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December 8, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, Pa. - The Johnstown Chiefs began December with three straight victories last week, including two in a building they hadn't won in since 2007. This week, Johnstown will try to keep to its winning ways with a pair of road games wrapped around a mid-week home game.

Record: 17-5-1, 35 pts., 1st place North Division

Leaders:

Goals - Andrew Sarauer: 10

Assists - Randy Rowe: 14

Points - Randy Rowe: 23

+/- - Andrew Sarauer/Ryan Del Monte: +11

PIMs - Alex Penner: 87

PPG -Randy Rowe: 5

Wins - Kris Mayotte: 11

GAA - Kris Mayotte: 2.28

SVP - Kris Mayotte: .922

This Week:

12/8 at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. - Home (1-1-0), Away (2-0-0)

Monday's game marks the end of the Chiefs' second of three four-game road trips this season. Three of the four games, including Monday's tilt, were played at U.S. Bank Arena against the Cincinnati Cyclones. The Chiefs won each of the first two games, 3-1 on Friday and 3-2 in overtime on Saturday to improve to 3-1-0 against Cincinnati this season. Going back to the 2007-08 regular season, the Chiefs have won five of their last six games against Cincinnati after losing eight in a row to the Cyclones during the 07-08 campaign.

12/10 vs. Elmira, 7:05 p.m. - Home (1-0-0), Away (0-0-0)

The Chiefs will welcome Elmira to the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the Cambria County War Memorial for the second time this season this Wednesday. It will be the first of four home games for the Chiefs this month. Johnstown won the first time the teams met this season, taking a 5-3 victory on 10/22. Rookie Chris Mueller made his Chiefs debut in that game recording two goals and an assist, while defenseman Jon Landry scored his first game-winning goal of the year. The Chiefs will also be hosting their annual Ladies' Night at the game with special booths and tables set up throughout the arena for the ladies in attendance.

12/12 at Trenton, 7:30 p.m. - Home (3-0-0), Away (1-1-0)

This Friday will be Johnstown's first visit to Trenton since the Devils knocked off the Chiefs 5-2 on 10/30. The Devils, along with Reading, have been the Chiefs' most common opponent so far this season as they have met five times. The last game on 11/28 was one of the most dramatic of the season. Trailing 2-1 late in the third period Ryan Del Monte tied the game with 30 seconds left in regulation. Neither team could score on two shots in overtime, and the ensuing shootout took 11 rounds to complete with Petr Pohl scoring the winning goal on his second attempt of the shootout.

Day by Day:

Mon. 12/8: Chiefs at Cincinnati Cyclones, 7:30 p.m.

Tues. 12/9: Off

Wed. 12/10: Chiefs vs. Elmira Jackals, 7:05 p.m. - Ladies' Night

Thurs. 12/11: Practice at UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at CCWM, 11:00 a.m.

Fri. 12/12: Chiefs at Trenton Devils, 7:30 p.m.

Sat. 12/13: Off

Sun. 12/14: Off

Broadcast Schedule:

Mon. 12/8: Chiefs at Cincinnati Cyclones, 7:30 p.m. - radio and internet

Wed. 12/10: Chiefs vs. Elmira Jackals, 7:05 p.m. - radio and internet

Fri. 12/12: Chiefs at Trenton Devils, 7:30 p.m. - radio and internet

All Chiefs radio broadcasts can be heard on 1490 AM WNTJ and AM 990 WNTW, and live streaming audio of every Chiefs game is available courtesy of B2 Networks at www.johnstownchiefs.com or www.echl.com. The Chiefs radio network is presented by Dodge.

Last Week: (3-0-0)

12/3 at Reading: W 2-1

Trying to shake off the sting of losing back-to-back games for the first time this season, the Chiefs traveled to Reading to take on a team they had beaten eight times in a row. Looking to break that streak, Reading took a 1-0 lead on a Mac Faulkner 5-on-3 power play goal at 15:47 of the first period. After being outshot 14-5 in the first, Johnstown regrouped at intermission and came out strong in the second. Randy Rowe scored his team-leading fifth power play goal with a slap shot at 3:36, and Mike Knight added his first of the season, also on the power play, at 6:51. Knight's goal stood up as the game winner thanks in no small part to Ian Keserich who was making his first start since November 8. Keserich turned aside 34 shots in earning his fourth win of the season.

12/5 at Cincinnati: W 3-1

Friday's win in Cincinnati was the Chiefs' first at U.S. Bank Arena since March 27, 2007, and it was anything but a conventional victory. Jon Landry's seventh goal of the season gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead 39 seconds in, but Barret Ehgoetz tied the game with a first-period power play goal. Things got very interesting at 13:24 of the second period when a cross check on Petr Pohl by T.J. McElroy set off a line brawl and a goalie fight. As a result, Trevor Hendrikx and Kris Mayotte for Johnstown, and Jimmy Kilpatrick and Martin Houle were given game misconducts, while McElroy and Alex Penner each served five for fighting. When the dust finally settled, Johnstown regained the lead on Ryan Del Monte's fourth goal of the season with 13 seconds left in the second. Kyle Bushee added an insurance goal at 17:32 of the third and the Chiefs defense held Cincinnati to just five shots as they stymied any comeback attempt. Ian Keserich, in relief of Mayotte, won his second straight decision by stopping all 11 shots he faced.

