Weekly Arrowhead

December 22, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, Pa. - The Johnstown Chiefs split a weekend home-and-home series with the Wheeling Nailers last weekend and now share the North Division lead with the Nailers. After the Christmas Holiday, the Chiefs will face another home-and-home weekend, this time against the Elmira Jackals.

Record: 19-8-1, 39 pts., Tied 1st place North Division

Leaders:

Goals - Petr Pohl: 12

Assists - Petr Pohl: 18

Points - Petr Pohl: 30

+/- - Ryan Del Monte: +12

PIMs - Alex Penner: 94

PPG -Randy Rowe: 5

Wins - Kris Mayotte: 13

GAA - Kris Mayotte: 2.43

SVP - Kris Mayotte: .918

This Week:

12/26 at Elmira, 7:35 p.m. & 12/27 vs. Elmira 7:05 p.m. - Home (2-0-0), Away (0-0-0)

This will be the second straight weekend for the Chiefs playing a home-and-home series against one of their North Division rivals after last weekend's against Wheeling. This Friday, Johnstown will travel north to make its first visit of the season to First Arena, home of the Elmira Jackals. That will be followed by a Saturday evening contest in Johnstown between the Chiefs and Jackals. Johnstown has beaten Elmira in each of the Jackals' first two visits to the War Memorial, 5-3 on 10/22, and 4-2 on 12/10. Last season, the road teams dominated the Chiefs-Jackals series with Johnstown going 3-1-0 (one shootout win) at First Arena while Elmira was 4-1-0 (one shootout & one OT win) at the War Memorial. The Chiefs have used a very balanced offensive attack against the Jackals this season with seven different players accounting for the nine goals scored. Chris Mueller (2 on 10/22) and Ryan Del Monte (1 on 10/22 and 12/10) are the only Johnstown skaters with more than one goal against Elmira. Kris Mayotte and Ian Keserich have each won a game against the Jackals. Saturday night's game in Johnstown will feature a Bad Gift Return promotion where Chiefs fans will be able to bring any unwanted Christmas gifts to the game, and have them donated to a local charity.

Day by Day:

Mon. 12/22: Off

Tues. 12/23: Off

Wed. 12/24: Off

Thurs. 12/25: Off

Fri. 12/26: Chiefs at Elmira Jackals, 7:35 p.m.

Sat. 12/27: Chiefs vs. Elmira Jackals, 7:05 p.m. - Bad Gift Return Night

Sun. 12/28: TBD

Broadcast Schedule:

Fri. 12/26: Chiefs at Elmira Jackals, 7:35 p.m. - radio and internet

Sat. 12/27: Chiefs vs. Elmira Jackals, 7:05 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: (1-1-0)

12/19 at Wheeling: W 7-3

Johnstown got the early leg up, both in the game and the weekend series, with first place up for grabs at WesBanco Arena on Friday night. Ryan Garlock scored twice at even strength before the first period was 10 minutes old putting the Chiefs well on their way to their third straight win at Wheeling this season. Rookie center Blair Yaworski matched Garlock's pair in the second, one at even strength and one on the power play, to give the visitors a 4-0 lead, and two skaters looking for a hat trick. Bryan Ewing put the hosts on the board with a power play tally before the second wrapped up, but Yaworski erased any momentum that goal created by finishing the hat trick 59 seconds into the third. Wes Clark scored his first pro goal 50 seconds later followed by Yaworski's fourth of the night at 4:09. Wheeling closed out the scoring with two power play goals from Mitch Ganzak and Reid Cashman to set the final score. Kris Mayotte earned his league-leading 13th win with 33 saves.

12/20 vs. Wheeling: L 5-4

By this time of the year, amusement parks across North America are closed for the season, but the fans at the War Memorial last Saturday went for one wild rollercoaster ride. Wheeling took a 3-0 lead after the first with the goals coming in a span of 3:57 from Rob Sirianni, Jordan Morrison, and Matt Grennier. Johnstown took time to regroup at intermission and came out with amazing fire in the second. Petr Pohl (43 seconds) and Blair Yaworski (55 seconds) scored 12 seconds apart to start the frame and put Johnstown right back in the hunt. Randy Rowe tied it at 9:53, and Sean Berkstresser's third goal of the year gave the Chiefs the lead going into the third. Johnstown came into the game 13-0-0 when leading after two periods, but Wheeling dented that perfect record with goals by Sirianni and Morrison to earn a split of the home-and-home. Kris Mayotte got the start again, but was denied his 14th win.

