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.

Let's hear it for Elmira's ironman goaltender Kris Tebbs. The Calgary, Alberta, native has played 21 games so far, the most of any United Hockey League goaltender. He's faced 736 shots, also the most of any UHL netminder and turned back 670 of them. He's posted an 11-9-0 record for the Jackals with a 3.37 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.

And he's in the middle of playing four games in five days.

Unfortunately, last night's game didn't go for so well him, as the Flags captured a 4-2 victory on home ice in front of an announced crowd of 1,725.

A non-drafted free agent out of the university of Nebraska-Omaha, he played 21 games for the Adirondack Frostbite in the 2004-05 season and 39 in the 2005-06 season. Barring an injury, he's going very much surpass those totals this season.

Tebbs robbed Port Huron's Ryan Markham on a breakaway in the first period last night, but Steve Hildenbrand picked up the rebound and scored to put the Flags up 1-0. Elmira answered back when rookie Derek Miller scored his first career professional goal. A natural defenseman, Miller was playing on a forward line for the game, as the Jackals were shorthanded due to suspensions earlier this week.

Taking a cross ice pass from David Morelli, his slap shot from the top of the right circle beat Flags' goalie Noah Ruden. Port Huron bounced back on a failing clearing attempt. Bobby Kukulka nabbed the puck just inside the offensive blue line and made it is 3rd goal in the last two games, all coming against Elmira.

Port Huron defenseman Craig Mahon tallied what would prove to be the game winning goal, again on rebound after Tebbs denied his inital one-timer.

Yevgeny Lazarev netted his 11th goal of the season, the only other puck that Elmira would be able to put in the net.

Tebbs stopped 33 of 37 shots, nine more attmepts than his Port Huron counterpart would face. Neither team could convert on the power play.

The Jackals fell to 13-11-0 this season.

Tebbs and his teammates will face the Flint Generals tonight at Perani's Arena at 7:30, and then take on the Kalamazoo Wings Sunday.

Gamesheet
Boxscore
Jackals lose again to Port Huron
Flags earn second straight win

The Port Huron Flags skated to a 2-1 win over the Elmira Jackals last night at the First Arena. Port Huron newcomer Bobby Kukulka scored both goals in a late Flags rally for the win.

Former Everblade and current Elmira captain Brent Cullaton got the Jackals on the board first when he took a long pass from Scott Wray and snapped a wrist shot over the blocker of Port Huron goalie Noah Ruden for his 5th gal of the season at 6:16 of the second period. Erik Anderson also assisted on the goal.

Kukulka tipped in a Shayne Tomlinson shot at 17:18 of the same period for a power play goal, tying the game at one each.

Game would stay that way until 18:35 of the third, when Kukulka swooped in, tucking the puck past netminder Kris Tebbs for the Flags victory. Greg Bullock and Tomlinson assisted on the goal.

Ruden stopped 32 shots to claim his first win of the season for the Flags, while Tebbs turned back 25 Port Huron shots to drop to 11-8-0 on the season.

The Jackals hit the road for three games in three nights this weekend beginning Friday night in Port Huron for a rematch with the Flags at 7:30 pm. Saturday the Jackals are in Flint to face the Generals and Sunday Elmira is in Kalamazoo for an afternoon game against the K-Wings. The games can be heard live over the internet at www.jackalshockey.com.

Flags Fly In Elmira 2-1
Boxscore
Game Sheet
Late goal sends Jackals to loss
Flags end road skid, clip Jackals

Chanse Fitzpatrick, one of the players suspended for last weekend's altercation, failed to show up for the game, although he did practice on Wednesday morning.

"We talked to Binghamton twice, and they didn't call him up," Jackals head coach Kris Waltze is quoted as saying in the Elmira Star Gazette. There was no word on his status according to Owen Newkirk, the director of broadcasting and public relations for the Jackals.

Fitzpatrick participated in the Ottawa Senators preseason training camp and was assigned to the Jackals two weeks ago by the Sens AHL affiliate in Binghamton.

Note: I have added a photo gallery to my Live Journal account. You can view it here. These were the pictures I was trying to upload when NHL Connect's editing tools broke. Now I can't upload anything! :( I will be posting more photos to the gallery soon.

Suspensions have been handed down by both the UHL and the ECHL following last weekend's games.

