FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday September 27th, 2013
AMARILLO BULL(IES) THEIR WAY TO VICTORY OVER JACKS
Third period line brawl turns tide in Jacks first loss in three games
AMARILLO, TX – Coming into Friday night’s tilt with the Amarillo Bulls, the Odessa Jackalopes were riding high after winning two games in a row for the first time in over a year. The Jacks had never won a regular season game against the Bulls in franchise history, but Amarillo was ripe for the picking after a 1-2-1 Showcase and going winless in their last three games.
The Bulls gave their home crowd something to cheer about early in the hockey game. After a Jeff Martin penalty, leading scorer Tyler Gernhofer put in his 5th goal of the season at 1:58 of the first period. The Bulls would add another at 12:15 on Carter Penzien’s first of the year. Jacks defenseman Connor Chambers was tripped up behind the goal and the puck was centered into the slot. When the first shot was stopped by Yoshihiro Kuroiwa, Penzien was there for the tap in. The Jacks trailed 2-0 after one, despite putting 12 shots on goal.
The Bulls took a late penalty in the first and the Jacks powerplay carried over to the beginning of the second period. Just 24 seconds in, Connor Chambers scored his first goal as a Jackalope. His shot from just inside the blue line redirected off of one of the Bulls players and went behind Collin Delia. Just 4:36 seconds later, Mathieu Briand scored his 2nd goal of the season on a 3-on-2 rush lead by Trace Jablin. Jablin slid the puck to Derek Brown who then found Briand wide open. He fired the puck into the top self to tie the game at two. Despite the Bulls coming on late in the 2nd, the Jacks and Amarillo were tied at two going into the third.
After an even hockey game through 40 minutes, momentum switched back to the home team 28 seconds into the third. After a clean hit from Jacks forward Alex Alger, two Bulls players jumped Alger from behind, leading to a 5-on-5 line brawl. The crowd was back in the game and the Bulls seized the lead again at 3:10 on Tyler Gernhofer’s 2nd goal of the game. The Jacks hung around in third until a penalty by Alex Alger forced them to the penalty kill with only 3:44 left. Joe Grabowski gave the Bulls an insurance goal and they held on to beat the Jacks, 4-2.
The same two teams will battle Saturday night from the Amarillo Civic Center. The Voice of the Jacks, Joey Battaino has the call at 7:00pm on Classic Rock 102.1 KFZX and FASTHockey.com
Don’t forget single game tickets for the Jacks opening weekend on October 4th and 5th are on sale now. Call the Jack Shack at (432) 552-7825 or go to www.jackalopes.org to purchase your tickets online.
In 2013-14, the Odessa Jackalopes will embark upon their third season in the North American Hockey League and 17th in the Permian Basin. Single game tickets are on sale now! To reserve your seats, contact the Jackalopes’ ticket office today at 432-552-7825 or log on to www.jackalopes.org for more information.
Be sure to follow the Jackalopes on Twitter @LetsGoJacks all year long and don’t forget to ‘Like’ the official “Odessa Jackalopes” fan page on Facebook.
— ODESSA JACKALOPES —
