Houk, MacDonald Return to Elmira

ELMIRA, NY -The Elmira Jackals, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and the AHL's Rochester Americans, announced today that defensemen Joe Houk and Jacob MacDonald have re-signed with the Jackals for the 2015-16 season.

Houk, 25, returns to Elmira for his second professional season after splitting his rookie campaign between the Jackals and the Toledo Walleye. The 6-foot 205-pound blueliner was acquired by Elmira on March 9, 2015 in exchange for forward Justin Daniels. Houk tallied six points (one goal, five assists) in 14 games with the Jackals in addition to seven points (one goal, six assists) and a plus-13 rating in 25 games with Toledo. 

"Joe joined us at the trade deadline last year and fit into our culture extremely well," said Jackals head coach Jamie Russell. "We want to see Joe take the next step in his development after completing his rookie season. Joe skates well and we want him joining the rush at every opportunity. We want Joe to be more consistent as a second year pro and be a guy that opposing forwards do not want to be matched against."

Prior to turning pro, Houk skated for two seasons at Hamilton College (NCAA III) from 2009-2011 and recorded 52 points (21 goals, 31 assists) and 84 penalty minutes in 51 games. Following his second season at Hamilton College, Houk transferred to UMass-Lowell and registered 19 points (four goals, 15 assists) and 90 penalty minutes in 74 NCAA games. The Richboro, Pennsylvania native helped lead UMass-Lowell to the 2013 Hockey East Championship.

MacDonald, 22, rejoins the Jackals after skating in eight contests at the end of last season following the conclusion of his collegiate career at Cornell University. The Fernley, Nev. native recorded his first professional goal on April 11, 2015 against the Wheeling Nailers and added two assists during his first taste of professional hockey.

"Jake joined us at the end of last year after concluding his collegiate career and steadily improved each game," said Russell. "He has great feet and wins his 1 vs.1 battles. I look for him to join our attack by activating into the rush."

The 6-foot 200-pound blueliner recorded 21 points (four goals, 17 assists) in 104 NCAA games. Prior to attending Cornell, MacDonald skated in 87 games with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League and posted 40 points (12 goals, 28 assists).

Jackals Re-Sign Defenseman Zach Tolkinen

ELMIRA, NY - The Elmira Jackals, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and the AHL's Rochester Americans, announced today that the club has re-signed defenseman Zach Tolkinen for the 2015-16 season.

Tolkinen, 25, returns to Elmira for his second professional season following a successful rookie campaign in which he was the only member of the team to appear in all 72 regular season games. Tolkinen ranked second among the club's defensemen with five goals and finished third with 19 points. The Lino Lakes, Minn. native was also the only Jackals defenseman to record at least one power-play goal and one shorthanded goal.

"Zach had a very solid rookie season in the Jackals uniform," said Jackals head coach Jamie Russell. "He brings size, mobility, a terrific shot and a competitive edge every time on the ice. We are excited to help Zach continue his pro development and expect him to make big strides in his second pro season."

The 6-foot-3 190-pound defenseman spent the previous four seasons at Quinnipiac University and recorded 47 points (nine goals, 38 assists) as well as 151 penalty minutes in 135 NCAA games. Prior to attending Quinnipiac, Tolkinen played for the Owatonna Express and the Fairbanks Ice Dogs of the North American Hockey League. He notched 42 points (12 goals, 30 assists) and 171 penalty minutes in 93 NAHL games.

Jackals Agree to Terms with Seidel, Marotta

ELMIRA, NY -  The Elmira Jackals, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and the AHL's Rochester Americans, announced today that the club has agreed to terms with forward Mike Seidel and goaltender Sam Marotta.

Seidel, 27, returns for his second season with the Jackals after leading the club in scoring last season. The Darien, Illinois native recorded career highs with 23 goals and 42 points in 58 games for Elmira. In his first professional season, the 5-foot-11 180-pound forward recorded 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists) in 67 combined games between the Evansville Icemen and Gwinnett Gladiators.

"We are ecstatic to have Mike Seidel return to the Jackals for the 2015-16 season," said Jackals head coach Jamie Russell. "He led our team in scoring last year while battling through a nagging injury that limited his number of games and plagued him for much of the second half. At full health, we feel Mike can have a special year and take the next step in his development."

Prior to turning pro, Seidel spent four seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and notched 88 points (47 goals, 41 assists) in 150 NCAA games as well as being a member of the 2010-11 NCAA championship squad. He played three seasons in the United Stated Hockey League with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and posted 163 points (60 goals, 103 assists) in 173 USHL games.

