Power Play Stands Out over Weekend as Jackals Go 2-1-1

February 18, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Elmira Jackals News Release


Four games in five days can wear a team down. Throw in an overnight trip to Michigan sandwiched around a pair of home games. And on top of that, the first game of the week is also an overnight excursion to Indiana. All things considered, the Elmira Jackals did well to come out with a 2-1-1 record after traveling 2,042 miles by bus in a span of just over four days.

2/12/03 Jackals 1 – KOMETS 6

The road weary week started for Elmira on Wednesday as they traveled to Fort Wayne to battle the Komets. Elmira has not had much success with Fort Wayne this year, failing to beat them at the Allen County War Memorial at all this year, and only winning once at home, a 6-3 victory on November 1st. The Jackals came into the game with a 1-3-1 record overall vs. the Komets.

"I treated the last two game series as a mini-playoffs, and we didn't show that we were ready," said Jackals Head Coach Todd Brost in reference to the Jackals' back-to-back losses in Fort Wayne on 1/24 and 1/25. "We need to show we can win here tonight."

Unfortunately for the Jackals, things were not to go their way in the game, and Fort Wayne started in right away. Bobby Stewart lit the fire at 4:12 with help from Kelly Perrault and Kevin Schmidt t make it 1-0. Then Kevin Kotyluk scored to double the lead at 15:46 with an unassisted marker. Kotyluk broke in around the Jackal defense, and while being tied up and only one hand on his stick, used his thigh pad to propel the puck top shelf over the left shoulder of Jackal goaltender Jeremy Symington.

The second period would see another pair of Fort Wayne goals, with Dustin Virag moving the Komets in front 3-0 at 3:52 from Sean Venedam and Michel Massie. Then Stewart popped his second of the game at 18:54, a goal that really seemed to take the wind out of the Jackals' sails to make it 4-0.

Entering the final 20 minutes, Elmira had a chance to battle back, but Komet keeper Tom Lawson was on his game, allowing the Komets to pull ahead 5-1 on a goal from Adam Lewis. Elmira finally managed to find the board when Brad Wingfield scored from Randy Murphy and David Lessard at 9:30, but Fort Wayne would add another goal at 17:52, Kotyluk's second of the game from Lewis to round out the scoring at 6-1.

Symington stopped 31 of 37 Komet shots, while Lawson deflected 24 of 25 from Elmira shooters to earn the win. Elmira now sits 1-4-1 overall against Fort Waynet this season.

2/14/03 JACKALS 6 – Beacons 1

Elmira decided that turnabout was fair play when they next laced up the skates at home on Friday night against the Port Huron Beacons. The Jackals' power play laid waste to the Beacons, going 3 for 4 with the man advantage over the course of a 6-1 win. We'll leave the obvious reference out of this.

Rob Guinn got the ball rolling at 7:15 with a nice unassisted goal. Guinn jumped up into the rush, and carried the puck in on the right side, beating Beacon goalie Kory Cooper to give Elmira a 1-0 lead. Mike Hofstrand scored the first of three straight power play goals for Elmira at 11:12 of the first period. Mike Thompson and Guinn chipped in with the assists on Hofstrand's tenth of the season. Elmira rounded out the first period scoring at 18:55 with Aaron Phillip's goal from Randy Murphy and Glenn Stewart, heading into the locker room with a 3-0 lead. Elmira fired 21 shots at the Beacon net, compared facing only four in return.

In the second period, Murphy notched his 20th of the year on the power play from Brad Wingfield and Trevor Burgess, giving Elmira a four-goal advantage. It was to be the only goal of the period, with Elmira out shot by Port Huron 9-5. The Beacons still could not solve Marco Emond, however, who despite the limited action looked sharp in the Jackal net.

The third period would witness Elmira taking a 5-0 lead just 3:09 in as Eddy Lowe scored from Thompson and Ryan Esselmont. Port Huron's offense finally spoke up at 6:43 when Brent Gretzky scored on a cross-ice power play pass, his 16th of the season from Scott Drevitch and Bobby McKillop. Elmira chipped in one more tally at 18:02 to make it a 6-1 rout, Stewart the goal scorer from Thompson and Esselmont. Port Huron made Marco Emond earn his keep in the third period, firing 17 shots on goal, but only marking once. The Beacons totaled 30 shots on goal, and Elmira finished with 32. Cooper stopped 26 shots for the loss, Emond turned aside 29 for the win.

