News release
6 December 2004
Jackals Earn Three Points In Home Stand Shootouts
2004-05 RECORD: 12-12-1, 25 points (9-7-1 home, 3-5-0 road), Third Place, Eastern Division
December 8 7:00 pm vs. Adirondack Frostbite (13-6-4, 30 pts) Second Place, Eastern Division
December 10 7:05 pm @ Port Huron Beacons (7-14-2, 16 pts) Fourth Place, Central Division
December 11 7:35 pm @ Flint Generals (12-8-2, 26 pts) Second Place, Eastern Division
December 12 5:00 pm @ Fort Wayne Komets (15-7-1, 31 pts) Second Place, Western Division
12/3/04 JACKALS 5 Kalamazoo 5 (2-1 in Shootout)
Elmira, NY The Elmira Jackals pulled off their biggest come-from-behind win of the season as they beat the Kalamazoo Wings 5-4 in shootout Friday night at the First Arena.
Kalamazoo jumped on top with three goals in the first period. Tom Ditzer forced a trickling puck past Greg Hewitt at 8:40 for a 1-0 lead. Later in the period the K-Wings rattled off two straight goals in the span of twenty second. Sean Starke scored a power play goal at 16:21 and then Tyson Turgeon made it a 3-0 lead at 16:41 as Kalamazoo rolled through the opening twenty minutes.
The Jackals grabbed the momentum back early in the second period when left wing Tom Clayton scored his first goal of the season at 4:20, a shot that deflected up over the shoulder of Chad Alban, for a 3-1 score. But even though Elmira out-shot Kalamazoo 10-to-5 in the middle frame, the Wings got the goal back at 17:22 when Chad Allen scored the teams second power play goal of the night.
Jackals fans facing a 3-goal deficit with less than five minutes to play in the final period most likely did not feel very optimistic of their teams chances of any points in this game, let alone a two-point win. But the improbable started to become a reality at 16:24 when Jason Sessa gathered a rebound from Derek Campbell and George Pujacs and tapped it home; 4-2 Wings. This time it was the Jackals turn to score quickly; just 17 second later Eddy Lowe stole a pass right in front of the K-Wings net and calmly slotted his wrist-shot past Alban for an unassisted goal at 16:41. Elmira brought the First Arena fans to a boil with 68 seconds remaining in the game thanks to Nathan Gillies who one-timed the equalizer into the net, courtesy of a fantastic pass from behind the cage by Carl Drakensjo; Trevor Burgess also assisted on the goal.
In the shootout, Kalamazoos Shaun Fischer scored in the first round, but was quickly matched by Jason Sessa. Hewitt then pulled the plug on the Wings. He stopped the next three attempts before Jeff Antonovich put the Jackals ahead with a goal in the 4th round that just crept over the shoulder of Alban. In round 5 Hewitt flashed a sensational glove save that denied Turgeon of the tying goal, sending the fans home with the win.
Hewitt earned his league-best 4th shootout win of the year, his 11th win overall, while stopping 20-of-24 and stopped 4-of-5 in the shootout. Alban made 24 saves on 28 shots in regulation, but went 2-for-4 in the extra session.
Elmira, NY The Richmond Riverdogs scored two first period goals and then clung to that lead as they beat the Elmira Jackals 2-1 at the First Arena Saturday night.
Jonathan Gagnon struck first blood with a power play goal at 7:13 from Mark Turner and David Hymovitz. Late in the period Kyle Sheen would put Richmond up two, a goal that would be the eventual game winner. Sheen scored at 16:38 from Derek Schutz and J.J. Wrobel.
After a scoreless second period, where the Jackals out-shot Richmond 12-7, Elmira got on the board at 6:22 as Jason Sessa batted down a rebound out of mid-air, his 15th goal of the season, assisted by Chris Shaw and Jeff Antonovich.
Richmond goalie Ryan McIntosh earned first star honors on the night as he stopped 33-of-34 shots for his 5th win of the season. Greg Hewitt was equally stellar, stopping 16-of-18 shots for Elmira.
