Jackals Sign Cornell Defenseman

ELMIRA, NY - The Elmira Jackals, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and AHL's Rochester Americans, announced today that they have signed rookie defenseman Jacob MacDonald to a standard player contract.

MacDonald, 22, joins the Jackals following the conclusion of his collegiate career at Cornell University. 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).

Additionally, the Jackals have announced that rookie forwards Trevor Gerling and Matt Harlow have been released from their amateur tryout agreements and have signed standard player contracts. In addition, the club has released Dan Turgeon from his standard player contract and has activated Mitch Holmberg from the 21-day IR.

Gerling, 24, was originally signed to an amateur tryout agreement follow the conclusion of his collegiate career at the University of Connecticut. He was released from his amateur tryout agreement and signed a standard player contract on Tuesday. The 6-foot 195-pound forward has skated in four games with Elmira and recorded his first professional goal on March 21st. While at UConn, Gerling collected 64 points (33 goals, 31 assists) in 124 career NCAA games. Before attending the University of Connecticut, Gerling skated for three seasons with the Langley Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League. The Renton, Washington native captained the Chiefs in his third season with the squad.

Harlow, 22, signed an amateur tryout agreement after completing his collegiate career at Brown University. Like Gerling, Harlow was released from his amateur tryout agreement and signed a standard player contract on Tuesday. He has skated in four contests for the Jackals and registered his first professional point, an assist, on Wednesday night. The 5-foot-10 185-pound forward appeared in 127 NCAA games and collected 36 points (17 goals, 19 assists) along with 68 penalty minutes. Harlow joins teammate Sam Marotta as the second member of the Jackals to hail from Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Turgeon, 24, skated in five games for the Jackals and recorded his first ECHL goal on March 13th. He started his first professional season with the Danville Dashers of the Federal Hockey League. In 39 games with Danville, Turgeon recorded 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists) and a plus-18 rating. Prior to turning pro, the 6-foot-3 210-pound forward played one season at Buffalo State and led the team with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 25 games. Before attending Buffalo State, the Centennial, Colorado native played two seasons at Monroe Community College, recording 102 points (49 goals, 53 assists) in 51 games.

Holmberg, 22, has been activated from the 21-day IR and placed on the active roster. Holmberg has not played since suffering an injury in Wheeling, WV on March 3rd. The Sherwood Park, Alberta native has recorded 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 26 games with the Jackals this season. Holmberg began the season with the Bakersfield Condors, collecting one assist in eight games, before he was recalled by the Oklahoma City Barons and traded to the Utica Comets. He was then reassigned to Elmira.