News release
29 December 2006
Erik Anderson Fires A Shot Into The Top Corner During Elmira's Shootout Win Friday
Elmira, NY The Jackals lost a two-goal lead but held on for a 4-3 shootout win over the Port Huron Flags Friday night at First Arena. The Jackals win snapped the Flags 7-game winning streak.
The Flags grabbed the lead when Greg Bullock fired in a one-timer from the low slot at 14:23 of the first period, assisted by Garett Cameron and Jeremy Tucker. The Jackals out-shot Port Huron 14-12 in the first period, but did not create many quality scoring chances.
The tables turned in the middle session as the Jackals scored three straight goals and took the lead. Elmira tied the game on David Morellis 10th goal of the season, scored at 12:06 from Mark Scott and Dan Veenema. Tommy Kotsopoulos put the Jackals in the lead at 18:30, assisted by Scott and Morelli. Kotsopoulos added his second of the game, and 6th of the season, at 19:33 when he finished off a pass from Yevgeny Lazarev and Derek Miller, giving Elmira a 3-1 lead after two.
But the Flags fought back, Garett Cameron made it 3-2 at 4:34 of the third period, then Ryan Markham tied the game at 6:31. Both teams had chances to win the game, including Dale Lupuls shot from the point on the power play that hit the post, but this game headed to a shootout.
Jackals forward Erik Anderson scored his 5th consecutive shootout goal in the first round for Elmira and that was all Elmira needed. Goaltender Dave Lemanowicz stopped all five Port Huron shooters to earn the victory in his first home start for the Jackals.
Lemanowicz earned his 2nd win of the season as he made 28 saves on 31 shots in regulation then went 5-for-5 in the shootout as the Jackals improved to 15-14-0 on the season. Noah Ruden took the loss for Port Huron, stopping 31-of-34 in regulation and 3-of-4 in the shootout as the Flags fell to 13-14-5. Elmira was 0-for-3 on the power play, while Port Huron was 0-for-1 in the least penalized Jackals game this season.
The Jackals now hit the road for two games this weekend in Port Huron. Saturday Elmira will battle the Flags at 7:30 pm at McMorran Place Arena, while Sundays New Years Eve game is scheduled for 5:00 pm. The Jackals will return home in 2007 as they host the Fort Wayne Komets on Wednesday January 3rd at 7:00 pm at First Arena.