Jackals Split With Kalamazoo, Collapse Against Fury
Published on January 30, 2007 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release
Week 16 Recap:
The Jackals started of slowing during Week 16 as they hit the road for the first time in the 2007 calendar year. Facing two 2nd place teams (Rockford & Kalamazoo) and the 1st place Muskegon Fury in a daunting challenge for a home series, let alone completing this task while also dealing with the rigors of a 7-day, 4-game road trip. Elmira struggled Wednesday night in Rockford. But for a 6-minute flash of brilliance in the first period when the Jackals rattled off four goals, Elmira was stymied by defensive mistakes and breakdowns as the IceHogs took the game 7-4 in their first meeting of the season. Elmira will get another crack at Rockford during a 3-game series at First Arena in late February. Friday the Jackals misery got worse when they were bombarded by the Kalamazoo Wings 9-3. But the team rallied for Saturday night's rematch as they scored three first period goals on their way to a 5-3 win over the defending Colonial Cup Champs. Sunday the Jackals looked to have their second victory over Muskegon comfortably in hand, leading 4-1 with 8 minutes remaining in the third period, when the unthinkable happened. The 1st place Fury scored three times in 57 seconds, erasing the Elmira lead, then added two more goals for a miraculous 5-goal third period and a 6-4 comeback win.
So the Jackals return home for a 5-game stand at First Arena, beginning Wednesday January 31st as they host the Port Huron Flags for a 7:05 pm face off. Elmira is desperately looking for wins and consistency of play as they face the bottom three teams in the UHL standings (Port Huron, Bloomington & Chicago) over the next two weeks. With a sub-500 record and inconsistent form, the possibility of roster changes or trades is looming in the air. Elmira placed forward Tommy Kotsopoulos on team suspension after the road trip and his future with the Jackals is very much up in the air. The Jackals are looking to wipe clean a mangled slate from Sunday's debacle in Muskegon and hoping to take out their frustrations against Port Huron and Bloomington this week.
Week 16 Game Results:
1/24/07 Elmira 4 @ Rockford 7
Rockford, IL - The Elmira Jackals scored 4 goals in a 6-minute span but could not hold off the Rockford IceHogs, losing 7-4 Wednesday night at the Rockford MetroCentre.
Rockford came steaming out of the games in their first meeting of the season with the Jackals. Robin Big Snake scored a quick goal at 2:42 from Chaz Johnson and Mike Doyle and the IceHogs had the Jackals on their heels. Less than a minute later Jason Ralph made it 2-0 Rockford when he scored from Preston Mizzi and Jason Notermann and Elmira was reeling. But Elmira did not roll over on their hosts. Scott Drevitch cranked in his 4th goal of the season at 9:54, a power play goal and the Jackals were on the board. Scott Wray tied the game 2-2 with his 19th goal of the season at 10:35, Elmira's 2nd power play goal of the game, and the visitors were off and running.
Two and a half minutes later Curtis Tidball dangled his way away from Notermann and unleashed a strong shot that was denied by goaltender Frederic Cloutier, but David Morelli was right there to fire home the rebound and the Jackals were in front 3-2 at 13:03. Frank Littlejohn kept pace with Wray in the Jackals goal-scoring race as he tallied his 19th of the season and 9th power play goal of the year at 15:39, assisted by Wray and Erik Anderson and in less than six minutes, the Jackals had turned a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead. Rockford stopped the bleeding 26 seconds later when Jason Ralph scored his second goal of the 1st period at 16:05, sending the teams into the first intermission at 4-3 Elmira.
But the surging Jackals seemed stunned by the late first period goal and their sag in energy opened the door for the IceHogs. Robin Big Snake scored his second goal of the game at 4:48 of the second period, assisted by Mike Doyle and Matt Gens, tying the score at 4-4. 61 seconds later Rockford's burst-style offense retook the lead when Jason Notermann made it 5-4 at 5:49. Jesse Bennefield scored the IceHogs 3rd goal of the period, a power play goal at 8:25, and Rockford took a 6-4 lead into the 2nd intermission.
Notermann cashed in for his second goal of the night at 7:48 of the third period, capping off a 7-4 Rockford victory, assisted by Gens and Preston Mizzi; Mizzi finished the game with 4 assists earning the 1st star honor.
