Jacks Robbed in Rapid City!

Well, hello fellow Jackalope fans on a Friday night in the Permian Basin. Wish I could be blogging with better news, but unfortunately the Jacks fell to the Rush tonight after an incredible comeback by the Rush, and some controversial calls by referee Dan Dreger. Before I break down the game, I will go on a little rant about the moron known as Dan Dreger.

So, as I said, lets start with the officiating. Dan Dreger decided the outcome of a back-and-forth battle by waving off the tying goal with two minutes left in regulation. The reason... goaltender interference. There is only one problem: there was not a penalty handed out for goalie interference, nor did the net come loose. If not enough contact was made to not hand out a penalty, then I think you have to allow a goal when it is that late in regulation, period. Dreger also made several key ticky tacky penalty calls late in the second period, as well as in the third period. Ramsay was called for tripping on a hip check... are you kidding? Mbaraga was called for cross checking when there was absolutely no cross checking at all... once again, are you kidding me? Then midway through the third period, Ramsay absolutely gets nailed and is down on the ice injured for a moment with no call. Dunn then loses his cool and goes after Wray, resulting in the Rush ending up with a three minute powerplay. Wray is not called for the vicious hit on Rammer, which should have been either a double minor for boarding or charging, and was only given a two minute unsportsmanlike minor after Dunn has to go after the goon for the nasty hit on Ramsay. Incredible! The Rush then go on to get a powerplay goal, but the Jacks do not give up. With approximately two minutes in regulation, Dave Van Drunen scores a goal off of a wrist shot only to have it waved off for interference. Only no penalty was given to the Jacks, so I think it is safe to say that Dreger wanted to feel special and decide the outcome of a hard fought game. I just found it hilarious that the Rush staff didn't want to show a replay on their huge video board after this very controversial goal. Hopefully the league will review this game, although we all know that they probably won't, and discipline Dreger for his stupidity. I never have liked this ref, although he is Rajan's favorite, but I find him to be a moron with an agenda.

Now that I have blown off a little steam, I will break down the game. First let me say, shame on the Jacks for giving up not one, but two three goal leads. There is no reason for this, and an elite team does not play like this. I still think we need one more quality d-man and cut Ofukany, because it is becoming very evident that our defense has been fatigued recently, and they need some help. The Jacks also gave up two shorthanded goals, which has also been a problem for the boys this season. This needs to be fixed, and fixed fast.

Now on to the first period of play in Rapid City, South Dakota. Things were looking great for the Jacks in the opening frame as they took a two to nothing lead heading into the first intermission. Congrats to Bourbeau who scored the Jack's first goal at the 17:50 mark, with the assists going to Pierce and Gruenke. Congrats to Sebastien Thinel for tallying the Jacks second goal at the 19:04 mark, on the powerplay, with the assists going to Lesperance and Bernard. Martin also played well in the first period, stopping all thirteen Rush shots that he faced in net. I was feeling pretty good about the Jacks chances going into the second period.

The second period also started off great for the Jacks as Leveille scored a powerplay goal at the 2:56 mark, with the assists going to Karlander and Bernard. The Jacks now led the game by a 3-0 score, and I was feeling that the Jacks were going to continue pounding the Rush. However, a couple of minutes later the Rush score a shorthanded goal to cut the Jack's lead to two goals. The Jacks answered back not even a minute later to take back the three goal lead, when Circelli scored a powerplay goal at the 6:02 mark, with the assist going to Sebastien Thinel. Things seemed to be going the Jacks way once again. But, a little over a minute later, the Rush score yet another shorthanded goal to cut the Jack's lead to two goals yet again. Get this one, though: the Jacks then go on to score another powerplay goal not even one minute later as Jeff Pierce scored at the 7:56 mark to once again regain the three goal lead, with the assists going to Plante and Circelli. Sounds like an absolute slug fest at this point, doesn't it? Both teams trading numerous goals in a very short amount of time. The last goal of the second period went to Rapid City, though, as they once again cut the Jack's lead to two goals heading into the second intermission. Martin did not play well at all in this period, giving up three goals on seven shots.

So now lets move on to the oh so controversial third period, shall we? I was pretty confident that the Jacks would pull off the victory, considering they were leading by two goals heading into the final frame. Boy, was I ever wrong. The Rush scored an early goal in the third to cut the Jacks lead to one goal. The Rush then eventually went on to tie the game later on in the third, before taking the lead at the midway point of the period after scoring a powerplay goal. Credit must be given to the Rush for never giving up, and coming back to take the lead. I will give them all the credit in the world for that. However, the Jacks tie the game in dramatic fashion with about two minutes left in regulation, only to have Dan Dreger wave off the goal for phantom interference. No penalty was handed out, nor was the net knocked loose, yet Dan Dreger decides to hand the game on a silver platter to the Rapid City Rush. Now, I'm not saying that the Jacks would have necessarily won the game, but they would have forced OT, and at least earned a well deserved point. Instead, they got robbed, and have to put this behind them to focus on this same team tomorrow night. Hopefully we will not have Dreger as ref, but I have a feeling that we will.

There are several things that I took away from this game. The Jacks need some help defensively as they have been looking very tired as of late; the Jacks need to learn how to hold on to leads. Earlier I stated that the Jacks blew two three goal leads, but I was actually wrong. The Jacks actually had three, three goal leads that they let slip away; referee Dan Dreger is an absolute moron; and finally, Martin did not look good at all in net tonight. He definitely had an off night, and unfortunately his play was a big reason that the Jacks lost tonight. With that said, the Jacks must put this game behind them, move on, and take care of the Rush tomorrow night. All I know is that I can't wait for March when the Jacks get the Rush on their home ice, when Rapid City visits the ECC. I am going to go ahead and wrap things up, and hopefully things will go better for the Jacks tomorrow night!

Elsewhere around the CHL:

• The Brahmas shutout the Bucks at the NYTEX Sports Centre by a final of 4-0. The Brahmas move back into the third spot in the South, while Laredo is bumped back down to the fourth spot.


• The Mavs take care of the Thunder in Wichita by a final of 4-1. Kelly has been very good for the Thunder, though, and I am really beginning to question the trade that was made to acquire Ofukany.


• The IceRays get a huge win after defeating the Bees by a final of 5-3 at the Dodge Arena in McAllen.


• The Gorillas choke late in the third period to allow the Americans to tie the game. Allen went on to win in OT, and now trail the Jacks by only seven points in the Southern Conference standings.


• And finally, the 'Dogs hold on for a huge win over the Colorado Eagles in Loveland. I wonder what type of reception Reeder was given after jumping ship to Arizona?

Until next time Jack fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets get some revenge on the Rush tomorrow night!