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February 11, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, PA - The North Division playoff picture became more clearly focused for the Johnstown Chiefs after last weekend. They moved into sole possession of the fifth, and final, playoff spot in the division with victories on Friday and Sunday. Now the focus shifts to a pair of unfamiliar South Division foes standing high atop the standings coming to Johnstown this week.

Record - 20-23-1-2, 43 pts., 5th place North Division

Leaders:

Goals - Jean Desrochers: 19

Assists - Ryan Garlock: 23

Points - Ryan Garlock: 40

+/- - Joey Olson: +7

PIMs - Mike Sgroi: 119

PPG - Jean Desrochers: 10

Wins - Ryan Nie: 16

GAA - Ryan Nie: 3.15

SVP - Andrew Penner: .887

This Week:

2/13 vs. Gwinnett 7:05 p.m. (0-0-0-0)

The War Memorial will be the Gladiator's first stop on a four-game swing through the North Division. Gwinnett enters the week in second place in the South with 62 points, and boasts the league's leading scorer in Jeff Campbell with 59 points (13G, 46A). The Chiefs will probably look to Mike Sgroi for some help with this unfamiliar opponent. In his time with Pensacola, Sgroi, and the Ice Pilots, took on Gwinnett twice and Sgroi picked up three points (1G, 2A).

2/15 vs. Texas 7:05 p.m. (0-0-0-0)

The Chiefs will have a tough test in front of them when the league-leading Texas Wildcatters stop by for a contest on Friday evening. The 'Catters have already locked up a Kelly Cup Playoff birth with their 81 points. The southern teams have given the Chiefs a tough time this season, they are 3-5-0 against those teams, but they have fared much better at home. South Carolina was the only southern team to beat the Chiefs at the War Memorial with a 3-1 win on Oct. 27. Johnstown is 2-1-0 on home ice against visitors from the South Division.

2/16 vs. Dayton 7:05 p.m. (3-3-0-1)

The Chiefs and Bombers played one of the most exciting games of the year back on Feb. 2 when Randy Rowe sent it to overtime with a goal at 19:06 of the third period, and Johnstown eventually winning a seven-round shootout. The home team has won every game, except one, this season between Johnstown and Dayton thanks to Dayton's nine-round shootout win at the War Memorial in November. The Chiefs will be looking to continue that trend as they try to hunt Dayton down for fourth place in the North. The Chiefs enter this week seven points behind the Bombers with one game in hand.

"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 announced in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. 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.

Day by Day:

Mon. 2/4: Practice at UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at CCWM, 12:00 p.m.

Tues. 2/5: Practice at UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at CCWM, 10:00 a.m.

Wed. 2/6: Chiefs vs. Gwinnett Gladiators; 7:05 p.m.

Thurs. 2/7: Practice at UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at CCWM, 12:00 p.m.

Fri. 2/8: Chiefs vs. Texas Wildcatters; 7:05 p.m.

Sat. 2/9: Chiefs vs. Dayton Bombers; 7:05 p.m.

Sun. 2/10: Off

Last Week: (2-0-0-0)

2/8 vs. Elmira: W 9-3

It took three tries, but the Chiefs were finally able to defeat the Elmira Jackals at home, doing it in a big way, with their best offensive showing of the year last Friday night. The Chiefs led 2-1 after the first, and when Chaz Johnson tied things at two just 17 seconds into the middle period it look like the Chiefs were in for a battle. But the Chiefs tallied three goals of their own in the second, and four in the third to seal the win. In all, Joey Olson (3g, 1a), Vincent Zaore (1g, 1a), Ryan Garlock (4a), Mike Knight (1g, 1a), Brian Deeth (2a), Nic Bachand (2g), Tyler Hirsch, (2g, 1a), and Andrew Martens (2a) all finished with multiple-point games. The Chiefs set season highs goals (9), assists (14), and points (23) in the game.

2/10 vs. Trenton: W 3-1

Sunday's win wasn't quite as dominating as Friday's, but the Chiefs put forward a very solid effort in dispatching the Devils. B.J. Crum scored his first professional goal at 2:28 of the first to give the Chiefs the lead, and they would never trail in the game. Jason Paige was able to tie the game a minute and forty-six seconds after Crum's goal, but power play goals by Mike Knight (5:02 2nd) and Jean Desrochers (3:58 3rd) paved the way for the win.

Powering Up:

After struggling through much of 2008, the Chiefs' power play seemed to finally grab a foothold this weekend. Johnstown picked up four power play goals in nine attempts, and for the first time this season scored more than one power play goal in back-to-back games. The penalty kill, on the other hand, seems to grow stronger each game. In the last seven home dates, visiting teams have not registered a power play goal in 25 attempts. Over the last five games, the Chiefs have killed 13-straight penalties dating back to the third period of their Feb. 1 match-up in Reading.

A Family Affair:

Last weekend will surely be remembered by the Olson clan for a very long time for a couple reasons. On Friday Chiefs rookie forward Joey Olson picked up his first ECHL hat trick, and an assist, in the 9-3 win against Elmira. That was just a prelude to Joey's grandfather, Mark Olson, being inducted into the Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame on Sunday evening. According to the family, Mark moved the family to Peoria, Illinois from Michigan in 1963 where he started up the semi-pro Continental Hockey League, and in the early 1980s played an instrumental role in getting the Peoria Civic Center built. In college, Mark was a two-time MVP and three-time leading scorer at Michigan Tech, and his induction classmate to the Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame was the legendary Stan Mikita.

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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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