Weekly Arrowhead

January 5, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, Pa. - The Johnstown Chiefs put themselves behind the proverbial eight ball often last week by falling behind in every game, and only managing one win in four games. Now three points out of first place, Johnstown will look for strong play in Elmira this weekend to climb back to the top of the North.

Record: 21-11-2, 44 pts., 2nd place North Division

Leaders:

Goals - Jarrett Konkle (total): 17

Petr Pohl (team): 12

Assists - Petr Pohl/Randy Rowe/Ryan Del Monte: 18

Points - Petr Pohl: 30

+/- - Ryan Del Monte: +14

PIMs - Alex Penner: 94

PPG - Jarrett Konle (total): 8

Randy Rowe (team): 5

SHG - Jarrett Konkle (total): 2

Randy Rowe (team): 2

Wins - Kris Mayotte: 14

GAA - Kris Mayotte: 2.68

SVP - Kris Mayotte: .914

This Week:

1/9 & 1/10 at Elmira, 7:35 p.m. - Home (3-0-0), Away (0-1-0)

The Chiefs will look to return to their winning ways from 2007-08 at First Arena when they visit the Elmira Jackals for a pair of games this weekend. Johnstown was 3-1-0 in Elmira last season, but was handed a 2-0 defeat in its first trip there this season on 12/26. The Chiefs were held to 21 shots in the game, at the time a season low, and were unable to crack goalie David Shantz for the second time this season. Ian Keserich turned in a strong effort in net with 19 saves, but goals by Joe Grimaldi and Wes Cunningham paved the way for Elmira's only win against Johnstown this season. Ryan Del Monte leads the Chiefs against the Jackals this season with five points (3G, 2A) while ex-Jackals defensemen Trevor Hendrikx (1G, 2A) and Jon Landry (1G, 2A) have been providing a scoring punch from the blue line. Ian Keserich (1-1-0) and Kris Mayotte (2-0-0) have split the starts against Elmira.

Day by Day:

Mon. 1/5: Practice at the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the CCWM - 10:00 a.m.

Tues. 1/6: Practice at the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the CCWM - 10:00 a.m.

Wed. 1/7: Practice at the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the CCWM - 10:00 a.m.

Thurs. 1/8: Practice at the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the CCWM - 10:00 a.m.

Fri. 1/9: Chiefs at Elmira Jackals, 7:35 p.m.

Sat. 1/10: Chiefs at Elmira Jackals, 7:35 p.m.

Sun. 1/11: Off

Broadcast Schedule:

Fri. 1/9: Chiefs at Elmira Jackals, 7:35 p.m. - radio and internet

Sat. 1/10: Chiefs at Elmira Jackals, 7:35 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: (1-2-1)

12/30 at Reading: W 4-3

The Chiefs were able to extend their winning streak against Reading to 10 games thanks to strong efforts from Andy Contois and newcomer Jarrett Konkle. Konkle scored his league leading sixth game winning goal, first with the Chiefs, on the power play with 2:56 left in the game. He also assisted on both of Contois' goals to rack up three points, while Contois had his first two goal game for the Chiefs. Greg Gallagher added his second of the season on the power play as the Chiefs were able to overcome a two goal game by Reading's Mac Faulkner. Ian Keserich got the nod in net and won his sixth game of the season as he made 35 saves. Johnstown has not lost to Reading since February 1, 2008, a 4-3 loss at the Sovereign Center.

12/31 vs. Trenton: L 5-4 OT

The Chiefs won three straight against Trenton at the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the Cambria County War Memorial to start the season, but they put themselves in a bad position by falling behind 4-0. After a scoreless first period Brad Snetsinger, Jeff Prough (2), and Matt Cohen tallied for the visitors to the dismay of the crowd celebrating New Year's Eve with the Chiefs. Johnstown began the long comeback trail with some playmaking from rookie center Ryan Del Monte. He scored his sixth of the season on the power play to put the Chiefs on the board, and then set up Trevor Hendrikx for a shorthanded goal to get the Chiefs within two heading to the third. Jarrett Konkle continued to impress since coming to the team after the Fresno Falcons folded as he scored an unassisted shorthanded goal to cut the deficit to one. Del Monte struck for his second of the night with 1:58 remaining to force overtime, but David Leaderer's goal with 15 seconds left prevented the Chiefs from picking up the second point.

