FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Feb. 3, 2012
MONSTERS DEAL JACKS TIGHT 4-3 LOSS
Cornellier scores twice in seesaw battle to start “Throwback Weekend”
ODESSA, TX– On the first night of “Throwback Weekend” at the Jack Shack, the Odessa Jackalopes wasted a resilient effort from their offense in a 4-3 loss to the Fresno Monsters Friday at Ector County Coliseum. With the loss, the Jackalopes fell to 15-22-5 overall this season and with 35 points, remain alone in fifth place in the NAHL’s South Division standings, eight points shy of the Corpus Christi IceRays for the South Division’s fourth and final playoff spot.
In the first game of a two-game weekend series with the Jacks, Fresno got out to a hot start, taking an early lead just 2:35 into the first period on an unassisted Filip Winkler tally. The Jackalopes responded midway through the opening frame when Lawrence Cornellier extended his terrific play as of late with the first of his two power-play goals on the night, a burner from the right circle assisted by Bryan Mitchell and Tyler Cayemberg that tied the game at one.
After back-to-back Fresno goals to start the second, the Jacks responded with two unanswered tallies of their own, Cornellier’s second of the night at 9:30 from Krogman and Minx on the power-play and Tyler Portner’s first goal as a Jackalope, coming in his Odessa debut, a breakaway score at 14:09 that knotted the game at three.
The third period’s only marker came at 13:23 of the frame when Fresno’s Petr Mainer sent a crisp centering feed into the low slot in the Odessa zone and Dominic Valencia swatted it home, staking the Monsters to a 4-3 lead on what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Down six players due to injury, illness and suspension, emergency backup goaltender Michael Baldwin and forwards Portner and Brandon Gorges played their first games for the Jackalopes on Friday and are expected to be in the lineup again for Saturday’s rematch with the Monsters.
Next up for the Jacks, it’s a Saturday rematch with Fresno with the opening faceoff set for 7:05 pm at Ector County Coliseum. Saturday marks the climax of Odessa’s “Throwback Weekend” as the team will honor longtime goaltender Mike Gorman by inducting the Jacks legend into the Jackalopes Hall of Fame during the first intermission and at the end of the night, fans will have a chance to bid on the Jackalopes’ game-worn, old-school uniforms in a postgame jersey auction.
The Odessa Jackalopes celebrate their 15th Anniversary in 2011-12 and drop the puck on their inaugural campaign as a member of the North American Hockey League. Season tickets, mini-plans, and single game tickets are available by calling (432) 552-7825 or by visiting the Jacks online at www.jackalopes.org.
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 —