2/15/03 Jackals 2 – GENERALS 3 (SO)

The Jackals jumped on a charter bus to Flint, Michigan following their win over Port Huron on Valentine's Day, arriving at 7 am in Flint. After grabbing some quality time in their hotel rooms, the team headed to the IMA Sports Arena to face the Generals.

In the first period, Elmira was gifted with seven minutes of power play time in the first half of the stanza. Lee Jelenic took a two minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct just 20 seconds in, and then shortly after returning to the ice high-sticked Mike Hofstrand, earning him a five minute major and a game misconduct. Despite the seven minutes of power play time to start the game, Elmira could not score. Flint would not only kill off the penalties, but then rode the momentum to a power play goal of their own at 9:31 to open up a 1-0 lead. Tom Perry scored from J-F Labarre for the only marker of the period.

Elmira nabbed a power play goal just :45 into the second period when Glenn Stewart beat Flint goalie Paxton Shafer over the left shoulder to even the game at 1-1. Trevor Burgess notched the only assist on the goal. Flint would fight back to re-take the lead at 2-1 when Jim Duhart scored from Bobby Reynolds at 11:09. The Generals would protect the lead, with Schafer playing solidly in net, and head off up a goal after two periods of play.

The third saw both teams come close to scoring several times, but neither side found the mesh until Randy Murphy scored with 40 seconds left in regulation and goaltender Marco Emond on the bench in favor of the extra attacker. Burgess added his second helper of the night, throwing a shot on goal that rebounded to Murphy at the side of the Flint net. The 2-2 regulation tie helped Elmira earn a point in the standings, but no more as the Jackal shooters failed to score on Schafer in the shootout. Emond suffered only his second shootout loss of the year, stopping two of four shooters in the OT. Schafer stopped all four Jackals faced for the two points. Emond made 25 regulations saves for the tie, while Schafer stopped 33 of 35 for Flint in the win.

2/16/03 JACKALS 4 – Fury 2

Returning home following the hard fought yet disappointing shootout loss to the Generals, Elmira prepared to face the Fury in a rare 7 pm Sunday match. Marco Emond would get the starting nod for the third time in three nights, while Sylvain Daigle was given the night off for Muskegon, putting Michal Lanicek in net for the game.

In the first period, it would be the Fury opening up a 1-0 lead on Robin Bouchard's goal at 14:19 from Brant Blackned and Andrew Luciuk. Muskegon pasted Emond with 14 shots, while Lanicek faced 11 from Jackal shooters. Elmira came close to scoring several times, but couldn't quite find the magic in the opening frame.

Second stanza action opened favorably for the Jackals, with Aaron Phillips scoring at 3:28 from Mike Hofstrand and David Lessard to tie the game at 1-1. Eddy Lowe gave the Jackals a 2-1 lead when he scored on a rebound in front of Lanicek during a delayed penalty call against Muskegon. Hofstrand and Brad Wingfield chipped in the help at 6:27 to put the Jackals ahead. That would be all the scoring in the period, as Elmira ended up on top 2-1. Shots were even at 11 for each club.

After going 3 for 4 on the power play against Port Huron on Friday night, Elmira was granted only one chance Sunday. They made good on it, however, as Randy Murphy fired home a cross-ice pass from Glenn Stewart at 8:24 for a 3-1 Elmira lead. Trevor Burgess added his 8th assist of the year in seven games with the Jackals on the goal, Murphy's team-leading 12th power play marker of the year. On the goal, Lanicek sustained an undisclosed leg injury that would force him from the net during the next stoppage of play, when he was replaced by Daigle. Muskegon made it a close game at the end, scoring with the extra man at 19:20 as Todd Robinson beat Emond from Blackned and Travis Thiessen to make it 3-2. But Stewart would salt the game away for Elmira with an empty net goal for his 22nd of the year from Corey Neilson at 19:39. The Jackals defeated Muskegon for a second consecutive game 4-2, closing the season series to 3-2 in the Fury's favor. Emond stopped 35 shots for the win, while Lanicek was tagged with the loss, stopping 29 of 32 shots faced before being replaced by Daigle, who stopped both shots against in relief.