Rockford goaltender Frederic Cloutier recovered from a shaky first period to earn the victory while making 30 saves on 34 shots on goal. Elmira starter Dave Lemanowicz took the loss and stopped 22-of-28 shots in the first 28:25 before being pulled for Kris Tebbs. Tebbs looked sharp in the final 31:35 and blocked 21-of-22 shots as the Jackals fell to 19-22-1 on the season. Elmira was 3-for-4 on the power play in the game, but was out-shot 50-34 by the IceHogs, who went 1-for-7 on the power play.
1/26/07 Elmira 3 @ Kalamazoo 9
Kalamazoo, MI - The Elmira Jackals lost their third game in a row as they were beaten 9-3 by the Kalamazoo Wings Friday night at Wings Stadium.
The Jackals got off to a rough start as they conceded two goals within the first seven minutes of play. Jeff Brown put the K-Wings on the board at 5:47 of the first period as he broke down the right wing and snapped a wrist shot past goaltender Kris Tebbs for a 1-0 lead. 61 seconds later Brown and Nick Bootland set up Kory Karlander for a short-handed goal at 6:48, as Karlander put the K-Wings up 2-0. Elmira balanced the game in the middle part of the period, but just before the intermission Tyler Willis made it 3-0 Kalamazoo as his shot trickled over the goal line at 18:41, assisted by Joe Markusen and Glenn Detulleo.
The team talk during the first intermission proved effective as the Jackals wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in the second period. All-Star defenseman Dale Lupul collected a rebound in front of the crease and twisted the puck from his back-hand to his fore-hand and weaved the puck past goaltender Tom Askey at 1:47, assisted by Frank Littlejohn and Tommy Kotsopoulos. But the Jackals failed to build on the momentum, as the K-Wings retook their 3-goal lead at 14:20 on a power play goal by Nick Bootland. The Jackals out-shot their opponents 12-10 in the second period, but found themselves no closer to tying the score.
In the third period, Kalamazoo would stretch their lead as they scored 5 goals in the final twenty minutes. Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn scored at 2:46, an unassisted goal that made it 5-1 K-Wings. Marc Lefebvre got the goal right back as he scored his first goal as a Jackal at 3:04, assisted by Curtis Tidball and David Morelli. But Kalamazoo again had an answer as Glenn Detulleo made it 6-2 with a power play goal at 4:22. Detulleo then scored his 2nd of the game at 6:49, from Jeff Brown, extending the K-Wings lead to five. Frank Littlejohn countered for the Jackals with an unassisted, short-handed, goal at 7:26, his 20th of the season and Elmira's 19th short-handed goal of the year. But Kalamazoo would tack on two more goals from Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn at 11:27 and 15:21, to earn the hat trick and sink Elmira 9-3.
Tom Askey earned the win in goal for Kalamazoo, making 26 saves on 29 shots as the K-Wings improved to 27-13-3. Kris Tebbs took the loss, stopping 37-of-46 shots for Elmira as the Jackals drop third straight game, falling to 19-23-1 on the season. Kalamazoo was 2-for-6 on the power play; Elmira finished 0-for-5. There were three fights during the game; Curtis Tidball fought Jason Lawmaster in the first period, Rob Chappell went with Andrew Leach in the third period and Derek Miller scrapped with Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn, also in the third period.
1/27/07 Elmira 5 @ Kalamazoo 3
Kalamazoo, MI - The Elmira Jackals got two goals from both Scott Wray and Frank Littlejohn as they earned their 20th win of the season by way of a 5-3 win over the Kalamazoo Wings Saturday night at Wings Stadium.
Compared to the past two weeks, the Elmira Jackals roared to life in the first period. Scott Wray tipped a shot from Chris Mann by goaltender Tom Askey for a 1-0 lead at just 5:07. The goal was Wray's 20th goal of the season, the second Elmira player to reach the 20 goal mark, and the assists went to Chris Mann and Brent Cullaton. Two minutes later it was 2-0 when during Elmira's 2nd penalty kill of the game, R.C. Lyke sent Frank Littlejohn streaking down the right wing and Littlejohn unleashed a missile that sped by the blocker of Askey and into the net at 7:22. Lyke earned the assist on Littlejohn's 21st goal of the season, his team and UHL leading 7th short-handed goal.
Not to be outdone by his teammate, Scott Wray would keep pace in the Jackals goal-scoring race when he collected his 21st goal of the year, and second of the first period at 17:31 for a 3-0 Elmira lead. Wray skated around defenseman Joe Markusen, but had his shot and backhand rebound both denied by Askey. However, Markusen's clearing attempt hit fellow K-Wings defenseman Jordan Hart and went into the net; being the last Jackals' player to touch the puck, Wray was given credit for the unassisted goal. The K-Wings added one blemish to an otherwise flawless period for the Jackals when Nick Bootland scored a power play goal at 19:24, assisted by Jeff Brown for a 3-1 Jackals lead going into the break.
Kalamazoo stormed back with a lot of offensive pressure in the second period, but goaltender Dave Lemanowicz was in spectacular form as he preserved the Elmira lead. Midway through the period a Jason Lawmaster shot hit an Elmira defenseman forcing Lemanowicz to improvise a save, but the momentum of Lawmaster sent Lemanowicz and the loose puck into the net at 10:27, assisted by Joe Markusen and Jesse Rycroft. But Elmira regained their 2-goal lead at 17:07 when the Jackals All-Star trio combined for their 4th goal of the game. Defenseman Dale Lupul bombed a slap shot from the point up over the catching glove of Askey, assisted by Brent Cullaton and Scott Wray. The K-Wings out-shot the Jackals 17-9 in the second period, but Elmira carried a 4-2 lead into the 2nd intermission.
In the third period, Frank Littlejohn scored his 2nd goal of the night and 22nd of the year as he put the game out of reach at 3:17, assisted by Erik Anderson and Chris Mann. Kalamazoo pulled one back at 18:55 when Glenn Detulleo tipped in a Jeff Brown shot with the K-Wings net empty and the extra attacker on the ice. But it was not enough as the Jackals brought home a 5-3 win at Wings Stadium.
Dave Lemanowicz earned his 6th win of the season as he made an astounding 45 saves on 48 shots on goal and Elmira improved to 20-23-1 on the year. Tom Askey took the loss in goal for Kalamazoo, stopping 20-of-25 shots as the K-Wings fell to 21-13-3. Kalamazoo finished the game 1-for-6 on the power play; Elmira was 0-for-1 on their only Hill Top Inn power play of the night.
1/28/07 Elmira 4 @ Muskegon 6
Muskegon, MI - The Elmira Jackals had a 3-goal lead with less than 10 minutes to play in the game, but lost 6-4 to the Muskegon Fury Sunday afternoon at L.C. Walker Arena.
After recording a huge victory in Kalamazoo on Friday night the Jackals seemed determined to salvage a road trip that started off poorly by handing the Muskegon Fury their 9th loss of the season. 50 seconds into the contest Muskegon's Philippe Plante was called for interference and that set up a Brent Cullaton unassisted power play goal at 1:49 giving the Jackals an early lead. Cullaton raised the bar at 9:02 when he took a long pass from David Morelli, skated in on goaltender Clayton Pool and weaved from forehand to backhand and slotted the puck past Pool for his 2nd goal of the game and 14th of the season.
Elmira took a blow when defenseman Chris Mann took a slap shot off his helmet as he attempted to block a shot on the penalty kill, forcing Mann to leave the game. But shortly after that penalty expired defenseman R.C. Lyke made it 3-0 Elmira when he snapped a wrist shot up over the blocker of Pool at 19:48, for his first goal of the season, assisted by Frank Littlejohn.
In the second period, Muskegon's Adam Smyth tipped in a Mike Watt shot for a power play goal at 8:30, putting the Fury on the board. But the Jackals responded with a David Morelli goal, assisted by Cullaton and Dale Lupul at 12:27, his 14th goal of the season. Muskegon out-shot the Jackals 18-8 in the second period but the Jackals held a 4-1 lead.
The Jackals came into the third period looking as though they were going to hand Muskegon their 2nd loss in a row for only the first time this year, but there was no way of predicting the outcome of the final 10 minutes. Todd Robinson scored a 4-on-3 power play goal at 11:45, igniting a tumultuous goal scoring rage. Twelve seconds later Mike Watt picked up a turnover in the Elmira defensive zone and found himself all along with goaltender Dave Lemanowicz. Watt ripped a wrist shot up into the top corner at 11:57 to pull the Fury back within one goal. Watt then scored his second of the game at 12:43, another power play goal, tying the game at 4-4 and within the blink of an eye, 57 seconds; Muskegon had erased a 3-goal Elmira lead.
Still reeling the Jackals tried to pull themselves together after being shell shocked by the 1st place Fury, but Todd Robinson scored his 2nd of the game at 17:03, giving Muskegon their first lead of the game. Elmira pulled Lemanowicz for the final 90 seconds looking for a late equalizer, but instead Watt completed his third period hat trick with an empty net goal at 19:47, capping off an incredible 5-goal third period by the Fury.