1/2 vs. Cincinnati: L 6-1

The 2009 calendar year did not get off to a good start for Johnstown as the visiting Cyclones handed them their worst loss of the season. Johnstown never led in the game as Paul Lynch and Barrett Ehgoetz scored in the first for a 2-0 Cincy lead. Wes Clark looked to have given the Chiefs some life when he drew, and scored on, a penalty shot to get the Chiefs back within one. Former Chief Michael Cohen quickly took that momentum away when he scored 1:20 after Clark's second goal of the season. The Chiefs were never able to mount a comeback effort in the third, and Cincinnati got insurance goals from Jimmy Kilpatrick and Cohen. Cohen's two third period markers gave the Cyclones their second hat trick of the season against the Chiefs in Johnstown. Thomas Beauregard had four goals in a 6-3 Cyclones win on 11/29.

1/3 vs. Cincinnati: L 4-2

Looking to rebound from the poor showing the previous night, Johnstown fell behind 2-0 for the third consecutive game. Michael Cohen in the first and Ian McKenzie on the power play in the second picked up the goals for Cincinnati. Sean Berkstresser's fourth of the season cut the deficit to a goal, but the déjà vu continued as Cohen re-upped Cincy's two goal lead 1:09 after Berkstresser scored. Cohen finished the weekend with five goals against his former team. As he did on New Year's Eve against Trenton, Ryan Del Monte tried to spark the Chiefs' offense with a goal at 14:47 of the third. Down by one in the final frame, the Chiefs pulled Kris Mayotte for the extra attacker with 24 seconds left, but Barrett Ehgoetz found the empty net with four seconds left to give the Cyclones the two goal victory.

CHIEFS CHOPS:

Scoring Streaks:

Goals:

- None

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)

- Wes Clark; 1/2-1/3: 2 gms (1G, 1A)

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

Give a Warm Welcome To...: Jarrett Konkle and Marty Mjelleli became the two newest skaters to join the Chiefs when they signed as free agents one week ago today. Konkle had been the leading scorer for the Fresno Falcons before the team folded on December 22. With top two scorers Petr Pohl and Randy Rowe skating in the AHL, Konkle became the de-facto leading scorer for the Chiefs. He came to Johnstown with 23 points (15G, 8A) in 30 games, and was among the league leaders in power play goals (7) and game winning goals (5). The winger from Toronto has scored a PPG (also a game winner) and a shorthanded goal since joining the Chiefs and with two assists is averaging a point per game. Mjelleli, a rookie from Faribault, Minnesota, began the season with the Gwinnett Gladiators where he earned an assist in his pro debut. After two games he was waived and eventually signed by the Augusta Lynx. The 6'2 winger spent two games there before being waived again prior to the team folding on 12/2, and eventually found his way to Johnstown. Since arriving here, Mjelleli has two assists in four games.

Farewell to a Banner Year: The 2008 calendar year might not have been kind to the economy, but it treated the Johnstown Chiefs very well in terms of wins and losses. To close out the 2007-08 season Johnstown went 25-12-5 to climb from last to fourth in the North Division, and secure a spot in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. The late season momentum wore off in the North Division Semifinals, but the stage was set for a thrilling start to the 2008-09 campaign. The Chiefs went 21-9-2 through the unofficial first half of this season, and became the first team in Chiefs history to reach 20 wins before the turn of the calendar year. Between this season and last, Johnstown went 46-21-7 during the regular season in 2008.

Hey Now All Stars: It was announced by the ECHL last week that two Chiefs will be in the starting lineup for the American Conference at the 2009 All-Star Game in Reading. Goalie Kris Mayotte will be in net and defenseman Jon Landry will patrol the blue line. Mayotte ranks second in the league, first in the conference, with 14 wins and is only five victories away from setting a new career high. He is also tied for the league lead with three shootout wins. Landry sits seventh among ECHL defensemen with 20 points (7G, 13A), and is second in scoring among rookie defensemen. While the rosters are set for the American and National Conferences, some positions have yet to be determined for this year's All-Star Game. The coaches for each conference will be announced this Tuesday with the equipment managers and trainers to follow on Wednesday and the referees and linesmen on Thursday. All announcements will be made at 3 p.m. ET.



ECHL Stories from January 5, 2009


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