Weekly Arrowhead

December 29, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, Pa. - The Johnstown Chiefs split a weekend home-and-home series with the Elmira Jackals last weekend and now sit two points behind the Wheeling Nailers for first place in the North Division. Johnstown will face a busy schedule this week with four games in five days, but three of the four will be played on home ice.

Record: 20-9-1, 41 pts., 2nd place North Division

Leaders:

Goals - Petr Pohl: 12

Assists - Petr Pohl: 18

Points - Petr Pohl: 30

+/- - Ryan Del Monte: +14

PIMs - Alex Penner: 94

PPG -Randy Rowe: 5

SHG - Randy Rowe: 2

Wins - Kris Mayotte: 14

GAA - Kris Mayotte: 2.56

SVP - Kris Mayotte: .914

This Week:

12/30 at Reading, 7:05 p.m. - Home (3-0-0), Away (2-0-0)

Johnstown will be visiting Reading for its only scheduled Tuesday game of 2008-09 this week. While the Chiefs are 2-0-0 at the Sovereign Center this season, both games have been closely contested. The first was a 6-4 triumph where the Chiefs built the early lead and staved off a Reading comeback, and the second was a come-from-behind 2-1 win with Randy Rowe and Mike Knight scoring on the power play. The Chiefs have not lost a game against Reading since February 1, 2008, a streak of nine games. Over that span Johnstown is 4-0-0 at the Sovereign Center and 5-0-0 at the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the Cambria County War Memorial. The Chiefs won't be going back to the Sovereign Center until March 27, 2009 after Tuesday's game.

12/31 vs. Trenton, 6:00 p.m. - Home (3-0-0), Away (1-2-0)

Trenton will visit the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the Cambria County War Memorial for the 20th New Year's Eve game in the Chiefs' 21-year ECHL history. Trenton, then the Titans, won its only other New Year's game in Johnstown 1-0 in 2000. Johnstown has been solid against Trenton at home this season with three victories, as opposed to on the road where they are 1-2-0. The Chiefs are 7-1-0 against Trenton at home under Ian Herbers, and have won four straight. The Chiefs' most dramatic win of the season came against Trenton on November 28. Trailing by one with less than a minute left, Ryan Del Monte tied the game with 30 seconds remaining to force overtime, and eventually a shootout. Trailing 2-1 in the shootout, Johnstown's fifth shooter, Randy Rowe tied it at two before Petr Pohl ended the shootout in the 11th round.

1/2 & 1/3 vs. Cincinnati, 7:05 p.m. Home (1-1-0), Away (2-1-0)

If Friday's and Saturday's games are anything like the ones played the last few times the Chiefs and Cyclones met they will be highly entertaining. Johnstown took two of three from Cincinnati when they visited U.S. Bank Arena in a series on December 5-8 that featured a goalie fight in the first game, and an incredible comeback effort by Johnstown in the third. The teams split the two games at the War Memorial with the Chiefs' Andrew Sarauer's six points (2G, 4A) leading to a 7-4 win on November 12, while Thomas Beauregard led Cincy to a 6-3 win on November 29 with five points (4G, 1A). Johnstown's fortunes against Cincinnati have improved greatly from last season when they went 2-8-0 against the eventual Kelly Cup Champions.

Day by Day:

Mon. 12/29: Practice at the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the CCWM - 11:00 a.m.

Tues. 12/30: Chiefs at Reading Royals, 7:05 p.m.

Wed. 12/31: Chiefs vs. Trenton Devils, 6:00 p.m.

Thurs. 1/1: Off

Fri. 1/2: Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Cyclones, 7:05 p.m. - BIC Giveaway

Sat. 1/3: Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Cyclones, 7:05 p.m. - Going Green Night #1

Sun. 12/28: TBD

Broadcast Schedule:

Tues. 12/30: Chiefs at Reading Royals, 7:05 p.m. - radio and internet

Wed. 12/31: Chiefs vs. Trenton Devils, 6:00 p.m. - radio and internet

Fri. 1/2: Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Cyclones, 7:05 p.m. - radio and internet

Sat. 1/3: Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Cyclones, 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)

12/26 at Elmira: L 2-0

With Ryan Garlock, Blair Yaworski, and leading scorer Petr Pohl called up to Syracuse earlier in the day, the Johnstown offense rolled into Elmira a bit shorthanded. Defensemen Kyle Wharton and Kyle Bushee stepped into roles as centers on the second and third line respectively, and played well in their new roles. However, the offense couldn't get on track and David Shantz shut the Chiefs out for the second time this season. Joe Grimaldi scored the eventual game winner at 17:28 of the first, and Wes Cunningham extended the lead at 19:22 of the second. The first shutout for Shantz came on October 24 when he was with the Dayton Bombers. It was only the second time since the Jackals joined the ECHL that the Chiefs lost at First Arena. Johnstown was 3-1-0 at the Jackals' rink last season.

12/28 vs. Elmira: W 6-5 OT

In a game that was scheduled for Saturday, December 27, but postponed due to unsafe ice conditions no one was sure what to expect on Sunday afternoon. The Chiefs offense got on track with Trevor Hendrikx's second goal of the year with 8:28 gone by in the first. Wes Cunningham tallied his second of the weekend to tie it inside of 5 minutes remaining in the first. Brian Ihnacak's fourth of the season made it 2-1 Elmira early in the second, but a furious rally by Johnstown led to a 5-2 lead. Mike Bartlett started the rally at 4:56 with his fifth of the season, and Randy Rowe capped it with a shorthanded breakaway goal at 14:49. In between those, Kyle Wharton and Andy Contois put up markers, their second and fourth of the season respectively. Three more goals by Elmira, though, highlighted by a pair 24 seconds apart in the third, forced overtime. Bartlett came through in the clutch with his second of the game 2:04 into extra time and ended the Chiefs' two-game losing streak.

CHIEFS CHOPS:

Scoring Streaks:

Goals:

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

Assists:

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

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

Points:

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

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

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

The New Year's Eve Tradition: Since the Chiefs joined the ECHL in the 1988-89 season, December 31 has meant hockey in Johnstown. The only year in which the Chiefs did not play on New Year's Eve was in 1995, so this year will mark the 20th anniversary of the New Year's Eve Game. Johnstown is 13-4-2 all time in New Year's Eve games and up until last year's 5-2 loss to Elmira had won five in a row. This year's opponent, the Trenton Devils, have skated in one New Year's Eve game in Johnstown in 2000 when they were the Titans. Trenton captured a 1-0 victory that night, marking the only time the Chiefs were shutout on NYE. Johnstown picked up its only shutout victory on NYE two years prior with a 3-0 win over Chesapeake. Erie, when it was still a member of the ECHL, was the Chiefs' most common NYE opponent with six straight games played from 1989 to 1994. The Chiefs went 4-0-2 in those games.

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 his 18th of the season last game against Elmira, Rowe has 100 assists as a Chief. He is four away from tying Martin Masa for 10th all-time. Mike Sgroi, who rejoined the team on 12/6, 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 two goals away from his 50th ECHL tally. Petr Pohl skated in his 100th ECHL last Saturday (12/20), 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.

A Record Record: With the 6-5 overtime win against Elmira on Sunday, the 2008-09 Chiefs became the fastest club in team history to 20 wins. Over the 21-year history of the team, the previous 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 before this season had ever won 20 games before the new year. 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. In all, the win on Sunday 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. Strangely, each of the last three seasons, the Chiefs won their 20th game on February 10.



ECHL Stories from December 29, 2008


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