Jackals Squander Lead At McMorran
Published on December 30, 2006 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release
Port Huron, MI - The Elmira Jackals lost a 2-goal second period lead and Colt King scored a hat trick as the Port Huron Flags beat the Jackals 6-4 Saturday night at McMorran Place Arena.
The long overnight bus ride from Elmira to Port Huron did not sap any of the energy from the two teams after an exciting 4-3 shootout win in Elmira on Friday night. The pace and intensity of the game was high from the start as they Jackals opened the scoring in the first two minutes. Tommy Kotsopoulos scored his 3rd goal in two games at 1:44 assisted by Dan Veenema giving Elmira an early 1-0 lead. But the Flags kept plugging away and tied the game with a power play goal. Colt King scored just 12 seconds after Brent Cullaton went to the penalty box for holding. King poked in a rebound from Garett Cameron at 6:25 tying the game at one. But nine minutes later the Jackals responded with a power play goal of their own when Dale Lupul scored his 8th goal of the season on a great pass from David Morelli and Tommy Kotsopoulos. The power play goal came at 15:38 on Elmira's first man-advantage of the game. Port Huron again tied the game when an unmarked Robert Snowball took a rebound off the back boards and tapped in an open net at 16:23, assisted by Shayne Tomlinson and Colt King. But the Jackals responded almost immediately when Scott Wray fired home his team-leading15th goal of the season at 16:54, assisted by Derek Miller and Erik Anderson. The Jackals out-shot the Flags 19-13 in the opening twenty minutes.
In the second period Jackals captain Brent Cullaton scored his 9th goal of the season on the power play, assisted by Scott Wray at 7:25, giving the Jackals a 4-2 lead. After Cullaton's goal, Flags coach Stan Drulia replaced starting goalie Noah Ruden with Dustin Traylen. Elmira bombarded the net for the next few minutes, but then the Jackals ran into penalty trouble and lost their offensive momentum as they were called for three-straight minor penalties. The Flags pulled one goal back as Ryan Markham redirected at Pat Sutton shot from the point at 19:23, a power play goal, ending the 2nd period with Elmira ahead 4-3 and Port Huron out-shooting the Jackals 18-9 in the middle frame.
The third period Colt King tied the game at four when he scored his 2nd goal of the night at 10:37 of the third period, completed the Flags 2nd straight 2-goal comeback against the Jackals. King then gave Port Huron the lead as he completed his hat trick at 17:42 from Hildenbrand and Olynyk. The Flags added an empty net goal from Greg Bullock at 19:55 to seal the 6-4 come-from-behind win.
Dustin Traylen earned the win in goal for Port Huron, stopping all 12 shots he faced in 32:35 of action in relief of starter Noah Ruden. Ruden allowed 4 goals on 25 shots in a no decision. Jackals goaltender Kris Tebbs was sharp in goal, making 41 saves on 46 shots in the loss as Elmira drops back to .500, 15-15-0 on the season. Elmira was 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Flags were 2-for-8.
The Jackals and Flags will finish of their 3-game series Sunday afternoon with a 5:00 pm face off at McMorran Place Arena. Elmira will kick off the 2007 calendar year with a home game on Wednesday January 3rd as they host the Fort Wayne Komets for a 7:00 pm face off at First Arena. This will be the final meeting between the Jackals and Komets during the 2006-07 regular season.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from December 30, 2006
- Rockford falls 3-2 against UHL's top team - Rockford IceHogs
- Countdown to Face-Off - Kalamazoo Wings
- PrairieThunder losses to Chicago - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Jackals Squander Lead At McMorran - Elmira Jackals
- Colt King's Hat Trick Lifts Flags to 6-4 Victory over Jackals - Port Huron Flags
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.
