Jackals Weekly Release 3/10-3/15

ELMIRA, NY - The Elmira Jackals, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and the AHL's Rochester Americans, will face-off against the Reading Royals for the 15th and final time this season in addition to paying a visit to Wheeling, West Virginia this weekend.

Last Week's Record: 0-3-0
Overall Record: 28-24-6; t-fifth place in East Division, t-seventh place in Eastern Conference

Leaders:
Goals: Mike Seidel (18)
Assists: Taylor Stefishen (20)
Points: Mike Seidel (34)
+/-: x Matt Tassone (+15)
PIMs: Justin Sawyer (149)
PPG: Steven Shamanski (6)
SHG: Mike Seidel (2)
Wins: Travis Fullerton (18)
GAA: Sam Marotta (2.65)
SVP: Sam Marotta & Travis Fullerton (.909)

Previewing the Upcoming Week:
 

3/13 vs. Reading Royals - 7:05 p.m. EST
Home vs. REA 2-2-2, Away vs. REA 3-5-0
On Friday the 13th, the Jackals will host their East Division rival for the 15th and final meeting this season, and the seventh of seven at First Arena. These two foes opened March at Santander Arena with the final two meetings in Reading, Pennsylvania this season. In the first contest, Elmira stormed out in the opening frame, peppering Connor Knapp with 20 shots on goal and 14 on target before the Royals recorded their first shot. Steven Shamanski scored on a 5-on-3 power-play in the opening stanza to give the Jackals a 1-0 lead. In the third period, Sean Wiles and Adam Hughesman netted early markers and paced the Royals 3-1 victory, which also clinched the DeMets Candy Turtle Cup Challenge. The next night, Kevin Sundher scored his first goal as a Jackal, but the Royals came away with the 5-1 win. In their previous meeting at First Arena on Valentine's Day, the Jackals received no love from Reading and fell 7-3, setting a new season-high in goals allowed. Elmira is 49-50-12 all-time against Reading.

3/14 at Wheeling Nailers - 7:35 p.m. EST
Home vs. WHL 1-1-0, Away vs. WHL 0-3-2
On Saturday, the Jackals will pay their next to last visit of the season to WesBanco Arena. Overall, this contest will mark the eighth of 13 meetings this season and the sixth of seven on the Nailers' home ice. WesBanco Arena has not been a friendly destination for the Jackals this season who hold a 0-3-2 mark in Wheeling. In the previous meeting, rookie goaltender Franky Palazzese earned his first professional shutout as the Nailers defeated the Jackals 5-0. Back on February 27th, these two rivals battled to an exciting 10-round shootout, but the home team earned the extra point with former Jackal Chaz Johnson netting the shootout winner. The Jackals had to claw back twice in the third period, with goals coming from Ryan Rashid and Kevin Hart, to earn the single point. The last time the Jackals defeated the Nailers on the road was December 12th, 2013. The pack scored four unanswered goals to open the game and cruised to a 5-2 victory. Elmira holds a 38-29-10 all-time record against Wheeling.

Recapping Last Week:

3/2 at Reading Royals: L 1-5
The parade to the penalty box began early in the opening stanza and remained constant throughout the first 20 minutes. There were seven minor penalties called in the period and the Royals would capitalize on their first power-play opportunity. Ryan Cruthers, who received two minor penalties in the first period, stepped out of the sin bin and quickly joined Reading's man advantage. After receiving a pass from Mike Marcou, Cruthers walked to the top of the left circle and blasted a shot past Sam Marotta. Then, with 47 seconds remaining in the period, Sean Wiles took a drop pass from Andrew Johnston and sniped his 19th goal of the season over the shoulder of Marotta to put Reading ahead 2-0 at the intermission. After getting out-shot 15-2 in the first period, the Jackals quickly rebounded and cut the Royals' lead in half with Kevin Sundher's power-play goal just 30 seconds into the second frame. Mike Seidel and Taylor Stefishen earned the helpers on Sundher's first goal as a Jackal. Elmira received another power-play opportunity late in the middle stanza when the Royals were whistled for too many men on the ice. However, the Jackals saw their chance to tie the game slip away with Sean Wiles' shorthanded breakaway goal. The Royals added two more goals in the third period to solidify their victory in the final meeting this season at Santander Arena. Olivier Labelle notched his 21st goal of the year at 11:19 of the frame assisted by Adam Hughesman and Cam Reid. Then, at 19:01, Cruthers added his second goal of the night and 12th of the year assisted by Wiles and Brett Flemming.

