Jacks Make Statement in Amarillo!

Hello fellow Jackalope fans! I know I said in my last post that I probably would not blog in a couple of days, but after tonights performance by the Jacks, I just couldn't resist. The Jacks made a huge statement tonight by absolutely pounding the Amarillo Gorillas by a final of 8-1 at the Amarillo Civic Center. That's right, the Jacks appeared to be back in earlier season form, putting up eight goals against a very unpredictable Amarillo team. The Jacks record now improves to 38-9-4 on the season, and they are now leading the Allen Americans by eight points in the Southern Conference, having played one more game than the Americans. Now lets go ahead and break down this incredible performance by the Jacks, shall we?

Things started off pretty slowly in the first period, as the only goal of the period was scored by the Jacks on the power play. Kory Karlander picked up a power play goal at the 18:10 mark of the opening frame, with the assists being awarded to Dominic Leveille and Mike Ramsay. Juha Toivonen stopped all eight of the Amarillo shots that he faced in the first period. The score heading into the first intermission was 1-0 in favor of the Jacks.

The second period is actually a period that the Jacks would probably like to forget. Yes they scored two goals, and only allowed Amarillo to score one, but they were badly outplayed in the second, having been outshot 21-7. The Jacks opened up the scoring in the middle frame, when Phile Plante scored a shorthanded goal at the 9:04 mark, with the assists going to Kory Karlander and Garrett Gruenke. The Gorillas would answer back just a couple of minutes later, when MacRae scored a power play goal to cut the Jacks lead to just one goal. It looked like the game might go down to the wire, but the Jacks were able to add another goal at the 18:11 mark of the second when Troy Ofukany scored his first goal in a Jackalope sweater. The assists went to James Sanford and Mike Lesperance. Juha Toivonen also stopped an incredible 20 of the 21 shots that he faced in the second period, as the Jacks took the 3-1 lead into the second intermission.

The third period is a period that was simple dominated by the Jacks, as they scored an incredible five goals in the final period of play. The Jacks scored at the 0:44 mark, when Collin Circelli scored a power play goal for the Jacks, with the assists awarded to Sebastien Thinel and Phil Plante. The Jacks would then add yet another power play goal at the 5:43 mark of the final frame, when Kory Karlander lit the lamp, with the assists going to Sebastien Thinel and Mike Lesperance. The Jacks led by a score 5-1 at this point of the game. Less than two minutes later, the Jacks would make the score 6-1 when Brian Swiniarski scored at the 7:02 mark of the third, with the assist going to Kenny Bernard. The boys were not done lighting the lamp, as just 18 seconds later at the 7:20 mark, Circelli netted his second goal of the game with the assist given to Sebastien Thinel. The Jacks would then go on to score their last goal of the game at the 9:16 mark of the final period, once again on the power play. Jeff Pierce scored this goal, with the assists going to Sebastien Thinel and Brian Swiniarski. Juha Toivonen also stopped all ten of the Amarillo shots that he faced, as the Jacks won the game by a final of 8-1.

All in all, this was a very solid effort by the boys tonight. The Jacks won by a final of 8-1; the Jacks went 4-4 on the power play; Thinel stayed red hot as he had four assists on the night; Karlander and Circelli both netted a pair of goals; Juha Toivonen stopped 38 of the 39 shots that he faced in net; Plante scored a shorthanded goal; and finally Troy Ofukany scored his first goal as an Odessa Jackalope. What a statement made by the boys tonight! With all of this said, I am going to go ahead and wrap things up and hit the hay.

Elsewhere in the CHL:

• The Ice Rays also made a huge statement tonight, as they pounded the Laredo Bucks by a final of 9-4. If this Corpus team makes the playoffs, then they could be a very dangerous team.


• The Texas Brahmas defeated the Wichita Thunder by a final of 4-1 at the NYTEX Sports Centre. I wouldn't call this a huge win by the bulls, but they will be riding a seven game winning streak heading into tomorrow night's game against the Jacks. I still say the Jacks handle the cows rather easily tomorrow.


• The Mudbugs hold off the Oilers by a final of 5-4, as the 'Bugs needed OT to finally earn the win. Bossier led by a score of 4-1 heading into the final frame, but the Oilers scored three unanswered third period goals to force overtime.


• The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees are able to upset the Rapid City Rush by a final of 4-3, with the game being decided in a shootout. This means the Jacks now have a seven point lead over the Rush in the league standings, with the Rush having a couple of games in hand.


• And finally, the Riverkings are able to double up the Eagles by a final of 4-2 at the BEC. The Jacks are now 12 points ahead of the Eagles in the league standings, with the birds having three games in hand.

Until next time Jack fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets whip those purple cows tomorrow night!