Jacks and Martin Stay on Fire!

Hello fellow Jackalope fans! The Jacks have looked great the last few games, and are now on a five game winning streak! Also, the Jacks have now pushed the second place Allen Americans further away from the Jacks in the Southern Conference standings, leading them by nine points.

Now lets get on to tonight's game, shall we? The Jacks put a beatdown on the Americans tonight, defeating them by a final of 5-1. I must say, however, that the score could have been a whole lot different if it were not for the outstanding play of Jackalope goaltender, Joel Martin. Martin stopped an incredible 44 out of 45 shots on goal. Not to mention that just the other night Martin stopped 37 shots on goal against these same Americans as the Jacks shut out Allen by a final of 3-0. As far as how Martin's play has been over the last several games, one word comes to mind: WOW!!! This guy is absolutely dominating, and Juha sure isn't no slouch either. In fact, I would dare to say that the Jackalopes have the best goaltending duo in the entire Central Hockey League. After tonights huge win, Martin remains the number one goalie in the entire league with a record of 12-1-2, a goals against average of 2.05, and a save percentage of 93%. Now lets move on to who scored for the Jacks tonight. Mike Ramsay and Kenny Bernard both finished with one goal and one assist a piece (with Rammer's being a shorty); Jeff Pierce, Brian Swiniarski, and Alex Dunn also had one goal a piece; and finally Mike Lesperance, Phil Plante, Dominic Leveille, Collin Circelli, Jean Bourbeau, and Kory Karlander all finished the night with one assist a piece.

On a side note, I must say that I have been extremely impressed with Swinny ever since he has come off the IR. The guy not only brings an extra physical element to the Jacks, but he has proven that he can score too. I would also like to say that the Jacks are proving that they are the cream of the crop in the CHL this season after beating the very talented Allen Americans three games in a row. I can honestly say that I did not expect the Jacks to win all three games, although I definitely wanted them to. I guess I got my wish, though, as the Jacks won on Friday in Allen in overtime by a final of 3-2 (with the Jacks forcing overtime with less than one minute to play in regulation); the Jacks and Martin then shut out the Americans at the ECC by a final of 3-0; and finally the Jacks put a beating on the Americans at the ECC tonight with a final of 5-1.

By the way, tonight was the last time the Jacks play the Americans for the rest of the regular season. Who knows, though, maybe we will see them come playoff time! Finally, I would like to say thank you to everybody who showed up to watch the Jacks tonight at the ECC. The Jacks had their best attendance (I believe) of the season tonight, with over 3,700 people filling the seats at the Jack Shack. The place was electric, and the atmosphere was very enjoyable. I bet the boys were probably very happy to see a full house tonight. I must say that I also think it is sort of neat that in my last blog posting I was hoping for 3,500-4,000 to be at the Jack Shack to support the team, and then tonight we hit almost exactly in the middle of those numbers with 3,700+ in attendance. Lets hope that our attendance will stay like that for the rest of the season!

With that being said, I am going to go ahead and wrap things up here. Before I go, I would like to wish everybody a safe and merry Christmas, and I will be back in a few days to hopefully post more good news after the Jacks handle the Arizona Sundogs over the weekend at the ECC.

Around the CHL:

• The Laredo Bucks have been struggling as of late, losing to the Amarillo Gorillas the other night before losing to the Missouri Mavericks tonight in a shootout. You better believe that Lord Roscoe is pulling out several of those grey hairs as he finds his team falling further and further behind in the South.


• The struggling Riverkings pull out a road win against the struggling Ice Rays by a final of 5-3. Who would have guessed that the 'Kings would have a season like they are having so far?


• And finally the Colorado Eagles defeated the Rapid City Rush by a final of 6-5 in Rapid City. I guess this means that Gillis won't be coaching the CHL All-Stars this season, but something tells me that Gilly isn't worried about the rest of the CHL, only his Southern Conference leading Odessa Jackalopes.

Until next time Jack fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets sweep the Sundogs this weekend!