Ex-Jackal Guinn killed in car crash
GATEHOUSE MEDIA

JEFFERSON, IOWA - Rob Guinn , a defenseman who spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Elmira Jackals, died last weekend in a car crash outside of Ames, Iowa.

The car driven by Guinn, 32, was struck when an on coming vehicle failed to stop at an intersection on U.S. Highway 30, sending both cars into a ditch. According to the Des Moines Register, Guinn's car came to a rest on the driver's side. Both drivers were taken to Greene County Hospital, where Guinn was pronounced dead.

Guinncame toElmira inDecember 2000 when then-head coach Todd Brost picked up the 6-1, 218- pound blueliner off waivers after the Central-Texas Stampede folded- leaving Guinn and John Murphy unemployed. The two defensemen helped solidify a weak defensive corps and were brought back the next season when the Jackals reached the Colonial Cup finals with the league's second-best record.

Guinn stayed in Elmira for the 2002-03 run to the Eastern Conference finals where the Jackals were swept by eventual champs - and Guinn's future employer - the Fort Wayne Komets. He was an eighth- roundpickby theEdmontonOilers in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft and spent the majority of his eight-year pro career in the United Hockey League (now the InternationalHockey League).

A strong presence on the ice, and very effective D-man on the power play, Guinn was never afraid to take chances with the puck and posted 44 goals and 220 assists. His best season was with the New Mexico Scorpions of the Central Hockey League in 2006-07 when he scored seven goals and 49 assists in the regular season, then posted 15 points in the playoffs. In 184 games as a Jackal - the longest tenure of his career - he scored 16 times with 62 helpers, which ranks him second behind Trevor Burgess on Elmira's alltime list for defensemen.

At the time of his death he was under contract with the Bloomington Prairie Thunder.

Guinn is survived by his wife, Brooke, and a five month -old daughter, Olivia.