FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Dec. 1, 2012
ODESSA GRINDS, COMES UP SHORT IN 6-3 DEFEAT
Popilock, Krogman, Olguin all score in tight loss to Texas.
ODESSA, TX– Despite a determined, focused effort, the Odessa Jackalopes dropped their season-long eighth game in a row on Saturday, courtesy of a 6-3 loss to the Texas Tornado at Ector County Coliseum. With the defeat, the Jackalopes fell to 4-18-2 overall this season and with 10 points, remain alone in sixth place in the NAHL’s South Division standings.
In a spirited first period, the Jacks drew first blood, as Zane Popilock slammed a power-play slapper past Texas goaltender Hunter Leisner at 8:30 on feeds from Lawrence Cornellier and Ryan Doucet. After Justin Greenberg evened things up for the Tornado late in the first, Alex Temby put Texas up a goal on a third-effort try deep in the Odessa slot at 8:58 of the middle frame.
Five minutes later, Jalen Krogman squared the score on his first goal of the season thanks to some nifty passing from Matt Volonnino and Steven Haydon, but Texas edged in front once more on a Scott Conway goal at 4:10 of the third that made it 3-2 Texas. The Jacks got a brief boost at 7:04 of the final period when Anthony Olguin’s dogged forechecking was rewarded in the form of his fourth goal of the season, from Krogman and Cornellier on the power-play, but a pair of timely, opportunistic goals from Texas’ Jason Eddy and Louie Rowe, capped off by an empty-net score for Greenberg in the final minute, spelled doom for the ‘Lopes.
In his first start in five games, Blake Wojtala was solid in net for Odessa, as the Trenton, Michigan native stopped 29 of the 34 shots he faced. Odessa’s specialty teams were a bright spot Saturday, as the Jacks netted a pair of power-play tallies on nine chances and the Jacks turned in a sparkling penalty-kill effort, denying the Tornado’s second-ranked power-play on seven of eight chances.
Next up for the Jacks, it’s a pair of weekend home games vs. the Amarillo Bulls on December 7th and 8th 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 —