3/3 at Wheeling Nailers: L 0-5
Jarrett Burton opened the scoring with his ninth goal of the season at 11:46 of the first period. Burton popped out of the slot and blasted a one-timer past Travis Fullerton for the eventual game-winning goal. Then, at 15:22, Brace would bury his 16th goal of the season on a two-on-one rush. Clark Seymour earned the assist on Brace's marker. Late in the first period tempers flared and Taylor Stefishen dropped the gloves with Alex Boak at 19:20 of the frame. Then, off of the ensuing face-off, Justin Sawyer and Pat McGrath dropped the mitts and Sawyer hammered the Nailer into the ice. The Nailers added to their lead at 4:57 of the second period with Zack Torquato's 12th goal of the season. Derek Army and Seymour added the helpers. Tyler Fernandez sniped his sixth goal of the season from the left dot at 9:23 of the middle frame to extend Wheeling's lead to 4-0. Jarrett Burton and Pat McGrath assisted Fernandez's tally. Travis Fullerton was pulled following Fernandez's marker and Sam Marotta entered the game. The Jackals mounted a push in the third period, out-shooting the Nailers 14-7, but former Jackal Chaz Johnson would add Wheeling's fifth goal at 16:51 of the stanza. Shane Bakker and Skelly earned the assists on Johnson's 11th goal of the season. Franky Palazzese stopped all 26 shots faced for his first professional shutout.

3/6 vs. Toledo Walleye: L 2-3
The resilient Jackals scrapped and clawed tonight against the Toledo Walleye, but their passionate pursuit of a comeback fell one goal short. The Jackals out-shot the Walleye 12-10 in the opening stanza, but the visiting team would strike first, 9:29 into regulation. Alden Hirschfeld fed Martin Frk in the slot from the corner for a quick shot that snuck through Sam Marotta's five-hole. Toledo would increase its lead to 2-0 at 17:16 of the first frame when Tyler Barnes took a pass from Shane Berschbach and tucked his 19th goal of the season past Marotta. The Jackals would battle back late in the first period and cut into Toledo's lead with just 58 seconds remaining. Mike Seidel fed Steven Shamanski in the offensive zone with a cross-ice pass and Shamanski's blast from the top of the right circle was tipped in by Lucas Bloodoff. Bloodoff's seventh goal of the season swung some momentum back to Elmira's side heading into the first intermission. The second period was played evenly and seemed to be melting away without any goals until a late strike by the Walleye. Shane Berschbach moved the puck ahead to Tyler Barnes at the Jackals blueline for a two-on-one with Troy Schwab, who tapped in Toledo's third goal of the night off of Barnes' backdoor feed. Mike Seidel led the comeback charge in the third period with a whistling shot off of an offensive zone face-off at 14:14 of the final frame of regulation. Riley Wetmore earned the assist on Seidel's team-leading 18th goal of the season. The Jackals furiously tried to score the tying marker, but could not deposit the equalizer past Jared Coreau.

Quick Hits:

* The Jackals are 19-0-2 when leading after two periods.

* Sixteen rookies have recorded at least one point for the Jackals this season.
 

* Steven Shamanski leads all rookie defensemen with 14 power-play points (six goals, eight assists). Shamanski also leads all Jackals skaters in power-play goals, power-play assists and power-play points.
 

* Elmira is 25-2-2 when scoring three or more goals.

* Sam Marotta is tied for second among all rookie goaltenders with a 2.65 goals-against-average and ranks fourth with a .909 save percentage.