Weekly Arrowhead

January 19, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, Pa. - The Johnstown Chiefs retained sole possession of second place in the North Division thanks to a big win last Saturday against the Dayton Bombers. This week for the Chiefs the focus shifts to battling Wheeling for a share of first place and ending a losing streak in Trenton.

Record: 23-14-2, 48 pts., 2nd place North Division

Leaders:

Goals - Jarrett Konkle (total): 21

Petr Pohl (team): 12

Assists - Petr Pohl/Ryan Del Monte: 19

Points - Jarrett Konkle/Petr Pohl: 31

+/- - Ryan Del Monte: +16

PIMs - Alex Penner: 94

PPG - Jarrett Konkle (total): 8

Randy Rowe (team): 5

SHG - Jarrett Konkle: 3

Wins - Kris Mayotte: 15

GAA - Kris Mayotte: 2.76

SVP - Kris Mayotte: .910

This Week:

1/23 vs. Wheeling, 7:05 p.m. - Home (0-2-0), Away (3-0-0)

It's become a common theme this season but, once again, a share of first place in the North Division will be up for grabs when the Chiefs and Nailers return to action following the All-Star break. Johnstown has yet to beat Wheeling on its home ice while giving up 4.5 goals per game to the Nailers in those two games. The Nailers lead the Chiefs by two points in the standings, 50-to-48, although Johnstown has won 23 games to Wheeling's 22. The Chiefs might have a slight edge in momentum as they picked up a big 2-1 win over Dayton last Saturday to snap a three-game losing streak while Wheeling is on a six-game winless streak (0-5-1). Friday night's featured promotion is the annual AmeriServ customer appreciation night. A very limited number of tickets remain for Friday's game so act fast to get your seats for the big game!

1/24 at Trenton, 7:00 p.m. - Home (3-0-1), Away (1-3-0)

Johnstown returns to Sovereign Bank Arena 10 days after being handed its worst road defeat of the season, a 6-1 setback. After going 4-1-0 against the Devils in Trenton last season, the Chiefs have struggled in New Jersey's capital this time around. They haven't won at S.B.A. since a 2-1 victory in the season opener on October 17. Since then the Chiefs have dropped their next three by scores of 5-2, 2-1, and 6-1. Trenton has made things difficult for all of its opponents recently, not just the Chiefs. Rick Kowalski's club is 8-2-0 in its last 10 games, and has been, arguably, the hottest team in the ECHL since December. After beating Reading 1-0 on November 26, Trenton was 4-11-1, but since it has gone 15-5-2 to climb within four points of a playoff spot.

Day by Day:

Mon. 1/19: Off - All-Star break

Tues. 1/20: Off - All-Star break

Wed. 1/21: All-Star Game, American Conf. vs. National Conf. in Reading, PA: 7:00 p.m.

Thurs. 1/22: Practice at the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the CCWM - 11:00 a.m.

Fri. 1/23: Chiefs vs. Wheeling Nailers, 7:05 p.m. - AmeriServ Customer Appreciation Night

Sat. 1/24: Chiefs at Trenton Devils, 7:00 p.m.

Sun. 1/25: TBD

Broadcast Schedule:

Fri. 1/23: Chiefs vs. Wheeling Nailers, 7:05 p.m. - internet only

Sat. 1/24: Chiefs at Trenton Devils, 7:00 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: (1-2-0)

1/14 at Trenton: L 6-1

Johnstown had its losing streak at Sovereign Bank Arena extended to three games as the Devils handed them their worst road loss of the season. The Chiefs fell behind 4-0 in the first period as Trenton's special teams took control of the game. Brad Snetsinger had two power play goals, Michael Cohen had one, and Jeff Prough tallied shorthanded. Prough added his second of the game 30 seconds into the second period to stretch the lead to five, and take away much hope for a Chiefs comeback. Sean Berkstresser got the Chiefs on the board with his six goal of the season 2:28 after Prough's goal. Jeremy Akeson closed out the scoring for Trenton at 7:23 of the third.

