Hello fellow Jackalope fans. It is a pleasantly warm day in Odessa, and the Jacks have received very good news as they are the first team in the Central Hockey League to clinch a playoff berth. This is great news for the team, and everybody that supports the team, but we must remember that the playoffs are basically the start to a brand new season. We must not get too far ahead of ourselves. After all, the regular season is still going on, and the Jacks definitely want to secure home ice throughout the playoffs as well. With that said, I will try and keep this post somewhat short, while I discuss a couple of things that have happened over the last couple of days pertaining to the Jacks, including a couple of transactions.
First, lets discuss the breaking news that the Jacks will for sure be in the playoffs. Some of you may be asking yourselves: How could the Jacks clinch a playoff spot if they haven't even played a game since Tuesday night? The answer is rather simple. With the Killer Bees losing to the Bucks last night, this means that the Jacks can finish no worse than fifth place in the Southern Conference. Since there are five playoff seeds in each conference, this obviously means that the Jacks will be in the postseason. Of course, the Jacks still have some work to do, as they are hoping to not only secure a playoff spot, but take the Southern Conference and Governor's Cup as well. The Governor's Cup would seal home ice for the Jacks throughout the entire playoffs, and the race is very close for a few teams. The teams that I would say are in contention for the Governor's Cup would be our very own Jackalopes, the Allen Americans, Rapid City Rush, and Colorado Eagles. It is still statistically possible for a couple of other teams to make a run for the Governor's cup as well, but the aforementioned teams are the teams that are neck-and-neck in the standings. With all of this said, I would like to say congratulations to the entire Jackalopes organization for being the first team in the CHL to secure a playoff spot.
The only other real news to mention is a few transactions that have taken place over the last couple of days for the Jacks. Two of these transactions are not very good news for the Jackalopes, as both Dave Van Drunen and Jean Bourbeau have been placed on the 14-day IR. Both of these guys are key players for the Jacks, and I wish both of them a speedy recovery. Hopefully we will be seeing them back on the ice in the very, very near future. The last transaction that we are going to discuss is that the Jacks have signed former Rapid City Rush defenseman, Will Bodine to a contract. The guy brings size to our team, and appears to be an enforcer type of player. Hopefully he will be a good fit for the Jacks, and hopefully he will help re-energize not only our defense, but our entire team as well. Rumours are swirling of another good d-man possibly returning to the Jacks for the playoffs, but that is purely speculation right now, so we won't discuss that... yet.
Finally, I will go ahead and talk about this weekend's contests for the Jackalopes. The Jacks will take on the unpredictable Gorillas tonight up in Amarillo. The reason I say they are unpredictable is because you never know how that team will play. One game you might beat them 9-3, and another game you might lose to them in a great game. Hopefully the team that I mentioned first will show up for tonight's contest. But, if the latter Gorilla team shows up tonight, I think the Jacks will still take care of them as well. After tonight's game, the Jacks will then head to North Richland Hills to take on the always tough Texas Brahmas. Hopefully the Jacks will put a beating on the bulls, because I have noticed a lot of smack coming from several of their fans. I think it is about time to shut them up for good, and I think an absolute beat down on their home ice would be just the thing to do that. With all of this said, I am going to go ahead and wrap things up and go run a few errands. I should blog again in the next few days, hopefully with news that the Jacks had a very good weekend.
Elsewhere in the CHL:
- The Sundogs defeated the Allen Americans yesterday by a final of 3-2. It is good to see the 'Dogs get a rare win on home ice... and yes it was their thirteenth straight one goal game. Also, I would like to say thank you to the 'Dogs for keeping the Americans six points behind the Jacks in the Southern Conference standings, with both teams now having played 50 games.
- The Laredo Bucks defeated the Killer Bees last night at the LEC by a final of 6-5. Thanks to the Bees losing, as we all now know, the Jacks have now clinched a playoff berth.
- And finally, the Missouri Mavericks defeated the Tulsa Oilers yesterday by a final of 4-1. The Mavs are heating up at the right time, and don't be surprised if you end up seeing them in the playoffs. Of course, the Jacks will see them twice before then in Missouri, and for some reason I don't think these games will be as much of a cakewalk for the Jacks as the blowout that we saw at the ECC back in October. Good luck to Hillman and his team for the rest of the season, except for when they play the Jacks, of course.
Until next time Jacks fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets slap around a few apes tonight!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment