Jackals Renew Affiliation With Ottawa Senators

ELMIRA, N.Y. - The Elmira Jackals announced today that they have renewed their affiliation agreement with the National Hockey League's Ottawa Senators. The 2013-14 season will be the sixth consecutive that the Jackals and Senators have worked together.

"We are thrilled to continue our relationship with the Ottawa and Binghamton Senators. The Jackals are committed to providing the best possible environment for Senators prospects to develop, and we can't wait to start this season," said Jackals owner and president Nate Cook.

As the ECHL affiliate of the Senators, the Jackals will receive players under contract to Ottawa, or the American Hockey League's Binghamton Senators, for the purpose of developing them as professionals so that they may advance their career.

The Jackals and Senators began their affiliation in 2008 and since then Elmira has gone on to win 193 games (38.6 wins per season) and qualify for the playoffs each year. In that time Ottawa has qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs three times while Binghamton has advanced to the Calder Cup playoffs three times and captured its first Calder Cup championship in 2011.

Since the affiliation began, three Jackals have gone on to play games for Ottawa. They are goaltender Mike Brodeur (3-1-0 with Elmira in 2010-11), forward Mike Hoffman (3 assists in four games with Elmira in 2010-11), and forward Derek Smith (1 assist in one game with Elmira in 07-08). Notable players who have gone on to play for Elmira and Binghamton are; Ben Blood, Louie Caporusso, Corey Cowick, Jack Downing, Dustin Gazley, Maxime Gratchev, Chris Holt, Chaz Johnson, Danny New, Yannick Tifu, and Chris Wideman.

"The Ottawa Senators are committed to its organizational philosophy of drafting and developing its own players. This is why we continue our strong relationship with our partners in Elmira and Binghamton. This working relationship has proved to be very successful in the development in a number of our prospects in recent years.  We look forward to strengthening this relationship even further in the years to come," said Ottawa Senators director of hockey operations and player development Randy Lee.

About the Ottawa Senators:The Ottawa Senators compete in the Atlantic Division of the National Hockey League's Eastern Conference. They play their home games in the 19,153 seat Canadian Tire Center which opened in 1996. They were founded and established by Ottawa real estate developer Bruce Firestone and began play in 1992. They won the Eastern Conference championship and advanced to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final before falling to Anaheim. The Senators also claimed the President's Trophy as the best regular season team in 2002-03, and won division championships in 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2006. They are currently coached by reigning NHL coach of the year Paul MacLean and captained by Jason Spezza.

About the Binghamton Senators: The Binghamton Senators reside a short 57 miles to the east of Elmira. Since their inception in 2002 the B-Sens have called the 4,679 seat Broome County Veterans Memorial their home. The Senators play in the American Hockey League's Eastern Conference and East Division. They captured division championships in 2003 and 2005 before winning Binghamton's first Calder Cup title in 2011. Luke Richardson is in his second year as Binghamton's head coach. Binghamton has also been home to the AHL's Broome Dusters (1977-1980), Binghamton Whalers (1980-1990), and Binghamton Rangers (1990-1997).     

Mark your calendars! The Jackals open their home schedule for their seventh season of ECHL hockey on Friday, October 25 against the Reading Royals at 7:05 p.m. Don't miss a minute of the action with Jackals season tickets. They offer the best discount off of the box office price and come with great benefits like merchandise discounts, exclusive meet-and-greets with the team, ticket exchange, and more. Call 607-734-7825 to order your season tickets today. They start as low as $10 per game!

 
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UPCOMING FIRST ARENA EVENTS:

Thursday, October 17: Air Supply Live in Concert. Show begins at 7:00 p.m. and tickets start at $25.75. Click here to order tickets.

Friday, October 19: Art of Combat V. Preliminary card begins at 4:30 and main card begins at 7:00. One ticket covers both cards! Click here to order tickets.

Friday, October 25: Elmira Jackals Home Opener vs. Reading, 7:05 p.m. Click here to order tickets.