The Elmira Jackals, ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, split a pair of games with the Reading Royals, ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, this past weekend.
Overall, the Jackals are now 2-2 on the season.
Friday night, the Elmira Jackals dropped a 5-1 decision to the Royals in their “Pink the Rink” game at First Arena.
The Jackals rallied back from that loss on Saturday evening for their own decisive victory, a 7-2 win over the Royals.
The Jackals and Royals will meet 12 times over the course of the 2015-2016 ECHL season, including their third consecutive meeting on Wednesday (in Reading, 7 pm). The Royals and Jackals have the same record heading into Wednesday night’s game.
Friday’s loss saw Jackals defenseman Jacob MacDonald score his first of the season and second professional goal.
Former Buffalo Sabres prospect Kevin Sundher had a hat trick for Reading in their win. That’s his first ECHL hat trick and first hat trick overall since October 29, 2011; he never registered one in his several seasons with the AHL’s Rochester Americans. Sundher’s last hat trick came as part of a four-goal campaign on October 29, 2011 as the WHL’s Victoria Royals beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 7-3.
Royals captain Maxim Lamarche also notched a goal, along with Adam Comrie — both defensemen.
C.J. Motte had 28 saves in Friday’s loss – Comrie’s goal was an empty-netter – while Martin Ouellette stopped 20 of 21 shots faced for the Royals.
Following that, the teams reconvened on Saturday night in Reading, and this time, the result was significantly better for the Elmira Jackals.
Forwards Cason Hohmann and Taylor Stefishen each notched a pair of goals, and Sam Marotta stopped 21 shots faced, in the 7-2 win.
Defenseman Josh Chapman, recently reassigned from the AHL’s Rochester Americans, scored his first professional goal, while Jackals captain Nathan Oystrick and forward Colin Jacobs also scored for the Jackals.
Robbie Czarnik and Riley Armstrong notched goals for the Royals in Saturday’s loss.
Puck Prose
Royals goaltending was split between former Buffalo Sabres netminder Connor Knapp, who made six saves on 10 shots (23:39) and Nick Niedert, who made eight saves on 11 shots (36:21).
Jackals defenseman Spiro Goulakos had three assists and a plus-3 rating in Saturday’s win over Reading.
The Jackals were outshot in both games by a combined total of 56-42; they registered 21 shots in each of the weekend match-ups.
The pair of games against Reading came after the Jackals opened their season with a 4-1 loss to the Adirondack Thunder. They then defeated the Brampton Beast by a score of 4-2.
After four games, it’s the rookie Hohmann who leads the Jackals in points, with five on the season to date. Allan McPherson and Matt Garbowsky each have three points but have since been recalled to the AHL. Jacobs, Goulakos and Chris Langkow each also have three points.
Hohmann leads the team with 13 shots on goal, while Jacobs and Zach Tolkinen have each registered 12. Hohmann and Jacobs are both a team-best plus-4.
Fifteen of 21 skaters for the Elmira Jackals have already registered at least a point so far this season, including 11 of 13 forwards.
Next up for the Jackals is Wednesday’s game against Reading. They’ll follow that with a pair of home games against the Orlando Solar Bears and the Manchester Monarchs on Halloween weekend.
Next: Ristolainen Emerging Among Sabres D
More from Sabre Noise
- 3 biggest standouts at Buffalo Sabres 2023 Prospects Challenge
- 3 takeaways from the Buffalo Sabres final Prospects Challenge game
- Buffalo Sabres experiment with lesser-known talent in loss to Pens
- Buffalo Sabres 75 Bold Predictions for 2023-24: Prediction 51
- Buffalo Sabres vs. Pittsburgh: A quick look at the Penguins prospects