Jackals Season Ends Suddenly In Double Overtime Thriller
April 21, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Elmira Jackals News Release
READING, PA - Kevin Saurette scored from between the circles 12:09 into the second overtime to send the Reading Royals to the North Division finals with a 5-4 win over the Elmira Jackals Sunday before 3,083 fans at Sovereign Center. The first round playoff loss ends Elmira's inaugural season in the ECHL after the club finished second in the division during the regular season.
The overtime decision was the second in as many nights following Reading's 2-1 win Saturday at First Arena with five of the six games decided by one goal and the Royals taking all three games that went to extra time.
Two factors that haunted the Jackals throughout the series were at the front once again in what ultimately was the final game of the season: the inability to hold leads and the ineffectiveness of the power play.
For a sixth straight time in the series, the Jackals struck first when Benoit Doucet found the back of the net 5:13 into the contest on assists from Bobby Robins and Matt Gens.
Doucet's goal would touch off a flurry of three strikes by the clubs in a seventy-three second span.
The Royals countered a minute later on a Chris Blight rebound goal, but Jim McKenzie had the answer just thirteen second thereafter on his unassisted laser beam from the right face-off dot put the Jackals in front 2-1
Elmira opened up its largest lead of the night as Luke Fulghum netted the first of two on the night, tapping in an Elgin Reid centering pass just 1:47 into the second to make it 3-1. Scott May, who assisted on the play, was hit and sustained a concussion on the play. It was several minutes before May was able to regain his bearing, but he did not return to the game.
P.J. Atherton and Charlie Kronschnabel picked up goals three and half minutes apart later in the period to knot the score at 3-3, but the visitors would have the final say on a rare power play goal with 13.9 seconds left in the middle frame.
Fulghum put Elmira in front as he swatted in a Pierre-Luc Faubert feed from the bottom of the left circle for his second of the night, the first multi-goal effort by the Jackals on the post season.
Holding a 4-3 lead and looking to force a Game Seven back home Monday night, the Royals would force the game to overtime courtesy of Mike Salekin. He was left unchecked as a trail on a rush into the offensive zone when Kronschnabel found him with a pass in the slot. Closing in, Salekin ripped a 35-footer past Joel Martin (45 saves) to level the game at four goals apiece at 6:55 of the third.
Leading up to the game-winner, the Jackals were awarded a power play chance in both overtime period, but could not score to extend the series. On the night, Elmira was 1-for-5 on the man-up and just 3-for-35 in the six-game series loss.
Reading outshot Elmira in all six games, including a 50-48 edge in the longest game in the brief ECHL playoff history of the Jackals. The Royals were 0-for-5 on the power play with their final attempt expiring sixty-three seconds before Saurette ended the game.
Danny Taylor finished with 44 saves in notching his fourth victory of the playoffs as the Royals advance to face the Cincinnati Cyclones in a best-of-seven North Division final. The winner then moves on to play the South Division survivor in the American Conference Championship.
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