Jackals win thriller

Published on January 15, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Elmira Jackals News Release


The Elmira Jackals fought back from two one-goal deficits and powered past the Reading Royals to a 5-2 win on Friday night at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pa in a thriller. With the win, the Jackals pulled to within four points of the Royals for the top spot in the American East Division.

The Royals gained the early advantage with a wrist shot from the left circle by Jimmy Fraser to make it 1-0 just 1:18 into the contest. It was one of just two times the Royals would solve Jackals goaltender Julien Ellis, who made 38 saves on 40 shots in the winning effort.

Elmira scored a late first period goal, however, to even the score entering the first intermission. Bear Trapp, signed on Friday by the Jackals, connected on a shot from the top of the crease with the Jackals on the power play at 17:23 to make it 1-1. Tyler Donati fed it to Trapp in the low left circle, who scored his first goal of the season on the play.

In the second period, the Royals received a goal from their newest player, Bryan Ewing, who one-timed a puck home at 15:38 to give Reading the 2-1 advantage.

With the clock winding down in the second period, Brennan Turner intercepted a pass and started a rush with Yannick Tifu into the Reading zone. Tifu fed Turner into the left circle, who wristed the puck by Royals goaltender Matt Dalton to tie the game 2-2 with 9.5 seconds remaining in the middle session.

The teams were deadlocked early in the third period and the Jackals had failed to convert on their first two power-play chances of the period. Elmira, though, used its third power play of the period to grab the lead for good. Jackals captain Olivier Proulx shot the puck from along the goal line that deflected off of Dalton and wound up in the net to give the Jackals the 3-2 lead 8:14 into the period.

At 15:06, Tyler Donati gave the Badgers some insurance, firing a slap shot off the glove of Dalton and into the net to make it 4-2. Donati then added an empty-net goal at 19:03 to clinch it, as the Jackals went onto win 5-2.

The back-and-forth affair saw 84 total shots on goal between the two teams, including 44 by the Jackals. Ellis improved to 5-2-0-0 with Elmira, while Dalton, making 39 saves on the contest, fell to 11-9-0-2 on the season.

Elmira has now won three straight games for the first time since its seven-game winning streak to begin the 2009-2010 season, as its record improved to 18-15-2-2. The Jackals have also won three straight on the road. Reading fell to 20-14-1-3 with the loss.

The two teams are back in action on Saturday night at the Sovereign Center, with the puck dropping at 7:05 p.m.

Back in Elmira, X-Treme International Ice Racing presented by Buckley's Automotive and Knappy's Auto Body takes place on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Last season, X-treme Ice Racing sold out both nights at First Arena, and left three time world-champion rider Anthony "The British Bulldog" Barlow professing his gratitude to Elmira.

"The fans here last year were great and it was a blast racing in front of fans in Elmira. The crowd was really into it, and I can't wait to come back next year," he said.

Next year is now. Barlow and more of the world's top ice racers will bring their action-packed, heart-racing battles to First Arena. There are no brakes in the bikes or quads, which leads to a night of pure adrenaline.

X-treme Ice Racing is the fastest sport in ice and one of the fastest in the entire world, and always has its audiences in a frenzy!

Once X-Treme Ice Racing ends, preparations begin for Wine On Ice, which will take place on Friday, Jan. 22 and Saturday, Jan. 23 over three sessions. Wine On Ice, presented by WENY-TV, is a winter sampling of the Finger Lakes' best in wine, food, shopping and entertainment.

For information on these events or to purchase tickets, visit the First Arena Box Office, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., call (607) 734-PUCK (7825), or log onto Ticketmaster.com.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from January 15, 2010


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