Elmira Jackals

Elmira Jackals
2010–11 ECHL season
City	Elmira, New York
League	ECHL
Conference	Eastern Conference
Division	Atlantic Division
Founded	2000
Home arena	First Arena
Colors	Navy blue, red, silver, white
Owner(s)	Mostafa Afr
General manager	Pat Bingham
Head coach	Pat Bingham
Affiliates	Anaheim Ducks & Ottawa Senators (NHL) Syracuse Crunch & Binghamton Senators (AHL) Danbury Whalers (FHL)
Franchise history
2000–present	Elmira Jackals
Championships
Regular season titles	None
Division Championships	2001-02, 2009-10, 2011-12
Conference Championships	None
Kelly Cups	None

The Elmira Jackals are an ice hockey team that play in the ECHL. Their home games are played in First Arena in Elmira, New York (the smallest arena in the ECHL) and they refer to themselves as "the beasts of the east". Their mascot is named Blade, and they were originally part of the United Hockey League.

The UHL years

Logo when they were in the UHL

The Jackals were born as a member of the United Hockey League before the 2000-2001 season, as an affiliate of the National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets. Eventually, they severed ties with the Blue Jackets and became an independent operation for the rest of their years in the league. During their tenure in the UHL, their average attendance was 3,308 per game, which included 31 sellouts. The largest crowd was a standing-room-only of 4,126 on October 13, 2006.

Playoff history

The team made a splash in their first season by immediately making the playoffs. Improving dramatically in the off-season, the Jackals won the Eastern Conference for the first time, in just their second season. They even got as far as playing the Muskegon Fury in the Colonial Cup finals, but lost in a hard fought 6 game series. They returned to the playoffs in 2003, but didn't get the chance to play for The Cup again until the 2004 season when they again faced the Muskegon Fury. After being swept in the 2004 Colonial Cup series, they never returned to the playoffs in the UHL.

The final year

Their final season in the league, was especially disappointing. They hired a new head coach who'd proven successful elsewhere and signed a few solid players, giving the team hope for a return to the playoffs. The season brought three head coaching changes, after the first one suffered a mini-stroke. There were also some injuries to key players. One of which, limited top ranked goalie Shawn Degagne to only 4 games.

Despite finishing in last place, there were some bright spots. Star forward Frank Littlejohn scored a franchise record 42 goals. The fans were very supportive of the team, averaging 3,427 per game during the season in an arena that only seats 4,000. Then on April 14, 2007, ownership announced they would be leaving the UHL for the North Division of the ECHL.

ECHL

The Elmira Jackals joined the ECHL in the summer of 2007 with a new logo and jerseys. They are a member of the North division.

Returning from a loss in Cincinnati, the team bus was involved in crash on Interstate 90 in Pennsylvania early in the morning of November 29, 2007. Several players sustained minor injuries. The Jackals suffered their worst loss in their first year. They lost to Johnstown 9-3. On March 9, 2008 after three seasons of being out of playoff contention in the United Hockey League, the Elmira Jackals qualified for the East Coast Hockey League playoffs.

For the 2007-08 season, the Jackals were the affiliate of the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) and Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL). During the 2009-10 season, the Jackals will be affiliated with the West Michigan Blizzard (AAHL), Binghamton Senators (AHL), and Ottawa Senators (NHL).

On July 27, 2010, it was announced that the Anaheim Ducks (NHL) and Syracuse Crunch (AHL) would be the Jackals affiliates for the 2010-2011 season.

On October 4, 2011, it was announced that the Jackals would be affiliated with the Danbury Whalers of the Federal Hockey League for the 2010-11 season.

Season-by-season record

The complete seasonal records throughout team history.

Season	W	L	OTL	SOL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
2000-01	32	33		9	73	260	289	2015	2nd, Northeast	Lost in 1st round
2001-02	45	21		8	98	260	216	2523	1st, East	Lost in Finals 4 games to 2
2002-03	41	28		7	89	257	254	2250	3rd, Eastern	Lost in 2nd round 4 games to 0
2003-04	33	34		9	75	238	256	1670	4th, Eastern	Lost in Finals 4 games to 0
2004-05	24	51		5	53	224	310	1686	4th, Eastern	Did not qualify
2005-06	27	42		7	61	231	300	1815	4th, Eastern	Did not qualify
2006-07	30	45		1	61	217	287	2087	5th, Eastern	Did not qualify
2007-08	41	24		7	89	245	219	1840	2nd, North	Lost in 1st round 4 games to 2
2008-09	39	26	2	5	85	235	232	1506	3rd, North	Lost in 2nd round 4 games to 0
2009-10	37	26	6	3	83	275	231	1721	1st, East	Lost in 1st round 3 games to 2
2010-11	32	30	7	3	74	249	264	1541	3rd, North	Lost in 1st round 3 games to 1
2011-12	45	22	2	3	95	228	204	1149	1st, Atlantic	Lost in 2nd round 4 games to 1
Totals	426	382	17	67	936	2919	3062	21803	-	-

Head Coaches

2000-2005: Todd Brost
2004-2005:Dave Schultz (Mid-season Replacement)

2005-2006:Perry Florio

2006-2007: Kris Waltze
2006-2007: Robbie Nichols (Mid-season Replacement)
2006-2007:Paul Gillis (2nd Mid-season Replacement)

2007-2010: Steve Martinson

2010-2011: Malcolm Cameron
2010-2011: Robbie Nichols (Mid-season Replacement)

2011-Present: Pat Bingham

Current roster

December 13, 2011.

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace	Contract
3	United States !	Devin, MikeMike Devin	2.0 !D	R	24	2011	Scituate, Massachusettes	Jackals
71	Canada !	Larocque, MarioMario Larocque	2.0 !D	L	34	2011	Montreal, Quebec	Jackals
6	France !	Dieude-Fauvel, BenjaminBenjamin Dieude-Fauvel	2.0 !D	L	25	2011	Bordeaux, France	Jackals
12	United States !	Campanale, MattMatt Campanale	2.0 !D	L	24	2011	Phoenixville, Pennsyvlania	Jackals
52	Canada !	Rivet, CraigCraig Rivet	2.0 !D	R	37	2011	North Bay, Ontario	Jackals
	United States !	Kirschner, AlecAlec Kirschner	3.0 !F	R	25	2011	Dix Hills, New York	Jackals

Staff
Title	STAFF MEMBER
Head Coach	Pat Bingham
Athletic Trainer	Brett Allen
Equipment Manager	John Sellars

External links

• Elmira Jackals official website
• Local Newspaper - Jackals articles
• Jackals Coach's Show Audio Downloads