Jackals Weekly Release 12/29-1/4

 ELMIRA, N.Y. - The Elmira Jackals, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and AHL's Rochester Americans, embark on a four-game road trip which begins in Reading, PA, then takes them to Gwinnett, GA for two games, and ends with a weekend finale in Greenville, SC.
Last Week's Record: 0-2-0
Overall Record: 15-12-3; fifth place in East Division, seventh place in Eastern Conference

Leaders:
Goals: Matt Tassone (12)
Assists: Steven Shamanski (15)
Points: Matt Tassone & Steven Shamanski (21)
+/-: Matt Tassone (+14)
PIMs: Nick Tuzzolino (72)
PPG: x Taylor Stefishen (4)
SHG: Matt Tassone, Rob Florentino, x Taylor Stefishen & Mike Seidel (1)
Wins: x Travis Fullerton (9)
GAA: Sam Marotta (2.61)
SVP: Sam Marotta (.914)

Previewing the Upcoming Week:

12/31 at Reading Royals - 5:30 p.m. EST
Home vs. REA 1-1-1, Away vs. REA 2-2-0
The Jackals take on the Reading Royals for the third consecutive game to close out the 2014 calendar year. Despite dropping both contests this past weekend to the Royals, the Jackals still maintain a 47-46-11 all-time record against Reading. The battle for the DeMet's Candy Turtle Cup is stands at 3-3-1 through the first seven meetings this season with eight matchups remaining between these East Division rivals. The Royals got the best of the Jackals in this past weekend's home-and-home series. On Friday night, in front of a soldout crowd at First Arena, the Royals topped the Jackals 5-2. The following night the Jackals traveled to Santander Arena and battled resiliently but fell 4-3. The last Jackals' win in the series occurred on November 26th in Reading. Elmira battled back and defeated the Royals 4-3 in the shootout.

1/2 at Gwinnett Gladiators - 7:35 p.m. EST; 1/3 at Gwinnett Gladiators - 7:05 p.m. EST
Home vs. GWT 0-0-0, Away vs. GWT 0-0-0
The Jackals travel to Gwinnett to face the Gladiators for the only two meetings this season. Elmira holds a 9-7-1 all-time record against Gwinnett. The last time these two teams met was April 12, 2014, which was the Jackals season finale. Elmira stumbled to a 7-0 defeat at the hands of the Gladiators. The Jackals' last win against Gwinnett came on April 9, 2014 inside The Arena at Gwinnett Center. Five Jackals recorded multi-point games in their 6-3 victory. The most goals any Jackals team has ever recorded in a game was 11, which came on November 14, 2009 against Gwinnett. Justin Donati and Maxime Gratchev tied a team record with six points in the 11-3 win over the Gladiators. Donati's four goals are tied for a team record and Gratchev's six assists are still the most in Jackals' history.

1/4 at Greenville Road Warriors - 3:00 p.m. EST
Home vs. GRN 0-0-0, Away vs. GRN 0-0-0
On Sunday, the Jackals pay their first and only visit to the Bon Secours Wellness Arena this season. The Jackals and Road Warriors meet just twice this year, despite playing in the same division. The Jackals hold a 7-3-1 all-time advantage in the series with Greenville. Two of the Road Warriors' three all-time wins against Elmira came last season. The Jackals traveled down to Greenville on December 28-29, 2013 and dropped the two-game set, 4-2 and 6-3. The last Jackals' victory versus Greenville came on November 1, 2013, when the Road Warriors visited First Arena and were shutout 3-0. Artem Demkov, Philip-Michael Devos and Rob Bellamy scored for Elmira, and Scott Greenham stopped 31 saves for the shutout win.

Recapping Last Week:

12/26 vs. Reading: L 2-5

Nearly 4,000 passionate Jackals fans packed First Arena for Friday's contest between the Jackals and the Royals. Ryan Rashid scored a goal and added an assist but the Jackals fell short 5-2. Matt Hatch scored the game's opening tally 7:23 in following a lengthy post-whistle discussion. Pat Mullane added his 10th goal of the season at 16:28 on the power-play. Olivier Labelle was the beneficiary of the second goal debate of the evening and put the Royals ahead 3-0 at 13:40 of the second period. Adam Hughesman and David Marshall earned the assists. Ryan Cruthers netted his seventh of the season at 19:07 of the frame. The Jackals got on the board at 8:33 of the third period when Ryan Rashid popped in a rebound for his third goal of the year. Nick Tuzzolino and Steven Shamanski earned the assists on Rashid's tally. Less than four minutes later Cam Reid scored a backdoor goal on an odd-man rush to put the Royals ahead 5-1. Lucas Bloodoff wristed home his second of the year at 16:09, assisted by Rashid, but the comeback would end there.

12/27 at Reading: L 3-4

The Jackals weathered the storm early and battled back resiliently at Santander Arena, but were defeated by Reading 4-3 in the home-and-home weekend finale. Jackals netminder Sam Marotta stood tall in the opening frame and turned aside 15 of Reading's 16 shots on goal. However, Jordan Heywood would crack the scoresheet with his first goal of the season at 16:00 of the first period. Andrew Johnston and Olivier Labelle earned assists on Heywood's tally. The Jackals pounced quickly in the second period with Lucas Bloodoff's third of the season at 3:36 of the middle frame. Nick Tuzzolino and Matt Tassone earned assists on Bloodoff's second goal in as many games. Just over four minutes later on the power-play Ryan Rashid deposited his fourth of the season and second in as many nights. Mitch Holmberg and Kevin Hart earned the assists on Rashid's go-ahead marker. However, Pat Mullane would tie the game 2-2 at 16:14 of the period with his 11th goal of the year. Labelle added his ninth goal of the year at 12:04 of the third period, assisted by Matt Hatch and Maxim Lamarche. Just over two minutes later Heywood notched his second goal of the night and second of the season to put the Royals ahead 4-2. Tassone buried his 12th goal of the season with 25 seconds left to pull the Jackals within one, but that would be as far as they would come in their comeback effort. Steven Shamanski and Rashid assisted Tassone's tally.

Quick Hits:

* Sam Marotta leads all rookie goaltenders with a 2.61 goals-against-average and tied for second with a .914 save percentage.

* Steven Shamanski leads all rookie defensemen with 21 points and 10 power-play points.

* Shamanski is tied for third among all blueliners in points.

* Elmira is 11-2-2 when scoring first.

* Elmira is 10-0-1 when leading after two periods.

* Matt Tassone leads the league with five first goals.

* Nick Tuzzolino leads defensemen with 90 shots on goal.