES FOR BEING A ROOKIE - Rookies F Derek Campbell and D Chris Shaw both are amongst the UHL's rookie leaders in penalties. Campbell is third in total minutes with 214. Shaw is 5th in minutes with 187 and is third in majors with 19.

· CAPTAIN OF THE BLUE LINE - Despite the Jackals offensive drop-off, D Trevor Burgess is still 6th in the UHL Defensemen scoring list. Burgess has 44 points (8 goals, 36 assists) in 71 games for Elmira and is also 4th in assists amongst the UHL's best defense.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Elmira Jackals Team Leaders:

Goals: Jason Sessa (33)
Assists: Jeff Antonovich (37)
Points: Jason Sessa (62)
Plus/Minus: Craig Macdonald (+3)
Penalty Minutes: Derek Campbell (214)
Power Play Goals: Jason Sessa (16)
Short Handed Goals: Eddy Lowe, Carl Drakensjo (2)
Shots: Jason Sessa (228)
Shooting Percentage: Jarrett Konkle (27.3%)
Saves: Greg Hewitt (1775)
Wins: Greg Hewitt (16)
GAA: Greg Hewitt (3.71)
Save Percentage: Greg Hewitt (.896)

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

Don't miss 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 captain Trevor Burgess and defenseman Jason Jaworski 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: 23-49-5, 51 points (16-21-1 home, 7-28-4 road), Fourth Place, Eastern Division

Week 26 Game Schedule:
April 8 7:30 pm vs. Adirondack Frostbite (47-22-8, 102 pts)First Place, Eastern Division
April 9 7:05 pm @ Adirondack Frostbite (47-22-8, 102 pts)First Place, Eastern Division
April 10 5:00 pm vs. Motor City Mechanics (33-36-7, 73 pts) Fourth Place, Central Division



International Hockey League 2 Stories from April 5, 2005


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.

OurSports Central