The Elmira Jackals gear up for a three game home-and-home series against the Port Huron Flags this weekend.

The Jackals are 3-2 in the season series against the Flags, with the two loses coming recently after the team went into a funk following a number of suspensions handed out following a two game series against Fort Wayne earlier in the month.

Elmira finally snapped a six game skid, beating the Chicago Hounds 6-2 on Saturday December 23, their first win with Robbie Nichols as head coach of the team.

The team was 12-8-0 prior to the skid, but wanting to shake some life into the team, Nichols was behind the bench when the Jackals Milan Maslonka went ballistic on the ice, setting off a brawl that resulted in the suspension of three Jackals players plus Nichols himself for being in a restricted area during a game. I doubt the refs would have minded his being there if he'd kept his mouth shut, but you know Robbie, he's got to get his foot in on everything.

I suspect I should not have been surprised then, when Nichols named himself head coach and bumped Kris Waltz down to assistant coach status after his three game suspension was served. This is pretty much the same sort of three-ring circus conduct we saw from Nichols when he took over in Glens Falls in 2002.

It's also the same sort of conduct that has marred Nichols record within the league. Still, he gets the job done so ballistic or not, he still gets hired.

Former Florida Everblade Brent Cullaton had two goals and two assists in the Hounds game to help lead the Jackals; Erik Anderson also had two goals for Elmira. Another former Blade, Greg Koehler got a goal and an assist in the Hounds losing effort at the Sears Arena.

Cullaton leads the team in points with 30 (8 g, 22 a) while Scott Wray is the leading scorer, with 14 tallies (27 p, 13 a). Right wing Yevgeny Lazarev and former Adirondack forward Frank Littlejohn both have 12-goals on the season.

Kris Tebbs finally got a break in the net with David Lemanowicz coming off the injured reserve. Lemanowicz made 29 saves to take the win in Chicago, and 25 in a losing effort against the Komets in Fort Wayne.

The six game skid dropped the Jackals record to 14-14-0, two points behind the Flags with 3 games in hand. The home-and-home series maybe tough on the New york team, as Port Huron has played well at home and two of the three games will be played at McMorran Arena.

Greg Bullock leads the Flags with 24 points (8 g, 16 a). Forwards Ryan Markham, Colt King and Bobby Kukulka all have 8 goals on the season for the Flags as well. Dustin Traylen has played 23 games in net for the Flags, posting a 10-2-2 record with a 2.68 goal-against average and a .913 save percentage. Rookie Noah Ruden has a 4-2-0 record in 13 games for the Flags, with a 2.93 GAA and a .912 save percentage.

The Flags won their last outing, 6-3 vs. the Kalamazoo Wings at home. Kukulka had a goal and three assists, Bullock a goal and two assists in the proceedings. Ruden kicked out 28 shots for the win.

"Dr. (Mostafa) Afr has made a commitment to winning and has stressed that since the moment I was hired," Nichols was quoted as said in a team news release. "With our recent record and form on the ice, we felt that a change was necessary.

"I am directly responsible for the players we recruited in the offseason and now I am directly responsible for their performance on the ice. Kris will work closely with me to get this team back on track."

Afr is quoted as backing Nichols decision to take over the team reins 100 percent, in the same release.

A question for Afr: What ever happened with that arena you were building in Port Huron? Is the hulk still sitting there, rusting?

I could argue that the weekend meetings will be an interesting affair, if only for the history of the principal players on the organizations involved. Yes, I realize the Flags are NOT the Border Cats but Port Huron is still Port Huron, irregardless of what you call the team. I'd be surprised if Afr actually showed his face in that city.

But most fans probably don't track the history for so long, or really don't care beyond having a rooting interest.

Oh, there is one more tie in...the Flags are coached by Stan Drulia, a native of -- Elmira, N.Y. Drulia's coaching record includes stops with the Orlando Seals of the then ACHL, and the ECHL's Augusta Lynx and Toledo Storm.