FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Dec. 7, 2012
LOSING STREAK HITS NINE AS JACKS FALL 3-1
Cornellier ties for league lead in power-play goals in loss to Amarillo.
ODESSA, TX– In the seventh of twelve scheduled regular season games between the two teams this season, the Odessa Jackalopes’ NAHL season-long losing streak hit nine games following a 3-1 loss to the Amarillo Bulls on Friday at Ector County Coliseum. With the defeat, the Jacks fell to 4-19-3 overall this season and with ten points, remain alone in the NAHL’s South Division standings. With Friday’s defeat, the Jacks fell to 0-7-0 vs. Amarillo this season and 0-16-0 vs. the Bulls in regular season franchise history.
In a measured, tight-checking game, Amarillo slowly amassed a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from defensemen Geoff Fortman at 10:34 of the first and TJ Sherman at 2:47 of the second period and an early unassisted third period goal from Mike Davis.
Odessa’s only tally came late in the third period when leading Jackalopes scorer Lawrence Cornellier wormed his way into a soft spot in the Amarillo zone and snuck a power-play goal past the right pad of Amarillo goaltender Paul Berrafato on feeds from newcomer Corey Hoffman and d-man Mike Mezzano at 15:49. With the goal, his 14th of the season and 7th power-play marker of the season, Cornellier tied Texas’ Brandon Hawkins and Topeka’s Kyle Sharkey for the NAHL lead in extra-man tallies in 2012-13.
In his fifth appearance in net for Odessa this year, Phil Heinle turned in his fourth 40-plus save performance, as the York, Pennsylvania native stopped 41 of the 44 shots he faced and fell to 0-5-0 on the season.
Next up for the Jacks, it’s the finale of a two game weekend series with the Bulls on Saturday with the opening faceoff set for 7:05 pm at Ector County Coliseum.
In 2012-13, the Odessa Jackalopes drop the puck on their second season as a member of the North American Hockey League. Season ticket packages for the Jacks’ sophomore campaign are available now starting at just $179. 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 season long and don’t forget to ‘Like’ the official “Odessa Jackalopes” fan page on Facebook.
— ODESSA JACKALOPES —
