Jackals Weekly Release 12/1-12/7

ELMIRA, N.Y. - The Elmira Jackals, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and AHL's Rochester Americans, enter the first week of December with the most home wins in the league. The Jackals, who are 8-3-2 at home, face three different opponents in three nights this weekend.

Last Week's Record: 2-1-0
Overall Record: 11-5-3; second place in East Division, fourth place in Eastern Conference

Leaders:
Goals: x Allan McPherson (8)
Assists: Taylor Stefishen & Steven Shamanski (10)
Points: Taylor Stefishen (16)
+/-: Matt Tassone (+8)
PIMs: Nick Tuzzolino (54)
PPG: Taylor Stefishen (4)
SHG: Matt Tassone, Rob Florentino & Mike Seidel (1)
Wins: Travis Fullerton (7)
GAA: Sam Marotta (1.95)
SVP: Sam Marotta (.934)


Previewing the Upcoming Week:

12/5 vs. South Carolina Stingrays - 7:05 p.m. EST
Home vs. SC 0-0-0, Away vs. SC 0-0-0
The Jackals host South Carolina for the lone matchup of the season between these two East Divisions foes. Friday will mark just the 21st meeting all-time between the Jackals and Stingrays. Elmira is 7-10-3 all-time against South Carolina, including a 4-5-2 mark at First Arena. Last season these two teams met twice in Elmira and the Jackals earned at least one point in both games, finishing with a 1-0-1 record. This season, the new-look Jackals will dress an entirely different roster from their last meeting with South Carolina on March 2, 2014. Elmira is led by first-year head coach Jamie Russell and a lineup of rookies, which has seen ten first-year players notch at least one point.

12/6 vs. Toledo Walleye - 7:05 p.m. EST
Home vs. TOL 0-0-0, Away vs. TOL 0-0-0
The Jackals host Toledo for the first of five meetings this season, and the first of four at First Arena. Elmira saw the Walleye one time last season and defeated them 4-2 at the Huntington Center. The Jackals are 9-6-2 all-time against Toledo and are 2-1-1 on home ice. The last time these teams met at First Arena was March 10, 2012. This year will mark the first time Elmira will host Toledo for more than two games in a single season. Both teams are off the strong starts this season, with the Jackals sitting at 11-5-3 and the Walleye at 12-3-1. The Jackals are 8-3-1 at home and the Walleye have a 5-1-0 record on the road.  

12/7 vs. Wichita Thunder - 4:05 p.m. EST
Home vs. WIC 0-0-0, Away vs. WIC 0-0-0 
This marks the first ever meeting between the Jackals and the Thunder. It will also be the only meeting this season between Elmira and Wichita. The Thunder are in their first season in the ECHL after they spent the last 22 years in the CHL. The Jackals have been a member of the ECHL since the 2007-08 season, after playing the previous seven seasons in the UHL. Jackals captain Matt Tassone is the lone member of the Jackals team who has an a previous encounter with the Thunder. He had a brief stint in Wichita during the 2012-13 campaign, posting two goals in three games.

Recapping Last Week:
11/26 at Reading: W 4-3
The Jackals earned their first shootout victory of the season in a 4-3 win against the Reading Royals at Santander Arena. Adam Comrie gave Reading the game's first goal 9:36 into the opening period. The Jackals would answer at 16:08 of the first period and tie the game. Rob Florentino took a cross-ice feed from Kevin Hart and sniped a short-handed goal top-shelf over the shoulder of Connor Knapp. Elmira would carry the momentum from Florentino's late first period goal into the second frame and capitalize 1:37 into the stanza. Taylor Stefishen entered the zone on the left-hand side and snapped a shot past Knapp to give the Jackals a 2-1 lead. The Royals answered six minutes later with a power-play goal from David Marshall. Reading would score again on the power-play at 18:44 of the second period to take a 3-2 lead. The Jackals captain, Matt Tassone, made his return to action tonight and buried the game-tying-goal at 5:09 of the third period. Neither team scored the go-ahead tally in the third period and overtime didn't provide a winner either so the game went to a shootout. The Jackals were 0-for-3 in shootouts entering tonight, but goals from Colin Jacobs, Matt Tassone and Allan McPherson propelled them to their first shootout win of the year.

 11/28 vs. Evansville: W 3-2

Former Icemen Mike Seidel scored the game-winning-goal 1:07 into overtime to propel the Jackals to a 3-2 victory over the Evansville Icemen. Team captain Matt Tassone got the Jackals on the board 2:37 into the first period with a redirect off of Justin Daniel's centering feed. Daniels added another helper at 13:57 of the opening frame when he sprung Allan McPherson through the neutral zone for a breakaway goal. Andre Bouvet-Morrissette cut the Jackals lead in half just 1:17 into the third period with a shot that snuck past Marotta. Former Jackal Danny Hobbs tied the game at 5:33 of the third period on the power-play with a blast from inside the blueline. Neither team notched the go-ahead-goal in the remainder of the third period, so they headed to overtime. Kennedy attempted to stick-handle through Tassone at the Evansville blueline and coughed it up to Seidel who streaked in alone and netted the game-winner past Komm.

11/29 vs. Evansville: L 1-0

Jackals goaltender Sam Marotta stopped 20 of 21 shots faced but was out-dueled by Evansville netminder Chris Driedger, who stopped all 38 shots he faced for the Icemen's 1-0 win. Former Jackal Kevin Harvey scored the lone goal in tonight's game at 10:48 of the first period. The Jackals out-shot the Icemen 38-21, but could not put one past Driedger. Tempers flared in the second period when Justin Kea dropped the gloves with Myles Bell at 9:45 of the middle frame. Less than a minute later, Guillaume Lepine caught Rob Florentino up high with an elbow and Steven Shamanski came in to defend his teammate. During the ensuing skirmish Nick Tuzzolino dropped the gloves with Matt Lowry and both players were handed game misconducts in addition to fighting majors for a secondary altercation. The Jackals pressed in the third period and out-shot the Icemen 19-5 in the final 20 minutes but were thwarted by Driedger. Justin Daniels was awarded a penalty shot at 16:28 of the third period but wasn't able to capitalize on the opportunity.

Quick Hits:

* Sam Marotta is tied for second in the league with a .934 SV%. He is fourth in the league with a 1.95 GAA.

* Matt Tassone is third in the league with a 29.2% shooting percentage (7-for-24).

* Steven Shamanski leads rookie defenseman with eight power-play points and six power-play assists.

* Elmira leads the league with eight home wins.

* Taylor Stefishen is second among rookies with fourth power-play goals.

* Nick Tuzzolino and Zach Tolkinen rank first and second in shots on goal among all blueliners.

* Elmira is 8-2-2 when scoring first.