12/6 at Cincinnati: W 3-2 OT

What Saturday's game lacked in the fisticuffs department, it more than made up for it with dramatics. T.J. McElroy, the previous night's villain, scored an even-strength goal at 6:55 of the first to open the scoring. Trailing 1-0 in the second, and killing a penalty, Andy Contois raced away with a loose puck and wristed a shot past Martin Houle to put the Chiefs on the board. It was Contois' second goal with Johnstown, and his first shorthanded. Making his Chiefs debut, Mike Sgroi scored Johnstown's first power play goal in its last 11 chances against Cincinnati at 8:58 of the third to give Johnstown the 2-1 lead. Trying to protect the lead in the waning moments, Johnstown took a penalty, and the Cyclones pulled Houle for the extra attacker. McElroy came through again, tying the game with just 27 seconds left in regulation. Johnstown didn't falter in overtime, though, and Randy Rowe converted on a turnover with 1:16 left in the extra frame. It was Rowe's second game winner of the season and gave Kris Mayotte, who made 17 saves, his eleventh win of the season.

CHIEFS CHOPS:

Scoring Streaks:

Goals:

Assists:

Jon Landry; 12/5-12/6: 2 gms (2A)

Ray Macias; 10/30-11/2: 3 gms (4A)

Points:

Randy Rowe; 11/30-12/6: 4 gms (2G, 3A)

Jon Landry; 12/5-12/6: 2 gms (1G, 2A)

Ray Macias; 10/25-11/2: 4 gms (1G, 4A)

And the Nominees Are: One Johnstown Chiefs player is in the running for an ECHL weekly award. Ian Keserich has a chance to join Kris Mayotte as a winner of the Goalie of the Week Award for his play last week. Keserich made his first start since 11/8 against Reading last Wednesday and stopped 34 of the 35 shots he saw and helped Johnstown to a 2-1 win. Then on Friday Keserich was pressed into duty for the final 26:36 after Kris Mayotte picked up a game misconduct for fighting Martin Houle. The Parma, Ohio native rose to the challenge and stopped all 11 shots sent his way and earned the win in Johnstown's 3-1 victory. For the week, Keserich was 2-0-0 with a goals against average of 0.69 and a save percentage of .978. Keserich has an overall record of 5-3-0, a 2.58 GAA, and a .905 save percentage.

Top of the Heap: With the 3-2 win Saturday night, the Johnstown Chiefs helped goalie Kris Mayotte tie for the league lead with 11 wins. Mayotte is tied with Alaska's J.P. Lamoureux for the lead, one ahead of Florida's Anton Khudobin. The Pittsburgh native has lost only three times this season, once in overtime, and has a win percentage of .733. That number is second in the league for goalies with at least 10 appearances behind only Khudobin at .769 (10 of 13). In November, Mayotte led the ECHL with 10 victories and finished as the runner up for Goalie of the Month honors to Khudobin. Mayotte's career-best for wins in a season was 18 last year with Fresno when he went 18-9-4. Last season, Ryan Nie tied Craig Kowalski for the most wins with 29, and set a new team record for wins in a season. It was the first time since the 1992-93 season when Scott King led the league with 26 wins that the league leader didn't end with at least 30 wins.

Long December: Johnstown fans got a good, long look at their team with nine home games in the month of November. December is quite a different story, though, with the Chiefs playing eight of their 12 games away from the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the Cambria County War Memorial. They started strong with three wins, two against Cincinnati and one against Reading, to begin the month. Johnstown has been a strong road team this season as evidenced by nine road wins in 11 tries. They are tied with Florida for the most road wins in the ECHL, and are tied with South Carolina for the fewest goals allowed on the road with 23. Only Trenton (5-2 on 11/30) and Dayton (3-1 on 11/16) have beaten the Chiefs away from the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the Cambria County War Memorial.

Getting Comfy in the Sin Bin: Saturday night, the Chiefs (85) and Cyclones (54) combined for 139 penalty minutes, got into four fights, and earned six game misconducts. The combined penalty minutes, and total minutes for the Chiefs, were the most since Johnstown picked up 59 minutes of penalty time and combined with Dayton for 104 PIMs on 11/16/07. For the season, the Chiefs have 515 penalty minutes, the fourth most in the league behind Fresno (592), Reading (563), and Phoenix (513). Reading is the only team in the league with more than 500 PIMs and a losing record, while Fresno and Johnstown are first in their divisions. The Chiefs are also 7-2-1 when earning more PIMs than their opponents.



ECHL Stories from December 8, 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.

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