Weekly Arrowhead

Published on March 1, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, Pa. - The Chiefs' offense began to shake out of its funk last week with an impressive six-goal effort against the American Conference's best defense. They will look to keep that momentum rolling with a busy four-game-in-five-day stretch this week.

Record: 15-34-8, 38 pts., 4th place East Division,

Leaders:

Goals - Connor Shields: 24

Chanse Fitzpatrick (total): 24

Assists - Troy Schwab: 28

Points - Connor Shields: 46

Chanse Fitzpatrick (total): 48

+/- - Matthew Kang/Jeff Martens: +5

PIMs - Trevor Hendrikx: 158

PPG - Connor Shields/Jim McKenzie: 8

SHG - Sean Berkstresser: 2

Wins - Kris Mayotte: 7

GAA - John Murray: 3.86

SVP - Kris Mayotte:.889

This Week:

3/3 vs. Kalamazoo, 7:05 a.m. - Home (0-0-1), Away (0-1-0)

Wednesday marks the third, and final, meeting of the season between the Chiefs and Wings. Kalamazoo last visited Johnstown on January 6 while Johnstown made the trip to Michigan on February 12. The Wings were able to escape with one goal victories in each prior meeting; 4-3 in overtime in Johnstown and 5-4 in at Wings Stadium. The Chiefs held leads in each of the prior two meetings including a tw0o-goal advantage with just over 5:30 remaining in the January 6 game. The Wings enter action this week on a four-game win streak after toppling Gwinnett and Charlotte twice each last week. Rick Cleaver, who had four points (2G, 2A) in the January 6 game, leads Kalamazoo with 52 points (22G, 30A) on the season.

3/5 at Elmira, 7:35 p.m. & 3/7 vs. Elmira, 2:05 - Home (0-1-1), Away (0-2-1)

The Chiefs will get two chances this week to pay Elmira back for a 7-2 setback in their most recent meeting. Johnstown's clash in Elmira on February 21 was the first in nearly two months between the teams. The Jackals jumped on the Chiefs early with three first-period goals and rode a Tyler Donati hat trick to the big win. Johnstown tried to chip away with third period goals by Sean Berkstresser and Jim McKenzie, but the hole was too big to climb out of. The Chiefs will have to work hard to slow down a Jackals offense that features the ECHL's top two scorers in Tyler Donati (87 pts., 31G, 56A) and Justin Donati (83 pts., 33G, 50A) and leads the league with 223 goals scored. Elmira has scored three or more goals in 40 of its 55 games so far this season. Johnstown was one of the teams to limit Elmira to two goals in a 2-1 overtime loss on October 24. The Chiefs will have one more home and road game each against Elmira after this weekend.

3/6 at Reading, 7:05 p.m. - Home (3-1-0), Away (1-3-0)

After going about two and a half months between matchups the Chiefs and Royals will clash for the second time in seven days this Saturday. The Chiefs dropped their second consecutive game to the Royals this past Sunday by a 4-3 count. After surrendering the first goal just under two minutes in, the Chiefs battled back to take a 2-1 lead on scores by Jeff Martens and Bryan Kauffman. After Reading tied it late in the first, a two-goal second period provided enough lift for the Royals to survive a huge third period charge by the Chiefs. The Royals might be able to set some sort of record on Saturday depending on which goalie gets the start. Including Josh Johnson on Sunday, the Royals have used five different goalies against the Chiefs this season. A win by Johnstown on Saturday would re-establish the Chiefs' winning record against the Royals this season and give them more wins against the Royals than any other opponent (5). They have also beaten Wheeling four times this season.

Day by Day:

Mon. 3/1: Off

Tues. 3/2: Practice at UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at CCWM, 10:00 a.m.

Wed. 3/3: Chiefs vs. Kalamazoo Wings, 7:05 p.m.

Thurs. 3/4: Practice at UPMC Health Plan Ice Rink at CCWM, 10:00 a.m.

Fri. 3/5: Chiefs at Elmira Jackals, 7:35 p.m.

Sat. 3/6: Chiefs at Reading Royals, 7:05 p.m.

Sun. 3/7: Chiefs vs. Elmira Jackals, 2:05 p.m.

Broadcast Schedule:

Wed. 3/3: Chiefs vs. Kalamazoo Wings, 7:05 p.m. - radio and internet

Fri. 3/5: Chiefs at Elmira Jackals, 7:35 p.m. - radio and internet

Sat. 3/6: Chiefs at Reading Royals, 7:05 p.m. - radio and internet

Sun. 3/7: Chiefs vs. Elmira Jackals, 2:05 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. All game broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to faceoff with the Chiefs Pregame Show presented by UPMC.

