Odessa Jackalopes (1-0-0-0, 2pts) vs. Springfield Jr. Blues (3-0-0-0, 6pts)
at NSC SR 1 in Blaine, MN
Time: 1:45 p.m. CDT
Broadcast: (Away) HockeyTV
What You Need to Know:
Season Series: 0-0
Leading Scorers:
ODA: 4pts, Goode (2g-2a)
SPR: 5pts, Panisa (2g-3a)
What A Start:
Yesterday the Jacks took it to the Chippewa Steel by putting up six goals in 60 minutes. Alex Proctor was between the pipes for Odessa and recorded 25 saves. When asked what impressed him the most the other day, Head Coach Scott Deur had this to say, “What impressed me the most was our guy’s fight.” He went on to add, “Chippewa kept coming and we had good pressure back to maintain our lead.” Half of the Jacks goals were scored by NAHL rookies (Emerson Goode (2), Chris Duclair). The Jacks will now square off against another undefeated team from the Midwest Division, the Springfield Jr. Blues.
Win Streak:
Both teams will start today’s game undefeated but once it is all over only one will remain that way. The Jr. Blues played two games prior to the NAHL Showcase, both were against the Janesville Jets (4-1, 4-1). Their most recent game came last night as they shutout the Jamestown Rebels (Jacks will play them Saturday), 7-0. They also outshot the Rebels, 38-14, and went 2/4 on the power play. The Jacks however turned a lot of heads during their season opener victory, one of them especially was their Head Coach. Scott had this to say about earning his first win as the Jacks Head Coach on their season opener, “It’s a great feeling to get the first win as a Head Coach. Takes the monkey off the back.” He went on to say, “Now we just have to continue the momentum that we built and go into today looking for another win.” Last season the Jacks went 3-0 before losing their first game.
Conditioning:
The Jacks along with a majority of the NAHL teams will be playing four games in four-straight days. Which will be the most for many in any span this season. For the Jacks they do not play more than three games in a row during a weekend series. So, for many of the players to see this much hockey, especially those that are new to the NAHL, can be daunting for sure. The lengthy training camp and daily workouts look to provide the right materials to guide this Jacks squad to a successful season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Jackalopes (F: #22 – Emerson Goode)
Goode put on a spectacular performance the other day as he notched four points in his NAHL debut. The native from Anaheim, CA was drafted #132 overall by the Oklahoma City Blazers (NA3HL) in 2021. The 6’-0” 175lbs. left-handed forward was all over the ice yesterday. Making countless efforts to apply pressure when needed and always looking for the open man. Goode currently has a shooting percentage of 100%. Not only did he score the game’s first goal yesterday but also the last via empty net. Goode dominates the open ice areas and will look to do more of the same this afternoon.
Jr. Blues (F: #15 – Jonathan Panisa)
The native of Irvine, CA is in his third season in the NAHL, all with the Jr. Blues (50gp, 16g, 25a). The Jr. Blues drafted him #10 overall in 2018. Also in 2018, Panisa was selected by the Central Illinois Flying Aces (USHL) at pick #229. The 5’-9” 160lbs. right-handed forward is currently committed to UMass (Hockey East, D1). Surprisingly, Panisa did not play last season but the two years prior to that he did have some playing time in the USHL spilt with the Flying Aces (42gp, 1g, 8a) and Des Moines Buccaneers (10gp). Panisa will not only be a threat on even strength hockey but, also on the man-advantage, as two of his three goals have come while up a man.