12/5/04 ADIRONDACK 3 Jackals 2 (2-1 in Shootout)
Elmira, NY The Elmira Jackals finished off their three game home stand week with a shootout loss to the Adirondack Frostbite 3-2 Sunday at the First Arena.
Elmira took the lead late in the first period as Greg Koehler buried his league-leading 22nd goal of the season at 17:38, assisted by Corey Foster and Trevor Burgess.
Adirondack rebounded in the second period, tying the game at 14:33 on a sharp wrist shot from Frank Littlejohn, assisted by Henrik Bergfors and Scott Page. The Frostbite then took the lead with a late power play goal at 19:37, David Burgess lifting the puck up under the cross bar from Hugo Belanger and Justin Kelly for a 2-1 lead after two periods.
The Jackals battled back in the final period and drew level with their second power play goal of the game at 15:32. Corey Foster slapped in his third goal of the year courtesy of a great pass from Jason Sessa; Greg Koehler also assisted on the goal.
In the shootout Adirondack scored on their first two attempts (Littlejohn and Belanger), and Sessa scored in round one for the Jackals, but then both goalies shut down the forwards, the Frostbite earning the extra point 2-1; it was the first shootout loss for the Jackals this season.
Greg Hewitt made 35 saves on 37 Adirondack shots in the losing effort, 3-of-5 in the shootout. Derek Gustafson stopped 18-of-20 in regulation, 4-of-5 in the shootout.
JACKALS PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: (WEEK 8)
Jason Sessa - RW 3 GP, 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 pts, +1 (2 SOG)
Jason Sessa has continued to be one of the leading goal scorers on the Jackals roster. Sessa scored a key goal Friday versus Kalamazoo, which sparked the late third period rally, then clinically finished his shootout attempt to help secure the two points. Saturday against Richmond, Sessa scored the teams only goal by batting a loose puck out of mid air into the back of the net, and was robbed on a point blank shot late in the game. Sunday Sessa again played a key role as he set up the tying goal, a perfect tape-to-tape pass to Corey Foster to send the game into a shootout. In that shootout Sessa again buried his chance. He finishes with 3 points, which puts him up to 28 points on the season, good for 6th overall in the UHL. Sessa is tied for third in the league in goals (15).
Greg Hewitt G 3 GP, 1-1-1, 2.68 GAA, 0.899 SV%, 71 saves
Greg Hewitt was once again a big reason why the Jackals earned 3 points during Week 8. Hewitt kicked off the week with a gutsy performance against Kalamazoo, holding strong amidst a 3-goal comeback late in the third period, then stopping 4-of-5 in the extra session for his 4th shootout win of the season. Hewitt allowed just 2 goals Saturday versus Richmond in a game Elmira should have won. Then he finished off the week by stopping 35 shots against Adirondack, and turning away 3-of-5 in the shootout to earn Elmira another point. Hewitt posted a 2.68 Goals Against Average and an 0.899 save percentage.
JUST STAND BACK AND WATCH C Greg Koehler is currently leading the UHL in scoring. Koehler has 41 points and league best 22 goals through 25 games. He is 10 points ahead of his closest competition, Colin Chaulk (31).
ITS HIS SHOOTOUT RW Jason Sessa has been money when it comes to performing in a shootout this year. Sessa leads all players in the UHL with 4 shootout goals and has a perfect 100% conversion rate in the extra sessions.
SIZZLING POWER PLAY The Jackals have the second best power play in the UHL right now. Elmira has a 21.5% success rate (28-for-130) and has the leagues best scorer on the man-advantage, Jason Sessa, with 10 goals on the power play.
NO STOPPING THIS GOALIE G Greg Hewitt is tops amongst UHL goaltenders in Minutes (1346), Games Played (23), Saves (685) and Shootout Wins (4). He is also third in the league with 11 wins.
MOTEL SIN BIN D Chris Shaw is leading the UHL rookie class in penalty minutes (88). Shaw is 2nd in minors (14) and 4th in majors (8) after eight weeks of action.
CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP D Trevor Burgess is leading all UHL defenseman in scoring with 19 points. His 17 assists are also a defenseman high.
Shooting Percentage: Corey Foster (30.0%)