Most notably, the Elmira Jackals were heavily penalized by the United Hockey League following a two-game series against the Fort Wayne Komets.

Jackals rookie Milan Maslonka took the biggest penalty, a 10-game stint plus a fine after taking Match Penalty for Cross Checking. He will not eligable to play again until the January 5th game against the Flint Generals.

Right wing Curtis Tidball received a six game penalty for his actions during an altercation and teammate Chanse Fitzpatrick was suspended for two games for his actions in the same altercation. Both were also fined undisclosed amounts.

Komet Bruce Richardson was fined, but not suspended for his participation in the same altercation.

Jackals General Manager Robbie S. Nichols, never one to meekly sit back and watch, was fined 3 games for being in a restricted area off the ice. Nichols was behind the bench with his coaches for both games of the series. Jackals Head Coach Kris Waltze and and Komets Head Coach Pat Bingham were both fined for failing to maintain control of their teams.

(Funny, and I was just thinking the other night about how we never seem to have interesting melees in hockey anymore.)

Both organizations were additionally fined under Rule 29, Supplementary Discipline.

"The United Hockey League has handed down some very stiff suspensions to the Elmira Jackals organization," Nichols was quoted as saying a press release. "We support the decisions made by the UHL. The Elmira Jackals will continue to be a physical team that stands up for themselves, but like the UHL we will not tolerate any hooliganism."

(It should be noted that Nichols has a track record for being involved in "hooliganisms", dating back to his first year as head coach for Flint in then Colonial Hockey League.)

"Things that happened at the end of the second period Friday, we don't condone," Nichols was quoted as saying in the Elmira Star Gazette. "At the end of Saturday, what Maslonka did, we don't condone."

The ECHL fined the Pensacola Pilots an undisclosed amount under Rule 71 - Video/DVD procedures. Pensacola failed to turn in a tape of the altercation that happened following Saturday night's game between the Ice Pilots and the Florida Everblades. Additionally, Pensacola captain Colin Hemingway was suspended for one game for instigation, receiving a major penalty and a game misconduct under Rule 47, Fighting. Hemingway sat out Pensacola's game against the Charlotte Checkers last night, a game the Ice Pilots lost 5-2.

The Naple Daily News also reported that Everblades netminder Craig Kowalski was suspended for his actions in the fight. He was penalized for leaving the crease and slashing at the end of the game. He sat out Sunday's game against the Gwinnett Gladiators. (NDN erroneously reported the fight as happening on Friday night.)

Wheeling Nailers forward Joe Guenther was fined an undisclosed amount for a major spearing penalty for his actions at the conclusion of Friday night's game against the Toledo Storm.

In an unrelated move, the Jackals signed Doug Teskey as an Emergency Backup Goaltender after David Lemanowicz as placed on the 7-Day injured reserve with pneumonia. Lemanowicz has been told to avoid physical activity for the next ten days. Teskey works for the Jackals front office in the sales department, and has not played a professional game since the 2004-05 season.

The Jackals host the Port Huron Flags at 7:00 pm on Wednesday at First Arena and then will head out on the road for three games in Michigan over the weekend. Friday Elmira is in Port Huron, Saturday the Jackals head to Flint, then Sunday they will play a long anticipated rematch with the Kalamazoo Wings.

Defenseman Wes Blevins and forward Dan Veenema were activated from the IR, and are both available for tonight's game.

Komets handed fines for fracas in Elmira

Meanwhile the Florida Everblades announced the 8th annual Teddy Bear Toss was the most successful in team history with 5,528 stuff toys collected, which will go to various charities in the Southwest Florida area. United Way, Toys for Tots, the Salvation Army, Barbara’s Friends, and the Children's Hospital at Healthpark were just some of the organizations that benefited from the event.

The Blades begin a three game road trip on Friday against the Augusta Lynx. The teams will meet at the James Brown Arena at 7:35. Saturday the Blades take on the South Carolina Stingrays at 7:05 and will play a Sunday game against the Columbia Inferno at 5:05 pm. All times are eastern standard. This also the weekend for the annual Everblades fans road trip, which will take in the games at Augusta and South Carolina as part of the package deal.

The curse of the Teddy Bear Toss?
Veterans provide solid foundation for Blades