Sports stats

Weekly Arrowhead

March 17, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, PA -The shorthanded Johnstown Chiefs clawed their way to a .500 week last week to remain in fourth place in the North Division with only 10 games left to go in the regular season. This week, the Chiefs will get three opportunities to knock off the first-place Cincinnati Cyclones before taking on the Wheeling Nailers on Easter Sunday.

Leaders:

Goals - Ryan Garlock: 26

Assists - Ryan Garlock/Randy Rowe: 34

Points - Ryan Garlock: 60

+/- - Randy Rowe: +13

PIMs - Mike Sgroi: 210

PPG - Jean Desrochers: 12

Wins - Ryan Nie: 24

GAA - Ryan Nie: 2.95

SVP - Ryan Nie: .892

This Week:

3/17 at Cincinnati, 7:30 PM, 3/19 at Cincinnati, 10:00 AM, and 3/21 vs. Cincinnati, 7:05 PM (0-6-0)

The Chiefs wrap up their slate of games at U.S. Bank Arena with a pair of weekday contests, before hosting the Cyclones at home on Friday. The Chiefs have had their hands full with Cincinnati this year, struggling to an 0-6-0 record. Johnstown has been slightly better against the Cyclones at home, getting outscored 10-4 at the War Memorial, while Cincinnati holds a 19-6 goals advantage at U.S. Bank Arena. Wednesday's game features a special 10:00 AM start time for the Cyclones' annual field trip game. The Chiefs are 1-0 this year in games that start before noon after beating South Carolina 4-3 in overtime on October 24. For Friday's game in Johnstown, the Chiefs will be wearing special Johnstown Red Wings throwback jerseys. Following the game there will be a live jersey auction.

3/23 vs. Wheeling, 5:05 PM (7-3-0)

The Chiefs will be playing the fifth of six home games against the Nailers on Easter Sunday. After a 4-2 opening night loss, the Chiefs have run off three straight wins at home over Wheeling, outscoring them 16-2. Johnstown's 7-1 win over Wheeling on March 7 ensured the Chiefs a winning record against the Nailers for the second straight year. They can not finish any worse than 7-6-0 in the season series against Wheeling. The Chiefs will be hosting an Easter Egg Hunt at the game, and other Easter Festivities.

"Pow-Wow" Planner:

The brand-new Johnstown Chiefs talk-show, "The Pow-Wow", continues on March 20, 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 forward Kenny Roche and defenseman Greg Gallaghers. Also, be sure to listen to the last episode with Andrew Penner and Justin Coutu by clicking on the audio link under the "Fan Zone" section at the Chiefs' home page.

Holiday Warriors:

Coming into this week the Johnstown Chiefs have played five games in 2007-08 on holidays, with two more (St. Patrick's Day and Easter Sunday) to follow this week. The Chiefs have played on Halloween, Groundhog's Day, President's Day, New Year's Eve, and Super Bowl Sunday. There have been plenty of reasons to celebrate on those holidays too; the Chiefs have a record of 3-1-0-1 when playing on a holiday.

Day-by-Day:

Mon. 3/17: Chiefs at Cincinnati Cyclones, 7:30 PM

Tues. 3/18: Practice at U.S. Bank Arena, 12:00 PM

Wed. 3/19: Chiefs at Cincinnati Cyclones, 10:00 AM

Thurs. 3/20: TBD

Fri. 3/21: Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Cyclones, 7:05 PM

Sat. 3/22: TBD

Sun. 3/23: Chiefs vs. Wheeling Nailers, 5:05 PM

Last Week:

3/15 vs. Elmira Jackals: L 3-0

The Chiefs wrapped up their inaugural season series against the Elmira Jackals with a 3-0 loss last Saturday. The Jackals got goals by Bruce Watson, Chris Busby, and Luke Fritshaw in the first two periods. Andrew Penner got the start in net, looking for back-to-back wins for the first time since late November, but Penner was chased from the net after allowing two goals on 10 shots. Ryan Nie came on in relief after Busby scored at 3:03 of the second, and allowed Fritshaw's first goal of the season with nine seconds left in the second period. The shutout loss snapped Randy Rowe's 13-game point streak.

3/16 vs. Reading Royals: W 4-3

Johnstown kept a season-long trend alive by coming back to win the game after getting shut out with a 4-3 win over the Reading Royals last Sunday. With Johnstown only able to dress 14 skaters, some players were forced into unfamiliar roles, and many of them stepped up in a big way. Greg Gallagher scored his first ECHL goal to tie it at one after Reading's Patrick Jarret had given the visitors the lead 12:17 into the first. Scott Parse and Mike Salekin scored power play goals in the second period to stretch the Royals' lead to 3-1 before Andrew Martens potted his sixth of the year on a 5-on-3 power play goal. Martens scored the game-tying goal on a partial breakaway at 6:10 of the third, and Mike Knight had the game-winner 3:28 later on the power play. For Martens, it was his first two-goal game of his career.

The Big 3-0:

Johnstown's 4-3 win over Reading on Sunday marked their 30th win of the season. Finishing with 33 wins last year, the Chiefs didn't hit the 30-win mark until a 6-1 win over Toledo on March 30. With 10 games remaining, the best-case scenario would see the Chiefs finish with 40 wins which would be the most since their record setting 45-win season in 2003-04. The win on Sunday dropped the Chiefs' magic number to clinch a Kelly Cup Playoff berth to 8.

Chasing History:

In picking up his 24th win of the season against Reading on Sunday, Ryan Nie closed within one victory of tying Freddy Deschenes' and Stan Reddick's team-record 25 wins for a goaltender in a season. A rookie in the UHL last season, Nie set that league's record for goals against average in a season with a 2.02 mark. Nie's 24 wins are currently second in the ECHL, tied with Elmira's Joel Martin and two behind Gwinnett's Craig Kowalski.



ECHL Stories from March 17, 2008


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.

Other Recent Johnstown Chiefs Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central