Marotta, 24, joins Seidel as he returns for his second season with the Jackals. The Bridgewater, Massachusetts native appeared in 36 games for Elmira in his first professional season, recording 11 wins, a 2.74 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. Marotta appeared in one contest with the Fayetteville FireAntz of the SPHL to begin the season prior to signing with the Jackals. The 6-foot-4 200-pound netminder also earned his first two call-ups to the AHL, stopping nine shots in 20 minutes of action with the Rochester Americans.   

"Sam had a very successful rookie campaign as he adjusted from the college game to pro hockey," said Russell. "He is fundamentally sound, has good size and competes hard. We want Sam to continue to develop his focus and preparation as he now knows what to expect from the grind of a 72 game schedule. Sammy is a terrific teammate and is well liked in the room."

Prior to turning pro, Marotta appeared in 47 games for Merrimack College and posted a 2.39 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.

Jackals Announce Season-Ending Roster

 ELMIRA, NY - The Elmira Jackals, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and the AHL's Rochester Americans, announced today the club's Season-Ending Roster, which includes two goaltenders, eight defensemen and nine forwards.

Elmira Jackals Season-Ending Roster:

Goaltenders: Travis Fullerton, Sam Marotta 

Defensemen: Mike Bergin, Kevin Hart, Joe Houk, Dan Kolomatis, Zach Tolkinen, Jacob MacDonald, Nick Tuzzolino, Steven Shamanski

Forwards: Lucas Bloodoff, Keith Buehler, Trevor Gerling, Thomas Nesbitt, Ryan Rashid, Brodie Reid, Mike Seidel, Taylor Stefishen, Matt Tassone

Season-Ending Rosters may include up to 20 players. Season-Ending Rosters cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract in 2014-15.

Each team is entitled to reserve rights to a maximum of eight players from the list of 20 by extending a qualifying offer no later than July 1. Of the eight qualified players, no more than four can be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the 2015-16 season). Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded. Teams are not required to extend a qualifying offer to players who sign a contract prior to July 1.

The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until Aug. 1 at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action. Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a non-veteran player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season.

A team that extends a valid qualifying offer to a veteran player, or to a goaltender who has played more than 180 regular-season games, will retain the rights to that player until Aug. 1. After Aug. 1, if the veteran player or goaltender is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran or goaltender shall be deemed a restricted free agent and shall be entitled to seek and secure offers of employment from other ECHL teams. Restricted free agents may not be traded. When a restricted free agent receives a contract offer from a team other than the team with the player's rights and the restricted free agent wishes to accept the contract offer, the restricted free agent and the offering member must, within 24 hours, notify the ECHL, the team with the player's rights and the Professional Hockey Players' Association. The member with the player's rights shall have seven days after the date it is notified to exercise its right to match the contract offer.

If a restricted free agent is not signed to either an offer sheet or a contract by an ECHL team by Aug. 31, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent. 

Star Wars Is Coming To First Arena

ELMIRA, NY - The Elmira Jackals, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and the AHL's Rochester Americans, are excited to announce that they are joining forces with Visions Federal Credit Union to bring Star Wars to First Arena.

In anticipation of the release of Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens the Elmira Jackals will host Star Wars Weekend at First Arena on December 11th and 12th. 

"Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens will hit theaters on December 18th," said Bob Thomas, Elmira Jackals Vice President. "Now is a great time to host the first Star Wars Weekend in our program's history.  We look forward to fan participation in the theme weekend."

The Jackals will be wearing licensed Star Wars jerseys, which will be auctioned off after Saturday's game. The Star Wars theme will be prominently displayed throughout the weekend's games and in concourse at First Arena.

"Visions Federal Credit Union is a proud member of the greater Elmira community and we are excited to support the Jackals and their fans on their newest endeavor," said Timothy Strong, Visions Federal Credit Union Business Development Manager.

Visions FCU and the Elmira Jackals will also be donating a portion of the jersey auction proceeds to a local charity. Stay tuned for more information regarding our community partner.

In addition, 10-game and 20-game Ticket Packs are NOW available at www.jackalshockey.com. 

To purchase your 10-game pack, click here.

To purchase your 20-game pack, click here.

10-game Ticket Pack Pricing:

Red: $120
Blue: $140

Center: $160

Action Circle: $180

Restaurant: $200

20-game Ticket Pack Pricing: 

Red: $240

Blue: $280

Center: $320

Action Circle: $360
Restaurant: $400