News release
6 February 2006
Elmira Begins 6-Game East Division Home stand
2005-06 Record: 17-23-5, 39 points (8-11-1 home, 9-12-4 road), Fourth Place, Eastern Division
Week 17 Schedule: (All games are broadcasted LIVE on Wheels AM-820 WWLZ)
Wednesday, February 8 7:05 pm vs. Danbury Trashers (28-12-8, 64 pts) First Place, Eastern Division
Friday, February 10 7:05 pm vs. Richmond Riverdogs (21-21-4, 46 pts) Third Place, Eastern Division
Saturday, February 4 7:30 pm vs. Adirondack Frostbite (27-13-3, 57 pts) Second Place, Eastern Division
Moline, IL John Donnelly and Chris Chaput each had three points and Jason Sessa added two goals as the Elmira Jackals beat the Quad City Mallards 5-3 Friday night at the MARK of the Quad Cities.
The home side came out flying as Patrick Nadeau scored on a rebound a mere 1:31 into the game. But the Jackals struck back, Kevin Cooper poked the puck past Mallards goaltender Jason Tapp, assisted by Jarrett Konkle and Craig MacDonald at 10:12 of the first period. With their turn around Elmira ended up out-shooting Quad City 17-to-9 in the opening twenty minutes.
The Jackals grabbed the lead just 55 seconds into the second period when Josh Tataryn faked out Tapp at the left post, skated around the back of the net, and wrapped the puck inside the right post; the goal was assisted by Chris Chaput and Chris Mann. But the Mallards wasted no time to come back, tying the game at two with a power play goal by Rafal Martynowski at 2:13. Elmiras momentum hit a low in the game near the halfway point of the period when Anthony Blumer took advantage of a turnover in Elmiras defensive zone to score a short handed goal at 11:15 for a 3-2 Quad City lead. But the Jackals struck back late in the period. Jason Sessa tipped a Florian Iberer shot past Tapp and into the net at 18:35, assisted by Iberer and John Donnelly.
Sessa, who played for Quad City in 2003-04, scored his second goal of the game, and 11th of the season at 4:48, assisted by Donnelly and Kevin Cooper for a 4-3 Jackals lead. Elmira had surrendered their lead once in the game already and they were not about to do it again. Three minutes after Sessa pulled the Jackals in front, Chaput scored Elmiras 5th goal of the night at 8:00 assist by Donnelly, the third point of the game for each Jackal involved. Elmira was out-shot 30-18 over the final two periods, but out-scored Quad City 4-2.
Nick Boucher earned his 7th win of the season in goal for the Jackals by stopping 36-of-39 shots for Elmira. Jason Tapp made 30 saves on 35 shots in goal for Quad City in the loss. The Jackals finished 0-for-6 on the power play, while the Mallards were 1-for-10.
2/4/06 Elmira 3 @ Fort Wayne 2 Shootout (3-2)
Fort Wayne, IN The Elmira Jackals came back from a 2-goal deficit in regulation and down two-goals in the shootout to earn a determined 3-2 shootout victory over the Fort Wayne Komets Saturday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
The Jackals held a slight advantage in offense through most of the first period, but failed to capitalize on their chances, including going 0-for-3 on the power play. Fort Wayne caught a break when a pass in the Komets zone hit the referees skate and send Andrew Luciuk forward on a 2-on-1 rush. Luciuk slid the puck across to Lance Galbraith who one-timed it past Nick Boucher for a 1-0 lead at 18:56.
In the second period, Elmira was called for their first penalty of the game, a cross checking call on Mathieu Wathier at 1:33 and the Komets would make them pay. Colin Chaulk finished a clever pass from P.C. Drouin to double Fort Waynes lead at 2:00 of the period. Elmira struggled to find offense in the period, managing just 6 shots on target despite having 2 more power plays.
The Jackals came out in the third period looking to regain their first period momentum. After killing off 10-seconds of carry-over from Jarrett Konkles high-sticking penalty, Elmira began to push the tempo. Fort Waynes Colin Chaulk was called for hooking at 3:50, and though the Jackals were unsuccessful on the power play, they got themselves back into the game just 9 seconds after Chaulk returned to the ice. Carl Drakensjo tipped home a shot from Jason Sessa at 5:59 to make the score 2-1, assisted by Sessa and Chris Mann. Two minutes later, Elmira found themselves down on a five-on-three penalty kill against one of the top-ranked power plays in the UHL. But the Jackals fought off the penalty and then caught the Komets off guard. Sessa, benefited from a turnover in the Fort Wayne zone, took a pass from Josh Piro and back-handed the puck past Kevin St. Pierre tying the game at two at 12:13. Both teams had excellent scoring chances late in the game, but failing to find a winner in regulation, this match headed to a shootout.