Last Week: (1-2-0)

2/26 vs. Toledo: L 2-5

Johnstown entered Friday's game looking to shake out of an offensive funk against a team that was giving up over 3.5 goals per game and had been dealt back-to-back 6-0 defeats the week before. Instead, Toledo jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a first-period goal by Max Tanguay and a pair early in the second by Tanguay and Sal Peralta. Sean Berkstresser answered back for the Chiefs in the second to draw them within two, but Mike Hedden re-extended the lead to three with his 14th of the season. The Walleye earned more breathing room with Peralta's second of the night 3:13 into the third. Bryan Marshall did pull the Chiefs within three, but only 6:09 remained when he backhanded home his 17th of the campaign. John Murray sustained the loss, but did turn in 36 saves including stoppin his second penalty shot of the season against Evan Rankin at 16:22 of the second.

2/27 vs. Cincinnati: W 6-2

After being unable to score two goals or more in a game in six straight the Chiefs offensive outburst against Cincinnati on Saturday was an impressive feat. The Cyclones did gain the early leg up on Brett Motherwell's goal with 37 seconds left in the first. It was an unfortunate goal as the shot bounced off of John Murray's catching glove and across the goal line. Johnstown did a solid job of regrouping at the intermission and came out firing in the second. Jordan Morrison, Connor Shields, and Matt Kang each converted in the second against Mark Van Guilder's goal for the Cyclones. Only leading by one in the final frame, the Chiefs kept their proverbial feet to the gas pedal and railed off three more goals. Jim McKenzie, Chanse Fitzpatrick, and Bryan Marshall rounded out the scoring in Johnstown's fine offensive performance. Marshall's empty net goal was his fourth consecutive game against the Cyclones with a goal.

2/28 at Reading: L 3-4

Looking to end the week with a winning record, the Chiefs got off to a choppy start as they allowed the first goal for the third time in a row last week. But just 2:32 after Ben McLeod put Reading on the board, Jeff Martens' third of the season evened the score for the Chiefs. Scoring slowed after the early flurry, but picked back up in the late stages of the first. Brian Kauffman's first as a Chief, with 14:13 gone by, gave Johnstown the lead at 2-1, but Andrew Sarauer answered with his 13th at 17:21 to tie it again. Reading fired off two more goals in the second period, one each by Scott Langdon and Olivier Labelle, to establish the largest lead of the night for either club. Johnstown regrouped at the second intermission and proceeded to throw everything, including the kitchen sink, at Reading in the third. A 14-1 shot advantage in the frame only led to one goal though, and Reading was able to escape with the win. Troy Schwab was a horse for the Chiefs as he assisted on each of the first period goals and scored his 14th of the season in the third.

CHIEFS CHOPS:

Scoring Streaks:

Goals:

Assists: - M. Knight, 2 gms (2A); 11/7-11/11

- T. Schwab, 2 gms (3A); 2/27-2/28

- C. Shields, 2 gms (2A); 2/27-2/28

Points: - M. Knight, 2 gms (2A); 11/7-11/11

- T. Schwab, 2 gms (1G, 3A); 2/27-2/28

- C. Shields; 2 gms (1G, 2A), 2/27-2/28

Quick Hits: - David Schulz' plus-5 rating on Feb. 27 was the highest +/- rating in a game by a Chief this season.

- Chanse Fitzpatrick's goal on Feb. 27 gave him a new career high with 48 points (24G, 24A). His previous high of 47 (20G, 27A) was set as a rookie in 2004-05 with Columbia.

- Johnstown's six goals on Feb. 27 were its most in a game for the 2010 calendar year.

- John Murray is two-for-two in stopping penalty shots this season after stopping Toledo's Evan Rankin on Feb. 26. He also stopped Cincinnati's Matt Pierce on Feb. 13.

- Chiefs play four of their next six games on home ice.

Mark Your calendars! Don't forget about these upcoming home games:

- Wednesday, March 3 vs. Kalamazoo - 7:05 p.m. o Wendy's Wednesday Family Four Pack. $44 gets you and your family four tickets, hot dogs, drinks, and boxes of popcorn. This special offer is available through advance purchase or as a walk up at the arena box office!

- Sunday, March 7 vs. Elmira - 2:05 p.m. o Chiefs' and Rotary's Face Off Against Hunger. All fans are asked to bring non-perishable food items with them to donate to Rotary and our local Food for Families. Those who donate can get an adult ticket for just $12. Help us beat last year's $4,500 worth of food items donated!

- Friday, March 12 vs. Reading - 7:05 p.m. o UPMC ball cap giveaway. Caps will be given to the first 1,000 fans through the door so get here early!

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ECHL Stories from March 1, 2010


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