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March 3, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, PA - The Johnstown Chiefs saw their record go over the .500 mark for the first time since December 7 with four wins in as many games last week. After playing the role of road warriors all last weekend, the Chiefs return to the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the Cambria County War Memorial for a pair of games to start the weekend before heading on the road again on Sunday.

Record - 27-26-1-3, 58 pts., 5th place North Division

Leaders:

Goals - Jean Desrochers/Ryan Garlock: 24

Assists - Ryan Garlock/Randy Rowe: 30

Points - Ryan Garlock: 54

+/- - Randy Rowe: +13

PIMs - Mike Sgroi: 210

PPG - Jean Desrochers: 12

Wins - Ryan Nie: 22

GAA - Ryan Nie: 3.03

SVP - Ryan Nie: .889

This Week:

3/7 vs. Wheeling, 7:05 p.m. (6-3-0)

The Chiefs will welcome the Nailers to the War Memorial for the first time since a 3-0 win on December 1. Friday's game will be the 148th meeting between Johnstown and Wheeling; the longest running series between Johnstown and any opponent. A win would give Johnstown its 70th win all-time against Wheeling, as the series record stands at 69-63-15 in favor of the Chiefs. If Johnstown wins the game, or takes it to overtime, it will be guaranteed a winning record against the Nailers for the second consecutive season. The first 1,000 fans at the game will receive a Chiefs keychain courtesy of Mazzei and Associates.

3/8 vs. Elmira 7:05 p.m. (4-2-0-1)

The Chiefs and Jackals will be playing for the second-to-last time of the season when they meet at the War Memorial on Saturday. Just is the case with Wheeling on Friday, a win or overtime loss by the Chiefs over Elmira will guarantee them a winning record against their neighbors to the north this season. Elmira is the only team above Johnstown in the standings that the Chiefs currently have a winning record against. The Chiefs will be trying to continue a spat of good play against Elmira recently. In the last two match-ups, the Chiefs have outscored the Jackals 15-5. Saturday's game will feature a Casino Night promotion with a huge game of Texas Hold ‘Em on tap where the winner will get two airline tickets to Las Vegas!

3/9 at Trenton 4:00 p.m. (6-2-0-0)

Only one game will remain on the schedule between the Chiefs and Devils after Sunday's tilt. The Chiefs have already secured a winning record against the Devils with six victories in 07-08, and have improved their all-time against Trenton to 36-33-11. The Chiefs dropped a game to the Devils at the War Memorial for the first time on February 24, a 4-3 decision, and last lost at Sovereign Bank Arena on December 27 5-0.

"Pow-Wow" Planner:

The brand-new Johnstown Chiefs talk-show, "The Pow-Wow", continues on March 6, 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 goaltender Andrew Penner and defenseman Justin Coutu. Also, be sure to listen to the last episode with Jean Desrochers and Jason Spence by clicking on the audio link under the "Fan Zone" section at the Chiefs' home page.

Streaking Chiefs:

Ryan Garlock scored at least one point in every game that he played in the month of February, and the turn of the calendar to March hasn't slowed him down one bit. With two goals and two assists on Saturday in Reading and two goals Sunday in Elmira, Garlock's point streak (10g, 14a) has hit 13 games, the longest of the season for Johnstown, and the second-longest current streak in the league behind David Desharnais (23 games). Randy Rowe, who also scored in every game he played in February, is right on Garlock's heels with a 10-game string of points (6g, 11a). Rob Drummond had his team-leading 10-game assist streak snapped in Friday's win in Wheeling.

Last Week: (4-0-0)

2/27 vs. Reading: W 4-3 OT

Things looked grim for the Chiefs who were trying to end a three-game losing streak with Reading in town last Wednesday. Reading hadn't lost at the War Memorial all season, and was leading 3-1 going into the third period. Reading hadn't lost a game in regulation all season when leading after two (23-0-2). The Chiefs were undaunted, though, and cut the lead to one on Mike Knight's sixth goal of the year with 6:47 left in regulation. With Johnstown skating on a power play for the final 1:22 Ian Herbers pulled the goalie for the extra attacker and Randy Rowe scored the goal that would send it to overtime with 56 seconds left in regulation. It wouldn't take long in OT for Alex Imbeault to send home the winner, getting it 1:58 into the extra frame.

