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Jackals Win Two Games With New Head Coach

March 7, 2005 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Elmira Jackals News Release


Week 21 Game Results:

3/2/05 JACKALS 3 - Adirondack 2 (2-1 In Shootout)

Glens Falls, NY - The Elmira Jackals broke their 11-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout win over the Adirondack Frostbite Wednesday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center in the debut of Head Coach Dave Schultz. Playing without the services of Darren Van Oene who was called up to the Worcester Ice Cats (AHL) one day after being sent down by the Manchester Monarchs, Elmira was forced to dress 17 players Wednesday night; Chris Shaw still nursing a shoulder injury and Jamie Thompson being placed on team suspension. Things started slow as Nathan Gillies was called for holding just 21 seconds into the game and Adirondack out-shot the Jackals 5-0 in the first six minutes. The Frostbite opened the scoring just after the media timeout as a David Burgess wrist shot from the slot beat Greg Hewitt at 10:54, giving Adirondack a 1-0 lead after twenty minutes.

In the second period the shot totals continued to favor the home side, but Jason Sessa sparked a big Jackals turn around. Sessa scored twice to leap-frog Elmira into the lead. First Sessa scored at 2:10 assisted by Jeff Antonovich and Carl Drakensjo off a rebound in the low slot. He then scored his second goal of the period at 7:12 when his snap-shot hit goaltender Kris Tebbs but kept going into the net; assisted by Antonovich and Trevor Burgess.

In the third period the Jackals found themselves in unfamiliar territory, trying to hold a 2-1 lead. Elmira looked very close to winning this game in regulation, but then Corey Foster was called for a high-sticking penalty with 1:39 remaining in the game. On the ensuing power play, with Tebbs pulled for a 6-on-4 advantage, Scott Drevitch tied the game at 18:59.

In the shootout, Sessa scored to open the first round, but Adirondack tied it in the third round with Justin Kelly's attempt. The goaltenders look phenomenal as this shootout went to 9 rounds before Derek Campbell lifted a back-hand shot over the glove side of Tebbs to snap the 11-game Elmira losing streak.

Greg Hewitt earned his 15th win of the season by stopping 27-of-29 in the game and 8-of-9 in the shootout. Kris Tebbs took the loss, making 11 saves on 14 shots and 7-of-9 in the shootout.

3/4/05 FORT WAYNE 7 - Jackals 2

Elmira, NY - The Fort Wayne Komets gave Head Coach Dave Schultz a rude hello to his first game at the First Arena as the Elmira Jackals were pummeled 7-2 Friday night.

The first period was wild but close. Fort Wayne jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with an unassisted goal from Chris Grenville at 0:54 and a power play goal from Jonathan Goodwin at 4:40. Captain Trevor Burgess pulled Elmira back into the game at 6:11 with a power play goal assisted by Jason Sessa and Eddy Lowe. The point for Lowe puts him just one point behind Randy Murphy (219 points) as the Jackals All-Time Leading Scorer. Fort Wayne regained their 2-goal cushion at 10:35 when Colin Chaulk scored his 16th of the year. But again Elmira had an answer. Nathan Gillies, in an unreal individual effort, turned defenseman Rob Guinn inside out, then slid the puck past Kevin St. Pierre to put the score at 3-2 after one period.

The second period was all Fort Wayne. The Komets scored three unanswered goals in the middle session to pull away from the home side by a four goal margin. Troy Neumeier scored an unassisted goal at 2:30, followed by a Dustin Virag goal at 7:37 and then Goodwin added an unassisted goal of his own at 9:58, his second goal of the night, to give the Komets a 6-2 lead after two.

The visitors put their game on cruise control in the third period as they did not allow the Jackals many strong scoring opportunities. Fort Wayne did manage to add to their tally by scoring a power play goal at 16:32, Virag's second of the game and 16th of the year, assisted by Grenville and Chaulk for a 7-2 final score.

St. Pierre earned his 26th win of the season by stopping 33-of-35 in goal for Fort Wayne. Hewitt got the loss, turning aside 18-of-24 before being relieved by Kevin Kurk at the media timeout of the second period. Kurk came in made 11 saves on 12 shots in the last half of the contest.

3/5/05 PORT HURON 2 - Jackals 1

Elmira, NY - Elmira College senior Jarrett Konkle scored the Elmira Jackals only goal Saturday night in his professional debut, a 2-1 defeat to the Port Huron Beacons at the First Arena.

Due to injuries to Derek Campbell and George Pujacs, three Elmira College seniors signed and skated with Elmira Saturday night; Konkle, Craig Macdonald, and Chris Mann. But it was the Beacons who scored first, when Kyle Sheen physically forced a puck past Kevin Kurk at 2:43 of the first period. The Jackals tied the game at 10:35 in a moment that couldn't have been written any more perfectly. Konkle stole a pass from Andrew MacPherson and walked in alone on Stu Dunn, banking his wrist shot off the post for the first goal of his professional career; Charlie Elezi assisted on the goal.

In the second period Joe Sewell scored the eventual game winner as he was sent free on a breakaway and outlasted Kurk, lifting the puck over the fallen goaltender at 3:45 of the period.

Elmira came storming back in the third period, out shooting the Beacons 15-to-8 but failing to beat Dunn again in the contest.

Dunn got the win, stopping 32-of-33 in goal for Port Huron. Kurk again played well enough for a win, making 28 saves on 30 shots in the loss for Elmira.

3/6/05 JACKALS 9 - Richmond 4

Richmond, VA - Nathan Gillies second period natural hat trick helped lift the Elmira Jackals to a 9-4 pummeling of the Richmond Riverdogs Sunday at the First Arena.

The game was wide open in the first period as both teams found the net three times in the opening twenty minutes. Jason Sessa opened the scoring with a short-handed goal at 2:14 from Jason Jaworski and Craig Macdonald. Luch Nasato tied the game at 4:39 when his dump in ricocheted off the boards and into the net while goalie Kevin Kurk was stranded behind the net; it was the second time this season that the Jackals have conceded that kind of bizarre goal at the First Arena. Jarrett Konkle scored his second goal in his second professional game and Dean Jackson also scored in the opening period for Elmira. Richmond added goals from David Hymovitz and Mark Langdon to level the score at 3-3 after one.

Up stepped Nathan Gilles. Gillies scored three consecutive goals in a span of six minutes to help Elmira steam ahead. He scored from Sessa at 1:38, then made it 5-3 at 6:13 from Sessa and Eddy Lowe. The assist by Lowe tied him with Randy Murphy (219 points) as the Jackals All-Time Leading scorer. Gillies finished off the trick at 7:40 from Macdonald and Bill Cass giving him 17 goals this year, but that was not the last of Elmira's scoring in the second period. Trevor Burgess scored his 7th goal of the season at 18:12 from Macdonald for a 7-3 score after two. Macdonald finished the game with 4 assists in just his second pro game.

Jason Sessa and Dean Jackson each joined the list of Jackals multi-goal scorers on Sunday. Sessa's second goal of the game made it 8-3 at 5:05 of the third period with a blistering power play goal assisted by Gillies. Richmond got one back at 8:36 when Mark Langdon put home a power play goal at 8:36, but then Jackson finished off the scoring with his second goal of the night at 13:48, an unreal back-hand lifted up underneath the cross bar from close range, assisted by Jeff Antonovich for a 9-4 victory.

Kevin Kurk stopped 39-of-43 for his 6th win of the season in a performance that included dozens of scintillating saves. Brent Belecki started this game, making 15 saves on 20 shots before being pulled in the second period for Nathan Grobins who stopped 16-of-20 in the game; Belecki took the loss.

JACKALS PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: (WEEK 21)

Jason Sessa - RW 4 GP, 4 goals, 3 assists, 7 pts, +1 14 PIMs

Jason Sessa had a resurgence of form in Week 21, scoring seven points in four games to lead the Jackals to their first two-win week since the beginning of January. Sessa started with two goals and a shootout goal against Adirondack in a 3-2 shootout win Wednesday. He had an assist and 14 penalty minutes in the 7-2 rout by Fort Wayne. After a quiet game on Saturday against Port Huron, Sessa finished the weekend with a bang, scoring two goals on Sunday, including a shorthanded goal, and adding two assists in a 9-4 thumping of Richmond.

Kevin Kurk - G 3 GP, 1-1-0, 2.85 GAA, 0.918 SV%, 78 saves

Kevin Kurk emerged in Week 21 as a force to be reckoned with between the pipes for Elmira. Kurk made a relief appearance Friday against Fort Wayne, allowing just one goal on a Komets power play in the last 29 minutes of the game while stopping 11 shots. Kurk put a phenomenal effort in against Port Huron Saturday, making 28 saves in the 2-1 defeat. Sunday, the Orchard Park, NY native stopped 39 shots on his way to a 9-4 victory and a 2.85 GAA for the week. Kurk leads the UHL in shootout percentage going 17-for-19 (89.5%).

JACKAL BITES:

* CAPTURED - C Eddy Lowe finally caught Randy Murphy. With an assist Sunday against Richmond, Lowe is now tied with Murphy as the Elmira Jackals All-Time Leading Scorers. In 347 career games for Elmira, Lowe has 219 points (111 goals, 108 assists). Lowe has 18 games remaining in the season to surpass the mark for sole possession of the record.

* MULTI-WIN WEEK - The Jackals won two-of-four games this week, marking the first time Elmira has won multiple games in a week since they started 2005 with back-to-back wins on January 1st and 2nd.

* BACK ON TOP - RW Jason Sessa regained his UHL lead in power play goals after lighting the lamp on the power play in Sunday's 9-4 romp over Richmond. Sessa has 16 power play goals this season.

* GOAL FEST - The Jackals 9-4 crushing of Richmond was the second highest margin of victory for Elmira this year. Their best occurred when they pummeled the Riverdogs 9-2 back on November 27th.

* WORST LOSS OF THE YEAR -Elmira's 7-2 loss at the hands of Fort Wayne Friday night at the First Arena was the highest number of goals allowed in a single game by the Jackals this year. It also tied their worst margin of defeat, they lost 5-0 to Muskegon on January 8th at the First Arena.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Elmira Jackals Team Leaders:

Goals: Jason Sessa (32)
Assists: Trevor Burgess, Jeff Antonovich (32)
Points: Jason Sessa (59)
Plus/Minus: Craig Macdonald (+5)
Penalty Minutes: Derek Campbell (161)
Power Play Goals: Jason Sessa (16)
Short Handed Goals: Eddy Lowe, Jamie Thompson, Carl Drakensjo (2)
Shots: Jason Sessa (202)
Shooting Percentage: Jarrett Konkle (33.3%)
Saves: Greg Hewitt (1476)
Wins: Greg Hewitt (15)
GAA: Kevin Kurk (3.40)
Save Percentage: Kevin Kurk (.898)

Jackals Jam

Don't forget to check out the next edition Jackals Jam on WENY-TV. Broadcaster Owen Newkirk and WENY Sports Director Neille Giffune will recap another exciting week of Jackals hockey, including an interview with Head Coach Todd Brost, a Jackals player profile, and skills segment with Owen and a Jackal. Jackals Jam airs every Sunday night at 11:00 pm on WENY-TV (ABC).

Coach's Show

Don't miss the The Elmira Jackals Coach's Show broadcast LIVE Tuesday night from Patrick's Pub, 303 College Ave. at 7pm. Join Head Coach Dave Schultz and Voice of the Jackals Owen Newkirk, along with center Eddy Lowe and left wing Derek Campbell for the broadcast. Tune in on WiNGZ 104.9 FM or stream it online at www.jackalshockey.com - Fans are encouraged to email their questions for any of the Coach's Show participants to jackalshockey@jackalshockey.com no later than 3 pm on Tuesday before the show.



International Hockey League 2 Stories from March 7, 2005


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