Miller Screws Jacks!

Hello fellow Jackalope fans.  It was a disappointing night tonight if you are an Odessa Jackalope fan, as the Jacks blew a two goal lead in yet another game, and referee Geoff Miller absolutely screwed the Jacks royally tonight at the Ector County Coliseum.  The Jacks lost the game by a final of 5-4 in OT, but Miller tried his damnedest to hand the game to the Sundogs on a silver freaking platter in regulation.  Put it this way: Five of the first six penalties called in the game (which extended into the third period) were called against the Jacks, with the 'Dogs only receiving one minor during this stretch of time.  It was as if the Jacks couldn't buy a call, while Arizona was being given call, after call, after call, after call.  It was simply unbelievable.  Then, with about five minutes left in the game, in a tie game might I add, Miller calls Alex Dunn for delay of game after Dunn is taken down by a Sundog player behind the Arizona net where Dunn fell on top of the puck obviously injured.  Alex Dunn was down on the ice for some time in obvious pain, but this absolute disgrace of a referee calls him for delay of game.  What in the hell did Miller expect Dunn to do, jump up and start tap dancing on ice?  He was freaking injured!  Then, to make matters worse, another delay of game is called seconds later as the Jacks were killing off what never should have been a penalty as David McKee was tagged for delay of game after he shot the puck out of play.  I'm not arguing the second penalty called, but the first one never should have been called, and if it wasn't, then McKee never would have shot the puck out of play to begin with.  Of course, this means Arizona went on a very long five on three power play late in a tied game, and credit must be given to the Jacks for killing off this total bullshit, but many of the guys were gassed after having to fight off the Sundogs as well as Geoff Miller.  The game ended up going into OT, and the Sundogs scored about three minutes into the extra frame off a pretty soft goal given up by David McKee.

  You know, I was really impressed with McKee when he first joined the Jacks, but he has been a pretty big disappointment in his last several games, and that shot is one that just has to be stopped in overtime.  Yeah, the defense deserves a ton of the blame as well as Arizona never should have even been able to come back in the game, and turnovers led directly to a couple of Arizona's goals, which can't be blamed on McKee.  That said, your goaltender is supposed to be your last line of defense, and our goaltending has been shaky (to say the least) all season long.  Sometimes a goalie has to find a way to stand on his head, and we have rarely seen that this season, which has cost us many games. 

Moving on, with this OT loss, the Jacks in the very least earn one point and now find themselves in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Berry Conference with Mississippi and the Sundogs.  I guess the silver lining in this very dark cloud is the fact that the Jacks still have  a couple of games in hand over Arizona, but the Jacks really should have won this game in regulation and separated themselves a little bit from the Sundogs.  But, that's obviously not the case, and the Jacks find themselves just five points ahead of eighth place (which is the last playoff spot) Rio Grande Valley with two HUGE games against the Killer Bees coming up later this week.  The Jacks will take on the Killer Bees in Hidalgo on Thursday night, and then play them the very next night at the ECC.  If RGV somehow finds a way to win both of these games, the Jacks could find themselves just one measly point ahead of the Killer Bees for the last playoff spot in the Berry Conference.  So, the Jacks really need to win both of these games, separate themselves from RGV as well as (hopefully) Mississippi and Arizona, and get a bit of a grip on the fifth seed for the playoffs.  The boys need to start playing some good defense and need to start having some goaltending, or it won't matter what seed they are in the playoffs because they won't last very long with poor defense and poor goaltending.  They need to pull their heads out of their asses, stop getting lazy when they have leads, and keep their foot on the gas for a full sixty minutes.  Simple as that.  Show some freaking heart, limit your turnovers, start winning some hockey games, and head into the postseason hot and do some damage.

Wow, I feel better now that I've got that off my chest.  This season has been such a roller coaster of a ride that you never know what team you're going to watch when it comes to this Jackalopes team.  One night they look like they could beat any team in the CHL.  The very next night they look like a total joke.  If this is the last season for the Odessa Jackalopes in the CHL, then it has definitely been one to forget so far this season.  This is not the way the Jacks want to go out, so hopefully they will get their act together and surprise some people in the playoffs.  Finally, I have some disappointing news that I have to share with you all.  I stated on my last post that it was official that Collin Circelli would be back with the Jacks soon.  Well, it turns out that will not be the case.  He was supposed to come back to the Permian Basin once his season ended over in Sweden, but unfortunately for us his team has been successful in the playoffs over in Europe, and it seems as if he won't make it back in time to qualify for the playoffs for us.  This is a huge disappointment as Circelli is a top notch goal scoring center, and it would have been extremely nice to see him back in a Jackalope sweater, but it seems as if the hockey gods continue to mess with us with all of the crap that we have had to deal with throughout this entire season.

But, the Jacks have got to find a way to get the job done with what they've got.  That's all that can really be said here.  They've got to get their act together and play to their potential.  If they don't, then the Jacks will be heading for the golf courses sooner rather than later this year, which is something that none of us want to see.  To wrap things up, I will reiterate that the Jacks have a home-and-home series starting Thursday night against the Killer Bees in Hidalgo and ending on Friday in Odessa, and then they take on the very good Tulsa Oilers on Saturday night at the ECC.  So, it will be a huge and very important three games in a row for the Jacks, where in all honesty the Jacks need to try and find a way to win all three games, or at least two of the three in the very least.  Having said that I'm going to go ahead and get off of here and have nightmares about tonight's game.  Be sure to check The Enforcer in the coming days for any updates pertaining to the Odessa Jackalopes.


Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets buckle down and get down to business starting Thursday night!