Clayton Pool earned the comeback win in goal for Muskegon, stopping 28-of-32 shots as the Fury improved to 38-8-1 on the year. Dave Lemanowicz made 39 saves on 44 shots, as Elmira dropped to 20-24-1 this season. Muskegon finished the game 3-for-7 on the power play, Elmira was 1-for-7, 0-for-6 after scoring on their first advantage of the game.
Jackals Player & Goaltender of the Week: (Week 16)
Frank Littlejohn - RW 4 GP, 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points, -3, 6 PIMs Frank Littlejohn was unquestionably on his game this week. He recorded 3 points in the span of 6 minutes Wednesday night in Rockford. He scored two short handed goals this week, one Friday in a loss to the K-Wings and a second one Saturday in the Jackals win over Kalamazoo, giving him a UHL leading 7 short handed goals this season. His 4 goals this week put his season total to 22 goals, which is tied with Scott Wray for the Elmira team lead.
Dave Lemanowicz - G 3 GP, 1-2-0, 5.69 GAA, 0.883 SV%, 106 saves Dave Lemanowicz and the Jackals got off to a slow start Wednesday suffering a 7-4 loss to the Rockford IceHogs. In Lemanowicz's next start, Saturday in Kalamazoo, he stopped 45-of-48 shots in an inspiring 5-3 win over the defending Colonial Cup Champions. Sunday in Muskegon Lemanowicz was 10 minutes away from another stellar performance when he and the Jackals were bombarded by the 1st place Fury, losing 6-4. He posted a 5.69 GAA and a 0.883 as he earned his 6th win of the season, Elmira's 20th this year.
JACKAL BITES:
* TWO MORE DOWN, ONE TO GO - Forward Marc Lefebvre scored his first goal of the season Friday night in Kalamazoo. Defenseman R.C. Lyke scored his first goal of the season on Sunday afternoon against Muskegon. That leaves just rookie defenseman Rob Chappell as the only player on the Jackals staff without a goal this season.
* IN A CATEGORY BY HIMSELF - Forward Frank Littlejohn scored four goals this week; two of them were short-handed. Littlejohn currently leads the entire UHL in short-handed goals with 7 so far, two ahead of Muskegon's Todd Robinson. Mark Green holds the UHL's single season record by scoring 13 short-handed goals while playing for Utica in 1994-95.
* NEARING A HUGE MILESTONE - Defenseman Scott Drevitch is very close to approaching a huge milestone in his professional career. In his 18th professional season, Drevitch is just 6 games away from playing in his 1,200th career pro game. If everything goes well he should hit 1,200 on February 14th in Kalamazoo.
* CLOSING IN ON THE TOP - Captain Brent Cullaton currently leads the Jackals in scoring and is 8th in the UHL in points with 46 points (14 goals, 32 assists) in 35 games played. Cullaton is 5th in the League in Assists (32), is tied for the UHL lead in Short-Handed Assists (4) and leads the Jackals with a +7 rating.
* LEAGUE LEADERS - Forward Scott Wray currently leads the UHL in shots on goal (227) in 45 games played. Forward Curtis Tidball leads the League in penalty minutes (245) and majors (17) in 33 games played. Forward Erik Anderson is leading the UHL in Shootout Goals (6) in 7 shootout attempts. Forward Frank Littlejohn leads the League in Short-Handed Goals (7) and Minor Penalties (43). Forward Brent Cullaton and Defenseman Derek Miller are tied with Muskegon's Todd Robinson for the UHL lead in Short-Handed Assists (4). Goaltender Kris Tebbs leads all UHL goaltenders in Shootout Wins (5) in 5 shootout appearances.
Coach's Show
Don't miss the next broadcast of The Elmira Jackals Coach's Show LIVE Monday
February 5th at 6 pm at the Pioneer Sports Bar & Grill in Elmira. Join the Voice of
the Jackals Owen Newkirk, as he interviews Jackals Head Coach Robbie Nichols, along
with forward Frank Littlejohn and defenseman Chris Mann for the broadcast on News
Talk 1230 & 1450 AM WENY or stream it online at www.jackalshockey.com
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 The First Arena Rec Rink offers public skating, skating lessons, hockey programs,
figure skating, birthday parties, adult hockey leagues and much more....
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International Hockey League 2 Stories from January 30, 2007