In the shootout Elmira quickly fell behind 2-0 after three rounds as the Komets got goals from Andrew Luciuk and Kelly Miller. With their backs against the wall, the Jackals again rose up to meet the bell. Jason Sessa snapped a shot past St. Pierre in the 4th round, keeping Elmiras hopes alive and Nick Boucher followed with a stellar save against Colin Chaulk. In their second straight do-or-die round, Josh Piro faked out the Komets goaltender to tie the shootout at two in the 5th round. Boucher got Elmira out of hot water with a save on David Frawley forcing a sudden death 6th round. Josh Tataryn, a former Komet winger, skated out and buried a wrist shot top shelf on St. Pierre to put the Jackals ahead 3-2 with Fort Wayne still to shoot. Matt Hunter skated in on Boucher, but was denied by the Jackals goaltender to complete a dramatic comeback win for Elmira.
Nick Boucher earned a sweep of the western weekend and his 8th win of the season by stopping 39-of-41 shots for Elmira in regulation and 4-of-6 in the shootout. Kevin St. Pierre made 26 saves on 28 shots in the loss and blocked just 3-of-6 in the shootout.
JACKALS PLAYER AND GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: (WEEK 16)
Jason Sessa -RW 2 GP, 3 goals, 1 assist, 4 points, +4, 0 PIMs
Jackals right wing Jason Sessa had a great weekend in Elmiras Western Sweep. Friday Sessa returned to Quad City, where he played in 2003-04, and scored two goals, including the game-winner, in Elmiras 5-3 win over the Mallards. Saturday in Fort Wayne Sessa assisted Carl Drakensjos goal early in the third period, then scored on a back-hand shot to tie the game at two. In the shootout, Sessa scored the first of three shootout goals to lift Elmira to a 3-2 shootout win over the Komets. The Long Island, NY native finished with a +4 rating on the weekend and boosted his point total for the season to 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 23 games played.
Nick Boucher G 2 GP, 2-0-0, 2.50 GAA, 0.938 SV%, 75 saves
Goaltender Nick Boucher was spectacular in goal for the Jackals this weekend. Boucher won both games of their western road trip, beating Quad City 5-3 Friday night with 36 saves and then backed it up with 39 saves in regulation and 4-of-6 in the shootout for a 3-2 win over the Fort Wayne Komets. Boucher finished the week with a 2.50 GAA and a 0.938 save percentage while bumping his season record to 8-13-4 in 26 games played.
CELEBRATING THE BIG 450 RW Jason Sessa played in his 450th professional game Saturday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Through 450 games in his pro career, Sessa has 356 points (185 goals, 171 assists) after adding 4 points (3goals, 1 assist) over the past two games and earning the Jackals Player of the Week Award.
200 AND COUNTING D Chris Mann passed the 200 penalty minute mark for the season and his career. The rookie from Cornwall, Ontario has 206 PIMs this season and is currently on pace to rack up more than 360 minutes by seasons end. Mann also leads the UHL in minor penalties with 58 minors so far this season.
A POSITIVE CHANGE The Jackals were an impressive +20 as a team in the two games out west this weekend. Elmira, who as a team are 145 this season, redeemed themselves after they were 41 in their previous two games against Danbury and Motor City.
PLAYOFF PICTURE The Jackals remain in 12th position in the UHL despite the 2-game sweep, but they have closed ground on the final playoff spots. Elmira is just 8 points behind Fort Wayne and Quad City, tied for the 8th spot in the playoffs, and are just 2 points from catching Flint in 10th place, 1 point from Port Huron in 11th.
A DIFFERENCE IN GOALS Elmira has a 35 goal differential at this point in the season, having scored 124 goals and allowed 164. Only 6 teams out of 14 in the UHL have a positive goal differential this season.
SHOOTOUT NUMBERS LW Josh Tataryn scored the shootout-winning goal Saturday in Fort Wayne, giving him 6 shootout goals this season, tying him with 3 other players for 2nd in the UHL behind Port Hurons Brett Lutes who has 8 shootout goals. G Nick Boucher stopped 4-of-6 attempts for his 4th shootout win in 8 tries this year. Boucher has a 69% shootout success rate, stopping 31-of-45 attempts.
Shots: Jarrett Konkle, Chris Chaput (143)
Shooting Percentage: Bobby Gates, Andy Rozak (16.7%)
Dont miss the next broadcast of The Elmira Jackals Coachs Show broadcast of the season LIVE Tuesday night February 7th at 7pm. Come listen to Head Coach Perry Florio, the Voice of the Jackals Owen Newkirk, along with forward Jason Sessa and defenseman Bobby Gates for the broadcast.