News release
28 March 2010
Although the Elmira Jackals fell 5-2 to the Trenton Devils on Sunday afternoon at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, N.J., the Jackals clinched a spot in the 2010 Kelly Cup Playoffs by virtue of a loss by the Gwinnett Gladiators to the Florida Everblades. Elmira can seal up the American East Division title on Wednesday night at home against Reading.
Matt Vokes scored the first of his two goals on the game at 1:42 of the first period, when Dan Eves found him backdoor with the Devils on the power play, and Vokes' shot beat Jackals goaltender Julien Ellis stick side to give the Devils the 1-0 lead.
Eves scored a goal of his own at 14:32, poking a puck past Ellis to make it 2-0.
At 2:33 of the second period, Jeff Prough sent in a third-chance rebound for the Devils after Slavomir Tomko created a scoring opportunity in front, giving the Devils a 3-0 advantage.
Vokes added to that lead at 12:46, knocking in a rebound after Prough's shot hit the post, upping the Devils' advantage to 4-0.
Thomas Beauregard helped the Jackals set a club record for goals in one season at 15:50 of the second period, cutting in on a breakaway and beating Devils goaltender Dave Caruso high glove side for Elmira's 261st goal of the season. The tally brought the Jackals past the previous high of 260 goals, accomplished in 2000-2001 and 2001-2002. Justin Donati received an assist on the goal, his 96th point of the season.
After Prough scored to make it 5-1 at 3:38 of the third period, Beauregard capped the scoring at 18:43 of the final session, taking a Tyler Donati feed and wristing the puck past Caruso, and the Devils went onto win 5-2.
Ellis stopped 30 of 35 Devils shots, suffering his sixth loss with the Jackals and falling to 13-6-1-1 with Elmira. Caruso is now 8-2-0-0 against the Jackals, improving his record to 20-20-1-1 with a 34-save effort.
The Devils' record improved to 32-29-4-5 with the victory
Although the Jackals' record dropped to 35-25-6-3, for the third-straight season the Jackals are heading to the ECHL's postseason. They can seal their first ECHL division title on Wednesday in their final home game of the season, taking on the Reading Royals at First Arena. The Jackals, who lead the Royals by three points in the division after the Royals lost in Charlotte on Sunday in a shootout, would go five points up on the Royals with a win, making it mathematically impossible for the Royals to catch the Jackals.
Wednesday's game is Fan Appreciation Night at First Arena, with the festivities including a car giveaway and many opportunities for fans to receive gift certificates to local area establishments at the game. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m.