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Weekly Arrowhead #18

February 25, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, PA - The Johnstown Chiefs were unable to extend their eight-game streak without a loss in regulation last weekend, and loss consecutive games for the first time in nearly a month. This week finds the Chiefs very busy with four games in the next seven days.

Record - 23-26-1-3, 50 pts., 5th place North Division

Leaders:

Goals - Jean Desrochers: 23

Assists - Ryan Garlock: 27

Points - Ryan Garlock: 45

+/- - Joey Olson/Randy Rowe: +9

PIMs - Mike Sgroi: 181

PPG - Jean Desrochers: 12

Wins - Ryan Nie: 18

GAA - Ryan Nie: 3.06

SVP - Ryan Nie: .888

This Week:

2/27 vs. Reading 7:05 p.m. & 3/1 at Reading 7:05 p.m. (1-4-1)

The Chiefs will get two opportunities to cool down the red-hot Royals this week. After missing the playoffs last season, Reading has ridden a 7-0-1 steak to second place in the North Division with 68 points entering this week. Wednesday's game at the War Memorial will give the Chiefs a chance to earn their first victory over Reading on home ice this season (0-3-0). Meanwhile, they are 1-1-1 at the Sovereign Center, the sight of Saturday's contest, and have averaged four goals per game in Reading's arena. The Royals' defense has been stiffer at the War Memorial, limiting the Chiefs to seven goals in the three games at the War Memorial.

2/29 at Wheeling 7:35 p.m. (5-3-0)

Friday's game in Wheeling will be the Chiefs' first against the Nailers in nearly two months. The Chiefs and Nailers last met on January 5, a 3-2 Nailers win, during Greg Puhalski's first weekend at Wheeling's helm. Since that night as WesBanco Arena, the Chiefs have run off 11 wins to climb back into the playoff picture, while the Nailers have continued to slide winning only five games in that span. The Chiefs have been taken to overtime twice by the Nailers at WesBanco, and have come out on top both times.

3/2 at Elmira 4:05 p.m. (3-2-0-1)

Sunday's game at First Arena will mark the Chiefs' last trip to the northern-most city in the American Conference. Johnstown picked up win in its first two visits to First Arena, including a 2-1 shootout win in the first ever meeting between the clubs on October 26. The Chiefs will try to replicate their best offensive output of the season when they torched the Jackal's defense for nine goals on February 8.The win by the Chiefs started Elmira on a four-game losing skid.

"Pow-Wow" Planner:

The brand-new Johnstown Chiefs talk-show, "The Pow-Wow", continues on February 28, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lower Works Restaurant and Pub at the Johnstown Brewing Company. The guests for that show will be veterans Jean Desrochers and Jason Spence. Also, be sure to listen to the last episode with Randy Rowe and Ryan Garlock by clicking on the audio link under the "Fan Zone" section at the Chiefs' home page.

Last Week: (1-3-0-0)

2/18 at Trenton: W 4-3 OT

Like a see-saw, last Monday's game between Johnstown and Trenton was an up-and-down affair. The Chiefs opened a two-goal lead in the first with Mike Sgroi and Joey Olson scoring 54 seconds apart. Trenton answered back with two of its own 26 seconds apart to begin the second period. Jean Desrochers gave the Chiefs a brief 3-2 lead in the third, but Thomas Harrison's second goal of the year sent it to OT. After being unable to score an OT power play goal on three chances in the last two games, Rob Drummond finally snapped that string, giving the Chiefs the 4-3 win. The win guaranteed a winning record for Johnstown against the Devils in 2007-08.

2/22 at Cincinnati: L 5-2

The Chiefs looked to be in good shape to win their first game of the season against Cincinnati when Vincent Zaore gave the Chiefs the 1-0 lead by scoring on a breakaway after his tripping minor had expired. The Cyclones tied the game at 16:05 of the first on a Mathieu Aubin goal. Momentum swung in a big way in the second when the Chiefs took seven consecutive penalties, and Cincy converted two into goals. Another came right as Jason Spence was exiting the box. Alex Imbeault made things interesting for the third period with a 5-on-3 PP goal for the Chiefs with eight seconds left in the second. But Olivier Latendress's first ECHL goal at 12:36 of the third took the wind out of the Chiefs' sails.

2/23 at Dayton: L 4-2

Playing at Hobart Arena in Troy, Ohio for the second time this season, the Chiefs saw the Bombers race out to a 3-0 advantage by the 11:01 mark of the first period. For the second night in a row, a late second period goal nearly keyed a Johnstown rally. Rob Drummond scored his fourteenth of the year with fourteen seconds left in the middle frame with an assist from Ryan Garlock. Jean Desrochers' unassisted goal at 6:47 of the third had the Chiefs within one, but an empty net marker by Mike Walsh sealed the win for Dayton.

2/24 vs. Trenton: L 4-3

Like Friday in Cincinnati, the Chiefs scored first against Trenton on Sunday, but couldn't make the lead hold up. Ryan Garlock got the Chiefs on the board with 1:04 left in the first, and Mark Tobin's first goal since October 21 had the Chiefs ahead 2-0 in the second. Trenton then received goals from Jim Henkle, Jason Paige, Trevor Kell, and Joe Rooney in succession over a span of 7:19 to take a 4-2 advantage. Jean Desrochers got the Chiefs within one, like the previous night in Dayton, with a power play goal with 1:25 left, but Johnstown couldn't get the equalizer with the extra attacker. The win was Trenton's first in Johnstown this season (1-3-0).

Don't Stop Scoring:

Ryan Garlock and Rob Drummond have been scoring machines for Johnstown for almost the entire month of February. Both forwards saw their point streaks extend to nine games in spite of Sunday's loss to Trenton. Garlock's goal gave him four goals and 11 assists in his past nine games, while a career-high three assists gave Drummond three goals and 11 assists during his streak. The nine-game streaks for Drummond and Garlock bested the previous season-high point streak of seven games set by Jean Desrochers from 11/3-11/24 (6G, 5A).

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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.

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