Jacks Pull Off Thriller!

Hello fellow Jackalope fans! Happy Halloween to everybody! Lets go ahead and get down to business, shall we? The Jacks played the IceRays for the second time this season last night, and for the second consecutive time, the Jacks won the game in a shootout. Although the Jacks were able to gain the two points, there were a couple of things that worried me about last night's game. First of all, the Jackalopes were pretty heavily outshot: something like 52-36 I believe. There is no way the Jacks should be giving up that many shots, but I guess some of that can be contributed to Van Drunen and Bria not playing. I can't wait for the captain to return as he is definitely the true leader on defense and he is dearly missed. Bria is also missed and I wish him a speedy recovery. Now lets get back to last night's game. The Jacks also took too many penalties last night, but I must say that I was very disappointed with the officiating of Ryan Hersey. With the Jacks leading 4-2 in the third period, Hersey made some questionable calls and gave the IceRays a five on three man advantage. Not only that, but Kory Karlander had his stick slashed out of his hands by an IceRay without getting the call from the man that had been calling every little thing the entire night. This lead to the Rays getting a powerplay goal with the two man advantage and pulling to within one goal of the Jacks in the third period. By the way, even Greg Rajan admitted on his blog that Karlander had his stick slashed out of his hands and that there should have been a penalty called on the play. With that being said, the IceRays tied the game less than two minutes later as Justin Quenneville managed to slap one past Jack's goaltender, Joel Martin. Neither team managed to score during the remainder of the third period, nor did either team manage to score in overtime, meaning that once again the Jacks and Rays would need a shootout to determine a winner. The shootout only took three rounds to complete as Joel Martin stopped all three of the IceRays shooters, while Mike Ramsay and Sebastien Thinel both found the back of the net for the Jacks, with Ramsay's being the game winner. Although the Jacks managed to come away with the two points, the IceRays made sure that they gave the Jacks a run for their money. By the way, these same two teams meet again at the ABC in Corpus in what is sure to be another great game. I must say, however, that I do expect Juha to start this upcoming game, and if he plays like he has played in his first three games of the season, then I think the Jacks will do just fine. Finally, I would like to point out that as of right now, the Jacks are in first place not only in the Southern Conference, but in the entire league as well. Hopefully that is a sign of what is to come in the Jack's future!

In other CHL news:

• The Gorillas drop two in a row over the weekend to the Laredo Bucks and the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. Their record now sits at 5-3-0 and they are currently in second place in the Southern Conference.


• The Texas Brahmas defeat the Allen Americans in a shootout at the always loud Nytex Sports Centre. This is the first game of the season that the Americans have not won, although they do still pick up a point as it took a shootout to decide things. As of right now, they still have not lost a game in regulation.


• Finally, Hillman and his Mavs were finally able to put a couple in the win column as they swept a couple of games in Wichita over the weekend. Is this a sign that the Mavs are getting on the right track, or did the Mavs just win against another terrible team? Time can only tell.

Until Thursday Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets get to fishing on Thursday night!