News release
3 December 2005
Richmond, VA Despite being tied at one going into the third period and out-shooting the Richmond Riverdogs 36-15 after two periods, the Elmira Jackals fell 4-1 Saturday night at the Richmond Coliseum.
Elmira came out gunning in this game, firing 16 shots on goal in the first twenty minutes. But they could not get the puck past goaltender Doug Groenestege. On the contrary Richmond had just 6 shots on goal in the first period, but they had the lead going into the intermission. Defenseman Dan Vandermeers slap shot from the high slot found the net a mere 27 seconds into the game (Richmonds first shot of the night).
In the second period Elmira continued to pour on the attack. The Jackals out-shot the Riverdogs 20-9 in the middle frame and worked themselves back to even close to the 8-minute mark. Jackals leading scorer Jarrett Konkle scored an unassisted, short handed goal at 7:58 to tie the game at one. Konkle stole the puck in the neutral zone while on the penalty kill, skated down the left wing and clanged his shot off the rear-support bar in the top shelf of the net.
The third period was a complete digression from how the first forty minutes were played. Richmond out-shot Elmira 16-7 in the final frame, scoring three times to grab the two points. Dan Vandermeer scored his second of the game at 8:10 to regain the Riverdogs lead. Two minutes later his brother Bill Vandermeer made it 3-1 Richmond with a goal at 10:04. Dennis Mullin capped off the night with an empty net goal at 19:02 to complete the third period rout.
Richmond goaltender Doug Groenestege was outstanding in goal, stopping 42-of-43 shots for the win and the first star honors. Elmiras Nick Boucher made 27 saves on 30 shots in the loss. Both teams struggled on the power play, Richmond was 0-for-9, while Elmira was 0-for-4 in the game.
The Jackals are back home on Wednesday December 7th as they host the Fort Wayne Komets at 7:05 pm for the only time during the regular season.