CHIEFS CHOPS:

Scoring Streaks:

Goals:

- Blair Yaworski; 12/19-12/20: 2 gms (5G)

Assists:

- Petr Pohl; 12/19-12/20: 2 gms (2A)

- Andy Contois; 12/19-12/20: 2 gms (2A)

- Wes Clark; 12/12-12/20: 3 gms (4A)

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

Points:

- Petr Pohl; 12/19-12/20: 2 gms (1G, 2A)

- Andy Contois; 12/19-12/20: 2 gms (2A)

- Randy Rowe; 12/19-12/20: 2 gms (1G, 2A)

- Wes Clark; 12/12-12/20: 3 gms (1G, 3A)

- Blair Yaworski; 12/19-12/20: 2 gms (5G, 1A)

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

Points of Emphasis: There are a few Chiefs players who are closing in on or have recently reached milestone numbers in their career. Randy Rowe, in his fourth year with the team, came into the season with 82 assists for Johnstown. With 17 this season, Rowe is one away from 100 assists as a Chief. Mike Sgroi, who rejoined the team three games ago, after a hand injury delayed his season, has scored two goals already and needs one more to reach 50 in his ECHL career. He also needs only five more points to get to 100. Veteran Jason Spence currently ranks fourth all-time among penalty minutes with 749, and needs 51 to pass Perry Florio (799) for third. Recently acquired Andy Contois skated in his 150th ECHL game with Johnstown on December 8th in Cincinnati, and is three goals away from his 50th ECHL tally. Petr Pohl skated in his 100th ECHL last Saturday, and with two more helpers Trevor Hendrikx will have 50 in the ECHL. Defenseman Greg Gallagher skated in his 100th ECHL game 12/3 at Reading, while his regular partner Mike Knight recorded his 50th ECHL assist on Saturday against Wheeling.

Rise of the Rookies: Last Friday night was a banner night for a trio of Chiefs first-year skaters. Blair Yaworski led the charge with a career night. His four goals are the most this season for Johnstown, and tied the team record for goals in a game. The last Chief to notch four goals in a contest was Chris Brassard on November 18, 2000 at Richmond. Yaworski, who also had an assist in the game, was a point shy of Andrew Sarauer's six point (2G, 4A) game against Cincinnati on November 12 for the season high. Yaworski picked up a nomination for player of the week honors with six points (5G, 1A) in two games. Not to be overlooked were Wes Clark (1G, 2A) and Kyle Bushee (2A) who picked up their first multi-point games as professionals. Clark, who was the leading scorer for Maine University last season, scored his first pro goal on Friday night, and with an assist on Saturday is on a three-game point streak (1G, 4A). Bushee has been having a solid month of December with five points (1G, 4A) in eight games to bring his point total to eight (2G, 6A). He also ranks tops among Chiefs defensemen with a plus-11 rating.

A Record Record: After beating Wheeling 7-3 on Friday night for win number 19, the Chiefs are on the doorstep of a historic win. Over the 21-year history of the team, the fastest version of the Chiefs to reach 20 wins was in 1991-92 which got there after 33 games (20-11-2). Going strictly by the calendar, the 1993-94 team got to 20 wins first with # 20 coming on January 2, 1994. No Chiefs team has ever won 20 games before the new year, and this year's team will get four more tries to accomplish the feat. In the history of Johnstown hockey, the fastest team to 20 wins, both by date and by number of games, was the 1961-62 EHL champion Johnstown Jets team. That squad was 20-7-1 after 28 games on December 12, 1961. Had the Chiefs won Saturday night it would have marked: the first time the Chiefs have won 20 games before New Year's Eve, the first time since 1975 that any Johnstown hockey team has won 20 before New Year's Eve, and would tie for the best start ever by a Johnstown hockey team. Strangely, for the last three seasons, the Chiefs have won their 20th game on February 10.

Happy Holidays: The Johnstown Chiefs team and staff would like to wish everyone Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. We hope that you enjoy the time spent with your loved ones, and celebrate safely this holiday season. We'll also look forward to seeing everyone again after the break when the Chiefs take on the Elmira Jackals this Saturday, and don't forget to bring your bad gifts to "Bad Gift Return Night!"



ECHL Stories from December 22, 2008


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