2/29 at Wheeling: W 5-3

The first game between Johnstown and Wheeling in nearly two months didn't start well for the Chiefs as the Nailers got two first-period goals on odd man rushes to take a 2-0 lead. Once again, though, the Chiefs showed their mettle by running off four unanswered goals to take the lead. Tyler Hirsch (9th) and Brandon Straub (3rd) scored at even strength to tie it in the second, and Kenny Roche (3rd) tallied a power play goal to give the Chiefs the lead before the final frame. Alex Imbeault got the eventual game-winner for the second consecutive game with a 5-on-3 PP goal 55 seconds into the third. The Nailers crawled back within one with their own power play goal less than five minutes later, but Hirsch's second of the game with 3:40 left gave Johnstown some insurance.

3/1 at Reading: W 5-3

Even with Johnstown's OT win against Reading on Wednesday, the Royals were still unbeaten in regulation in their last nine games heading into Saturday. Reading started strong with two first-period power play goals sandwiched around Ryan Garlock's 21st goal of the year, and lead 2-1 at the 7:13 mark of the second. However, Alex Imbeault continued to be a pain for the Royals as he tied the game just 47 seconds after Reading retook the lead. The Chiefs never looked back from there. Garlock's second of the game gave the Chiefs the lead before the end of the second, and Jean Desrochers finished a two-on-none rush with Mark Tobin to double the Chiefs' lead. Shawn Collymore cut the lead to 4-3 at 18:50 with Reading using an extra attacker, but Randy Rowe made the Royals pay the second time they pulled Terry Denike with an empty-net goal with 2 seconds left in the game.

3/2 at Elmira: W 6-2

Like Reading, Elmira scored on their first two power play opportunities to take the early lead against Johnstown on Sunday. But, as was the case all week, the Chiefs were unfazed by the deficit. Jason Spence scored his fourth of the year in between two Benoit Doucet PP goals for Elmira in the first, but from the second period on it was all Johnstown. Alex Imbeault set up goals in the second period by Ryan Garlock (23rd) and Randy Rowe (20th) with Garlock's coming on the power play, the only PP goal for Johnstown in 12 chances. Garlock wasted no time in the third period to get his second two-goal game in as many nights. He scored from the low left wing just 18 seconds into the third to take all the wind out of Elmira's sails. For good measure, Tyler Hirsch picked up his 11th of the year at 3:06 of the third, and then Kenny Roche scored on a shorthanded breakaway with 13:43 left in regulation.

Rewriting the Record Books:

Ryan Nie set the record for goals against average in a season for the UHL with a 2.02 GAA in Kalamazoo. For an encore, he is trying to chase down Stan Reddick's (1991-92) and Frederic Deschenes' (2000-01) season record of 25 wins. By winning each of his four starts last week, Nie passed over Peter Aubry's 21 wins in 2002-03, and Deschenes' 21 in 2000-01. With 22 victories under his belt, and three games for Johnstown this weekend, Nie could tie the record if he picks up a win in each one. Nie, who has played 2180 minutes this season, is tied with Craig Kowalski of Gwinnett for second in the ECHL with 22 wins, trailing Jon Quick of Reading and Joel Martin of Elmira by one. Jean Desrochers is also on the rise through the Chiefs' all-time record books. With two assists this weekend, Desrochers has 101 as a Chief, trailing Martin Masa by 3 for 10th all time. Also, if Desrochers plays in each game for Johnstown this week, he will tie Ian Manzano at 257 for the sixth most games ever played for Johnstown. Also, with two more penalty minutes, Jason Spence will tie Brock Kelly at 680 for fourth place in Chiefs' history.

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