Weekly Arrowhead

March 23, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, Pa. - The Johnstown Chiefs picked up four of a possible six points last weekend to remain in a tie for third place in the North Division just one point out of first place. The Chiefs will get another shot at the division leading Cincinnati Cyclones on home ice this week sandwiched between to road games in Reading on Friday and Saturday.

Record: 36-26-4, 76 pts., T-3rd place North Division

Leaders:

Goals - Jarrett Konkle (total): 29

Petr Pohl (team): 28

Assists - Petr Pohl: 38

Points - Petr Pohl: 66

+/- - Ryan Del Monte: +21

PIMs - Alex Penner: 134

PPG - Jarrett Konkle (total): 12

Petr Pohl (team): 8

SHG - Jarrett Konkle: 3

Wins - Kris Mayotte: 19

GAA - Kris Mayotte: 2.71

SVP - Kris Mayotte: .912

This Week:

3/27 & 3/29 at Reading, 7:05 p.m. & 5:05 p.m. - Home (5-0-0), Away (3-0-0)

Friday and Sunday will be Johnstown's last visits to the Sovereign Center of the 2008-09 season. Friday will be the Chiefs' first trip to Reading since a 4-3 win on Dec. 30. Johnstown has made itself pretty comfortable on Reading's home ice this season in winning each of its first three games there. The wins have not come easily, though, as evidenced by the 1.33 margin of victory that the Chiefs sport over Reading. The Chiefs won't recognize many of the bodies in Reading uniforms this weekend. Only six players from Reading's opening-day roster (Dinos Stamoulis, Joe Cooper, Tyler Doig, Dan Rudisuela, Matt Curley, and Scott Langdon) remain with the club due to trades, injuries, call-ups, and free agent signings. The Chiefs have not lost to Reading since a 4-3 setback on Feb. 1, 2008.

3/28 vs. Cincinnati, 7:05 p.m. - Home (2-3-0), Away (2-1-0)

The Chiefs wrap up their 2008-09 home schedule in grand fashion against the defending Kelly Cup champion Cyclones who also happen to be the team that the Chiefs are chasing for first in the division. Cincinnati last came to town on Friday, March 13 and was sent away with zero points thanks to a 5-2 Chiefs win. Johnstown roughed up its former record-setting goalie Ryan Nie in his first game back in Johnstown since April 16, 2008. The Chiefs will be going for their 22nd home win of the season on Saturday which would be the third most in club history behind the 2003-04 (26) and 2001-02 (23) teams. The Chiefs will be hosting Fan Appreciation Day on Saturday, as well. On the final home game of the season the Chiefs want to say "Thank You" to all of their loyal fans for their support. There will be giveaways galore, and everyone will have a chance to take something home for free. The Chiefs will even be raffling off a season ticket for the 2009-10 season!

Day by Day:

Mon. 3/23: Off

Tues. 3/24: Practice at UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at CCWM, 11:00 a.m.

Wed. 3/25: Practice at UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at CCWM, 11:00 a.m.

Thurs. 3/26: Practice at UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at CCWM, 11:00 a.m.

Fri. 3/27: Chiefs at Reading Royals, 7:05 p.m.

Sat. 3/28: Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Cyclones, 7:05 p.m. - Fan Appreciation Day

Sun. 3/29: Chiefs at Reading Royals, 5:05 p.m.

Broadcast Schedule:

Fri. 3/27: Chiefs at Reading Royals, 7:05 p.m. - radio and internet

Sat. 3/28: Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Cyclones, 7:05 p.m. - radio and internet

Sun. 3/29: Chiefs at Reading Royals, 5:05 p.m. - internet only

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: (2-1-0)

3/20 at Elmira: W 3-2 SO

Trevor Hendrikx and Ryan Garlock scored first period goals for the Chiefs after Elmira's Steve Yetman gave the home team a 1-0 lead. Chris Korchinski tied the game with a third-period penalty shot, Elmira's 2nd of the game. Both teams had a power play chance in OT but neither could score so things moved to a shootout. Both goalies played strong but Ian Keserich (5 saves) was one better than Michael Teslak (4 saves). Andrew Sarauer scored his first shootout goal of the season for the winner.

