Jackals Stunned By Improbable Walleye Comeback, 8-7

January 23, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Elmira Jackals News Release


Toledo, Ohio - The Elmira Jackals (19-15-5-0) generated an early five-goal lead on Saturday night at the Huntington Center in front of a crowd of 8,200 fans but were overcome by the Toledo Walleye (17-18-2-1) for a shocking 8-7 loss.

The Jackals led 5-0 after the first 9:58 of the game, scoring two short-handed goals to begin the contest and three more even-strength tallies in front of the midway mark of the opening frame.

Brock McBride sent in a puck from the doorstep on a Yannick Tifu feed with the Jackals down a man at 2:46 to put Elmira up 1-0. At 5:54, A.J. Perry sprung Corey Cowick on a short-handed breakaway, and Cowick backhanded the puck past Toledo netminder Joe Palmer to increase the advantage to 2-0. Tyler Donati backhanded a puck in from the left side of the crease at 6:55 to make it 3-0, with McBride redirecting a Brennan Turner shot into the net at 7:29 to chase Palmer from the game after scoring four goals on six shots. Eric Lampe tipped in a McBride feed past Jimmy Spratt, Toledo's backup, at 9:58 for the 5-0 lead.

Sal Peralta displayed the first signs of life for the Walleye with a backhander that snuck past the glove of Elmira goaltender Daren Machesney at 10:36 of the first to put Toledo on the board, 5-1.

Justin Donati, however, capped a six-goal opening frame with a one-timer on the power play from the left circle that beat Spratt stick side for the 6-1 advantage entering the first intermission.

Toledo struck back with a couple of quick goals in the second. Tyler Doig backhanded a puck outside of the crease past Machesney at 2:06, with Randy Rowe sneaking a puck just over the goal line at 2:56, bringing Toledo to within three goals, 6-3.

Lampe scored Elmira's third short-handed goal of the game, the 20th time the feat has been accomplished by an ECHL team in the league's history, by skating on a breakaway after a long pass by McBride. Lampe's forehand, backhand deke froze Spratt as Elmira made it 7-3 at the 11:16 mark of the second.

Two late second-period tallies for the Walleye gave the club momentum heading into the third period. Tyler Gotto tipped in a blue-line shot from Simon Danis-Pepin at 13:51, while Andy Bohmbach sent in a rebound off of a Scott Fletcher drive at 18:08 to make it 7-5 in favor of the Jackals after two periods.

In the third, the Walleye wasted no time in tying the game up. Dominic Osman's breakaway goal just 40 seconds into the final frame gave Toledo its sixth goal of the game, while Randy Rowe worked hard in front of the net to get a shot to go in at 1:25 to tie the game, 7-7. Dominic Osman redirected a Denis-Pepin shot from the middle point to put Toledo on top for good, 8-7, with 12:41 remaining in the third.

The 15 combined goals were the most in an ECHL game this season. Machesney fell to 1-7-0-0 with the Jackals, while Spratt earned his first win as a Walleye, stopping 22 of 25 shots. Palmer did not factor into the decision despiting making only two saves on six shots.

The Jackals and the Walleye have each won three games in the season series, with the decisive game to be played in Toledo on Apr. 4 on the final day of the regular season.



ECHL Stories from January 23, 2011


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