Winners to Be Announced on March 19th and 22nd

(Odessa, TX) – The Central Hockey League announced the finalists for its regular season awards and three members of the Odessa Jackalopes made the cut.  Sebastien Thinel is a finalist for the league’s Most Valuable Player award, Joel Martin for Most Outstanding Goaltender, and Alex Dunn for Most Outstanding Defenseman

Thinel (tuh-NELL) was just named the CHL’s Player of the Month for February and is currently tied for second in the league with 82 points (19 goals, 63 assists).  He is also second in the CHL with his 63 assists.  Thinel is currently the reigning league MVP after winning the award last season, edging out Colorado’s Riley Nelson.

Martin has put together a 20-6-2 season in net for Odessa, with the league’s third best Goals Against Avg. at 2.57.  Those 20 wins are tied for third in the league as well, and hiss .918 Save Percentage is fourth best in the league.  Martin was named the CHL’s MVP of this season’s All-Star Game after being named a starter.

Dunn was also a starter in the league’s All-Star Game and is currently third among defensemen with 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists).  He’s been especially dangerous on the power play, scoring 10 of his goals in man-advantage situations – one behind Colorado’s Aaron Schneekloth.

The winners of the Most Outstanding Goaltender and Defenseman awards are tentatively schedule to be announced on Friday, March 19th while the league’s Most Valuable Player award will be revealed on Monday, March 22nd.

The Odessa Jackalopes are the Central Hockey League affiliate for the NHL’s New York Islanders and the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  The team is in the middle of their 13th season in the Permian Basin.  Season tickets, mini-plans, and single game tickets are available by calling (432) 552-PUCK or visiting jackalopes.org.