* * *

Elmira finished their four games in five days stretch by netting five of a possible eight points. The Jackals will now face a week of travel as they head to Glens Falls to battle the IceHawks on Wednesday (7 pm), moving on to Muskegon Friday night (7:30 pm), and then rounding out the week with Quad City Saturday (8 pm). The team will not play at home again until Friday, February 28th against the Port Huron Beacons, a 7 pm start.

Tickets for next weekend's and all remaining Jackal home games may be purchased through the Coach USA Center Box Office, open 10 am to 6 pm Monday – Friday, and 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday. Seats may also be obtained through all TicketMaster locations, on line at www.TicketMaster.com, or charge by phone at (607) 722-3711.

PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS

POTW – Randy Murphy, C
3-2-5, Even, 16 shots, 4 PIMs, 2 PPG, 1 GWG, 6 game point scoring streak (4 this week)

Murphy tallied an assist on Elmira's only goal against Fort Wayne on 2-12... Scored on the power play, added an assist as Elmira's man up unit went three for four on Valentine's Day against Port Huron in a 6-1 win... Scored the game tying goal with :40 left against Flint to help Elmira earn a shootout point on 2-15... Scored the game winner on the power play for Elmira as they came from behind to defeat Muskegon on 2-16. GOTW – Marco Emond
2-0-1 record, .947 save percentage, 1.67 GAA, 2 of 4 shooters stopped in shootout

Emond continues to establish himself as the Jackals' workhorse in net. He made 16 third period saves to keep Port Huron from climbing back into the game on Valentine's Day... Kept the Jackals close against Flint until they were able to score with the extra attacker to forge a 2-2 regulation tie. In the shootout, Elmira failed to score while Emond stopped two of four shooters for only his second shootout loss this season... Made several spectacular glove saves on Sunday vs. Muskegon to help Jackals to a 4-2 win. Emond improved to 2-0-0 vs. the Fury this year.

JACKAL BITES:

- Randy Murphy is on a personal six game scoring streak, dating back to 2-6-03 where he collected two assists vs. Missouri. Murphy has three goals and five assists during the streak for eight points.

- Murphy also leads the Jackals in power play goals, scoring two more this week for the Jackals. The crafty center now has 12 man-advantage markers, ranking him tied for third in the UHL.

- Glenn Stewart has been on fire at the Coach USA Center lately. Stewart has at least a point in each of his last six home games, and has scored a goal in his last five contests at the Coach. Over those six games, Stewart has 8-5-13 to go with a +8 rating. Two of those goals were power play markers, and one a game winner against Quad City on 2-02.

- Marco Emond is the only Jackal goaltender to defeat Muskegon this season, improving to 2-0-0 against them with a win on Sunday. Emond has a 2.60 GAA and .927 save percentage against the Fury this year.

- Emond is now tied for the league lead in wins this year (24), and also sits among the leaders in several other goaltending categories: he is ranked second in saves (1173), and shootout wins (6); third in save percentage (.915) and shootout save percentage (.730); tied for fourth with two shutouts; and ranks fifth in minutes played (2215).

- The Jackals' power play has notched 11 goals in the past 11 games, and operated at a 50% clip over Elmira's three game weekend (5 for 10 with the man advantage), including a 3 for 4 performance against Port Huron Friday night.

- Trevor Burgess is playing well for Elmira since returning from Bracknell. The veteran blueliner has 0-8-8 and a +5 rating for the club in seven games. His steady play in the defensive zone has also helped the Jackals tremendously since his return.

NEWS AND NOTES:

The Elmira Jackals Coach's Show will return to the usual Tuesday night slot this week. Show time is 7 pm, and as always it will air live on WiNGZ 104.9 FM. Join us down at Patrick's Deli and Tavern, 303 College Avenue in Elmira for a fun and informative hour on all things Jackals!

The next Jackals Monthly Dinner will be held on Monday, March 3rd at 6 pm at Horigan's! Horigan's is located at 365 Davis St. in Elmira. The team will be there to sign autographs, take pictures, and talk with fans on hand. There will also be a trivia contest for kids and adults, with prizes for the winners. Join the Jackals at Horigan's, where Irish Hospitality is always on tap!

Jackalshockey.com is currently under renovation and will be back soon with a brand new look! Check back in the coming weeks for more news, more insight, and more features than ever before!



ECHL Stories from February 18, 2003


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