Published: March 21, 2009 12:20 am      

Johnstown edges Elmira in shootout

ELMIRA, N.Y. — Ian Keserich made 39 saves and stopped all five shootout attempts as the Johnstown Chiefs defeated the Elmira Jackals 3-2 on Friday night at First Arena.

The win moved the Chiefs into a four-way tie for second place in the North Division. The top four teams make the playoffs.

First-place Cincinnati (75) is followed by Johnstown, Elmira, Trenton and Wheeling, each at 74 points.

“It was a playoff game,” Chiefs coach Ian Herbers said.

“Any points are big but getting the two is huge, especially against somebody in the five-team battle. It’s good to do it on the road where we haven’t had the wins lately.”

The Chiefs (35-25-4-0) snapped a six-game road losing streak. The Chiefs are 3-10-1 away from the War Memorial since January 9.

Actually, Keserich faced seven one-on-one breakaways against the Jackals. Referee Joe Sullivan awarded the Jackals two penalty shots, including one that eventually forced overtime a little past the midway point of the final period. Keserich stopped a first-period penalty shot.

“Ian played strong,” Herbers said. “He had an opportunity to win it himself and he did.”

Elmira took a 1-0 advantage on Steve Yetman’s goal 5:26 into the first period.

The Chiefs answered with a goal by defenseman Trevor Hendrikx, who used a wrist shot from the high slot to score at 6:52. Andrew Sarauer and Toby LaFrance assisted.

“We’ve been doing that for I can’t remember how long. Other teams have scored on us and we've rebounded and scored on the next shift,” Herbers said. “We’ve been resilient like that.”

The Jackals had an opportunity to take the lead but Keserich stopped a penalty shot by Chaz Johnson at 16:11 of the first. Johnson was awarded the shot after Petr Pohl hauled him down on a breakaway.

Johnstown’s Ryan Garlock scored with 1:06 left in the opening period. David Schulz took the initial shot that Garlock deflected. Andy Contois also assisted.

Keserich seemed poised to make the lead stand. But referee Sullivan awarded the Jackals their second penalty shot at 10:58 of the third period. This time, Chris Korchinski converted to tie the game at 2-all.

Hendrikx fell on a loose puck in the crease during a flurry in front of Keserich, leading to the penalty shot call.

“The first one was a legitimate penalty shot,” Herbers said. “The second one I’m not so sure about but it happens.”

The Chiefs had a late 5-on-3 advantage but couldn’t convert. The Jackals had power-play opportunity in the final minute of overtime but couldn’t break the tie.

Keserich stopped all five Jackals shootout attempts by Korchinski, Pierre-Luc Faubert, Benoit Doucet and Brendan Connolly. Johnstown’s Sarauer had the lone shootout goal.