1/16 vs. Elmira: L 3-2

Special teams play would doom the Chiefs again in their third straight loss. Elmira went 3-for-9 with the man advantage and opened the scoring when Josh Aspenlind beat Kris Mayotte 8:46 into the first. Johnstown, which controlled the play at even strength, came roaring back with two goals from Jarrett Konkle (14:31 1st, :33 2nd) to take the lead. Konkle's new line mates Andy Contois and Todd Griffith assisted on each of the goals. In the third period, however, Elmira was awarded a five-minute power play when Griffith tried to fight Wes Cunningham. The Jackals converted once during the five minutes, and shortly after that penalty expired Wes Clark was whistled for tripping. Elmira tallied its third PPG of the game, and Johnstown wasn't able to rebound. It was only the second time this season that the Chiefs lost when leading at the start of the second period.

1/17 vs. Dayton: W 2-1

In a scheduling quirk, Dayton hadn't visited the UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at the Cambria County War Memorial since October 24, and was making its final trip to Johnstown this season. Johnstown hadn't managed more than 20 shots in a game in its previous four, but came out with guns blazing in the first period. The Chiefs launched 13 shots on Tyler Plante, many of which were solid scoring opportunities. Plante was strong in net, though, and kept the Chiefs off the board, but on the other end of the ice Kris Mayotte was just as good in denying 11 shots from Dayton. Sean Berkstresser finally broke the scoreless duel at 15:14 of the second when he slammed a rebound past Plante. 58 seconds later, Mike Sgroi finished a beautiful pass from Petr Pohl on the rush to double the Chiefs' lead. That short offensive outburst was all the scoring that Johnstown would need as Mayotte only allowed Ryan Smyth's shorthanded goal in the third period to beat him. The win was Mayotte's 15th of the season while Sgroi scored his first game-winning goal.

CHIEFS CHOPS:

Scoring Streaks:

Goals:

- None

Assists:

- Petr Pohl; 12/19-1/17: 3 gms (3A)

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

Points:

- Petr Pohl; 12/19-1/17: 3 gms (1G, 3A)

- Ray Macias; 10/30-11/2: 4 gms (1G, 4A)

Welcome to the Neighborhood: Former ECHL All-Star forward Todd Griffith signed as a free agent with Johnstown on January 16 after beginning the 2008-09 season playing with the Newcastle Vipers in England. He made his Chiefs debut that night against Elmira and had an immediate impact with assists on each of Jarrett Konkle's goals. Griffith represented Bakersfield at the ECHL All-Star Game in Stockton in 2008 and competed in the fastest skater competition finishing fourth with a time of 14.53. Also competing in that event were Chiefs players Andy Contois (1st - 14.39) and Ryan Garlock (3rd - 14.47). Also, Petr Pohl was reassigned to Johnstown on January 17, and he arrived in time to play that night against Dayton. Pohl earned on assist as he set up Mike Sgroi on a 2-on-1 rush with a spinning behind-the-back-between-the-legs pass for the game-winning goal. Pohl is tied for the team lead with Ryan Del Monte for the team lead with 19 assists.

Even Strength Strength: High-scoring winger Jarrett Konkle led the Fresno Falcons with 15 goals before coming to Johnstown, and he hasn't slowed down since traveling east. Konkle's scoring to start with Johnstown was most prevalent in special teams situations as he notched one power play goal and two shorthanded in his first five games with the team. Heading into Saturday night's game Konkle was just outside the top five in the league with eight power play goals, and was tied for third with three shorthanded goals. In his last four games, though, Konkle has been producing more in even strength situations with three markers. On Friday night both of Konkle's goals came 5-on-5 which was the first time this season that he had a multi-goal game with each one coming at even strength. It was also his first multi-goal game since posting a hat trick (2 PPG) against Bakersfield on December 12.

All-Star Festivities: The ECHL will break this week for its annual All-Star Game, and Skills Competition, being held at the Sovereign Center in Reading. The Skills Competition and the All-Star Game will be available to watch free of charge on ECHLALLSTARTV on B2CableTV.com. The video broadcast of the Skills Competition on Tuesday, Jan. 20 and the All-Star Game on Wednesday, Jan. 21 begin at 7 p.m. ET. The Chiefs will be represented at this year's All-Star Game by goalie Kris Mayotte, center Ryan Del Monte, and coach Ian Herbers. Mayotte, whose 15 wins lead the American Conference, will be the starting goalie. Del Monte is 13th in scoring among rookies with 29 points, and is tied for the team lead with 19 assists. Herbers has led the Chiefs to the second-highest win total in the American Conference at the break with 23, and has 59 wins as the coach of the Chiefs in just over one-and-a-half seasons. Each of the Chiefs' All-Star Game representatives will be making their first appearance at the event.



ECHL Stories from January 19, 2009


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