ALLEN, TX– Joel Martin stopped 30 shots and Garrett Gruenke’s second period goal held up for the game-winner as the Odessa Jackalopes topped the Allen Americans by a 3-2 score on Thursday in game one of their Berry Conference Semifinal series at the Allen Event Center.  The Jacks take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series with the win.

 

Gruenke’s goal 2:27 into the second period came from the blue line as Mark Ehl was screening in front of the net.  Jean Bourbeau and Mike Lesperance picked up the assists to give Odessa a 3-1 lead on the tally.

 

The Jackalopes held off a furious rush in the game’s final minutes as Allen’s Dave Bonk made it a one-goal game, scoring with 2:19 left to play after the Americans pulled goaltender Chris Whitley in favor of an extra attacker.  Odessa closed the book after that for the game one win.

 

Odessajumped out to a 2-0 lead late in the opening period as Sebastien Thinel and Mike Ramsay each scored goals just 32 seconds apart.  Thinel scored from the front of the net before Ramsay wristed one home from the left circle with 6:11 left in the first period.

 

Bruce Graham put Allen on the board with an unassisted goal from the left circle with 2:03 left in the opening frame.

 

Martin’s 30-save performance improved his postseason record to 4-0, while Whitley dropped to 3-1 with 27 saves.

 

Todd Robinson added an assist on Thinel’s and Ramsay’s goals to extend his point streak to 22 games, going back to the regular season.

 

After dropping game one of their Opening Round series at Texas, the Jackalopes have rattled off four straight wins.  Tonight’s win was just the fourth victory in a game one for the Jacks in sixteen chances.

 

Game two is scheduled for Sunday at 6:00 PM CST in Allen.  The action can be heard on Classic Rock 102.1 FM.

 

The Odessa Jackalopes are the Central Hockey League affiliate for the NHL’s New York Islanders and the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  The team is currently in the middle of its 14th season.  Season tickets, mini-plans, and single game tickets are available by calling (432) 552-7825 or visiting jackalopes.org.

 

Follow the Jackalopes all year long on Facebook and Twitter — Twitter.com/ODEJackalopes. 

ODESSA, TX– Sebastien Thinel tallied three points and Joel Martin stopped 26 shots for the Odessa Jackalopes as they shut out the Texas Brahmas on Thursday night by a 5-0 final.  The Jackalopes win their Opening Round series, 3-1, over Texas and will now face either Allen or Bossier-Shreveport in the next round.

Thinel finished with a goal and two assists in the contest, as his third period tally at 9:03 gave Odessa a 4-0 lead and put the game out of reach. 

Matt Gens added an empty-net goal with just over four minutes in the game, and Joel Martin took the Jacks the rest of the way for the win.

For the second straight game it wasn’t until the second period until the scoring started as the Jackalopes rattled off three straight goals to take a 3-0 lead.  Mark Ehl got things started 3:54 into the frame driving down the slot for his third of the playoffs.  Kenny Corupe then finished off a 3-on-2 rush for Odessa from the right circle at 4:51.  Alex Dunn scored a power play goal from the blueline that deflected off a Brahmas’ player with 5:46 left to play in the period.

Wayne Savage stopped 31 shots in the losing effort for the Brahmas.  Todd Robinson for Odessa recorded an assist in the game to extend his point streak to 20 games, going back to the regular season.

It was Odessa’s first playoff shutout since 2009 when Juha Toivonen blanked the Texas Brahmas, 2-0, in Game Six of their Conference Final series.

The Jackalopes now must wait to see who their opponent will be in the next round.  Mississippi and Tulsa must play their deciding fifth game on Saturday.  If Mississippi wins, Odessa will play Bossier-Shreveport.  If Tulsa wins, Odessa will play Allen.

The Odessa Jackalopes are the Central Hockey League affiliate for the NHL’s New York Islanders and the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  The team is currently in the middle of its 14th season.  Season tickets, mini-plans, and single game tickets are available by calling (432) 552-7825 or visiting jackalopes.org.

Follow the Jackalopes all year long on Facebook and Twitter — Twitter.com/ODEJackalopes. 

ODESSA, TX– Sebastien Thinel and Todd Robinson each recorded four-point games as the Odessa Jackalopes scored three in the third period to edge the Texas Brahmas, 4-3, at the Ector County Coliseum on Tuesday night.  With the win, Odessa takes a 2-1 series lead over the Brahmas in the Opening Round of the Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup Playoffs.

Thinel was responsible for two of Odessa’s third period goals as he gave the Jacks a 3-2 lead 6:02 into the frame and then scored the game-winner with 6:36 left to play – 31 seconds after Chad Woollard tied the game for Texas.

Alex Dunn scored 1:25 into the third period also to knot the game at 2-2.

The Jackalopes broke a scoreless tie just over two minutes into the second period as Kevin Seibel scored his first of the postseason on a rebound in front of the net for a power play goal.  Texas countered back with two unanswered as Calin Wild buried a loose puck with just under five minutes to play in the frame, and Jason Deitch scored a power play tally less than two minutes later.

Despite outshooting Texas 21-9 in the middle frame, and having five power play opportunities, the Jacks found themselves down on the scoreboard, 2-1, through forty minutes of play.

Joel Martin stopped 27 shots to pick up his second playoff win in as many games.  Wayne Savage took the loss for Texas despite a 37-save performance.

Robinson also extended his point streak to 20 games stretching back into the regular season with his four assists on the night.  Thinel finished with two goals and two assists.

Game four will be played in the Permian Basin on Thursday at 7:05 PM CST.  With a win, the Jacks can advance to the Conference Semifinal round.  A loss would set up a deciding fifth game on Saturday in North Richland Hills, TX.

The Odessa Jackalopes are the Central Hockey League affiliate for the NHL’s New York Islanders and the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  The team is currently in the middle of its 14th season.  Season tickets, mini-plans, and single game tickets are available by calling (432) 552-7825 or visiting jackalopes.org.

Follow the Jackalopes all year long on Facebook and Twitter — Twitter.com/ODEJackalopes.

N. RICHLAND HILLS, TX– Phil Plante scored two goals and Joel Martin stopped 37 saves as the Odessa Jackalopes topped the Texas Brahmas, 5-2, on Saturday night at the NYTEX Sports Centre.  With the win, the Jackalopes even their Opening Round series with Texas at 1-1 as the series shifts to Odessa.

 

Kenny Corupe led all skaters with a goal and three assists for the Jackalopes for four points.  Three other Odessa players tallied multi-point games as well. 

 

Corupe’s goal opened up the scoring 4:06 in a wild first period that saw both teams combine for 12 penalties – 10 of those called during stoppages in play.  Plante also scored his first goal of the contest in the opening frame.  Dylan Stanley and Greg Hogeboom on the power play scored for Texas for a 2-2 score.

 

In the second period Odessa opened up their lead with two goals in less than a minute as Mark Ehl deflected a point shot at 5:53 and Ramsay batted in a centering pass at 6:42.

 

Plante’s third period tally just over a minute in was the final goal of the game.

 

Wayne Savage took the loss in net for Texas with 26 saves.

 

The series now moves to West Texas for games three and four.  Both games are set for a 7:05 PM CST start.  Tuesday is when game three will be played.  The action can be heard on Classic Rock 102.1 FM.

 

The Odessa Jackalopes are the Central Hockey League affiliate for the NHL’s New York Islanders and the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  The team is currently in the middle of its 14th season.  Season tickets, mini-plans, and single game tickets are available by calling (432) 552-7825 or visiting jackalopes.org.

 

Follow the Jackalopes all year long on Facebook and Twitter — Twitter.com/ODEJackalopes.