TRENTON, NJ – Shortly before the final goal was scored, whoever was choosing the music at Sovereign Bank Arena made a very appropriate choice, Tom Petty’s “The Waiting”. Apparently the Elmira Jackals didn’t want to stick around to hear Eric Clapton’s “After Midnight” or even Judas Priest’s “Livin’ After Midnight” as the Jackals Josh Aspenlind ended the longest game in ECHL history and gave Elmira a 5-4 victory and a one game to none lead in the American Conference’s North Division Semifinal.
The game did not start like it would be a thriller. The Jackals struck first, just 2:10 into the game on a score by Slavomir Tomko. Trenton’s Tony Zancanaro would not only tie the game at 8:26 into the first, that goal would also end a Trenton postseason scoring drought that had reached 135 minutes and 32 seconds, the last goal coming in Game 1 of the 2007 North Division Semifinals against the Dayton Bombers. Pierre-Luc Faubert, one of two Jackals in the lineup tonight who had played in last season’s six game series against the Reading Royals, would score the next two goals giving Elmira a 3-1 lead through one period.
Trenton’s Trevor Kell hit on a power play to bring the T-Devils within one early in the second. Elmira’s Chaz Johnson thought he had made it a 4-2 game late in the period only to see the goal disallowed on a goaltender interference call on teammate Chris Korchinski. The Devils would not convert then, but would tie the game less than two minutes into the third as Dan Eves, while being hooked by Jackals D Guillaume Lepine, managed to stay on his skates and put the puck past Elmira goalie Michael Teslak. With just over nine minutes remaining in regulation, Zancanaro’s second tally of the night would give the Young Trenton team its first lead of the 2009 postseason. With just 64 seconds remaining to play Elmira had another goal disallowed after Trenton keeper Gerald Coleman lost his mask during play. The Jackals, though, would end up tying the game just five seconds later as Korchinski made up for his penalty in the second and sent the game into OT.
While Elmira held the shots advantage through regulation (42-31), the T-Devils would outshoot them 31-13 through the first two overtimes. Both teams had a power play during the early overtime sessions but could not convert. All throughout the third overtime the ECHL record book was being researched and was duly noted each time the game moved up on the list of longest games in league history. After a minute and 25 seconds of the fourth extra period, the teams took ownership of the title of longest game away from the Louisiana Ice Gators and Greenville Grrrowl, who had set the record in 2000. Both teams also combined for the most shots on goal in the postseason (145), eclipsing the record of 139 in 2002 between Louisiana and the Jackson Bandits. Aspenlind’s goal at 6:10 of the seventh period of play would set the new record at 126:10 for longest game.
For the Jackals there will little time to celebrate and for Trenton little time to sulk as almost 19 hours later the puck will drop on Game 2. As close as these teams played during the regular season, after Game 1 look for this series to live up to its billing of one that could be very long and drawn out.
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