3/21 at Elmira: W 5-4 OT

Johnstown found itself down 4-1 at 1:03 of the second period after a Nathan Lutz goal for the Jackals. The comeback effort began in earnest with Toby LaFrance second period power play goal, and Johnstown went to the third down by two. Mike Knight made the comeback seem more like a reality with a power play goal less than two minutes into the third, and Petr Pohl would send it to overtime with the tying goal near the mid-way point. Ryan Garlock provided the power play winner 42 seconds into the extra frame and Ian Keserich earned the win for the second straight night.

3/22 vs. Elmira: L 4-1

Johnstown was unable to complete the sweep against Elmira on Sunday afternoon. Mike Knight accidentally put the puck into his own net early in the first period and Elmira never relinquished the lead. Rookie, and Pittsburgh native, Joe Federoff scored in the second period to cut Elmira's lead to 3-1, but Teslak kept the Chiefs off the board in the third and Pierre-Luc Faubert hit the empty net to set the final.

CHIEFS CHOPS:

Scoring Streaks:

Goals:

- None

Assists:

- Andrew Sarauer; 3/20-3/22: 3 gms (3A)

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

Points:

- Andrew Sarauer; 3/20-3/22: 3 gms (1G, 3A)

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

Quick Hits:

- Chiefs won back-to-back road games this weekend for the first time in 2009 and the first time since Dec. 5-6.

- Joe Federoff, from Montour High School in Pittsburgh, scored his first pro goal in his Chiefs debut on March 22.

- Ian Keserich picked up his first shootout win of the season on March 20 to help Johnstown move to 4-0 in shootouts this season.

- Petr Pohl leads the Chiefs in shootouts with four goals in five attempts.

- Johnstown is 10-for-37 on the power play in its last six home games (4-2-0).

Rulers of the North: While the true North Division champion probably won't be crowned until the final week of the season, the Chiefs have staked their claim as the North's top dog with strong divisional play this season. Johnstown has a record of 34-22-3 against North Division foes, and those 34 wins are the most in that category. No team in the ECHL has more divisional wins than the Chiefs do. Johnstown has had the most success against Reading this season (8 wins against) while Elmira (8 wins against) is right there too. This season, Johnstown has a winning record against every team in the North except for Wheeling (5-6-1). With six divisional games remaining, Johnstown has already passed its divisional win total (31) from last season. On the other side of the coin, the South Division hasn't been kind to the Chiefs where they have a 2-4-1 record.

Rise of the Rookies: Whoever subscribes to the theory that veterans are the most likely to step up in the crunch needs to be introduced to these Chiefs. A trio of rookie forwards has been carrying the offensive torch through much of the final month of the season. Andrew Sarauer has filled the role of playmaker while Blair Yaworski has been the finisher over the last eight games. Sarauer paces the team with nine assists in March, Yaworski has six goals, and the pair is among the team leaders in points for the month with 11 and eight respectively. With his team-leading 14th two-point game on Saturday night, Ryan Del Monte is right in the mix with eight points (3G, 5A), and is two goals away from setting his highest monthly total for the season. Del Monte (16G, 31A), Sarauer (18G, 24A), Yaworski (17G, 13A), and Toby LaFrance (9G, 22A) account for four of the top five scorers among active Chiefs while Del Monte continues to lead the team with a plus-21 rating.

Save the Date:

This is a reminder regarding some of the Chiefs' big promotions/events coming up in the near future.

- March 28 - Fan Appreciation Day: Every season on the night of the final home game, the Chiefs do a little extra to show their appreciation to the best fans in the ECHL! We've got loads of free items to give away that night, and other fun events on tap. We hope that you'll join us for the final home game of 2008-09 and let the Chiefs show you just how much we appreciate your support.



ECHL Stories from March 23, 2009


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