Sobering Numbers

Hey folks.  I haven't been blogging at all this season (I've been extremely busy), and trust me, you haven't missed much.  As a fan, this has been the single hardest season to endure, as the Odessa Jackalopes have basically stunk up the ice night in and night out.  Most of the players simply look disinterested, as if they don't even want to be on the ice, and that definitely shows in their play.

 From not being willing to crash the net for scoring chances and rebounds, to not being willing to put the body on opposing players entering the defensive zone, to incredibly sloppy passing and not battling for loose pucks, this team needs drastic change moving forward if it wants to have any chance at being successful at this level.

 I've supported this team for a long time now, and I've seen some bad teams, but this one takes the cake for being the single worst, period.  If certain players don't want to be here, send them packing.  You always heard before the move to the NAHL that in the very least junior players would work harder than their professional counterparts, but that has not been the case so far this season.  What I would give to have the pro teams the last few years they were in the Permian Basin, because at least they entertained the paying fans, and at least they looked like they wanted to be on the ice.

  You look at teams like Amarillo, Topeka, and Texas, and their players are constantly moving their feet, battling hard for every puck, and actually connecting on routine passes.  The exact opposite can be said of many of the Jackalopes players (not all of them), as it is not unusual in the least to see more than one guy simply standing around while the other team is working their ass off.

 If the new ownership expects fans to actually pay for the crap that they are selling this season, then big changes better be made, and they better be made fast.  To put things in perspective, here are some sobering numbers for you to digest:  The Jackalopes have the worst winning percentage in the entire league, winning only 20% of their games thus far; their current losing streak has hit a terrible nine games, and this is not the first time this season we have seen lengthy losing streaks; the Jackalopes have scored the fewest goals of any other team in the NAHL (49); the Jacks have also allowed the most goals, giving up a whopping 112 goals against in only twenty-five games; the Jacks home record is 1-11-1; and lastly, their overall record sits at an embarrassing 4-19-2.

  Simply put, this team will be lucky to win ten games this season, and honestly they are the New Mexico Mustangs of 2012-2013. Change is needed, folks.  What kind of change, I'm not sure, but what I am sure of is that this team is good at one thing... and that's putting the few people in attendance to sleep with their sloppy play and lack of heart.

Clark Leaves Jacks

Less than a month until the 2012-2013 Jackalopes begin their second season in the NAHL, and we had some pretty significant news break a few days ago when it was confirmed that General Manager Joe Clark has resigned to become the new GM for the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, who will be joining the NAHL beginning next season.  This is a pretty big loss for the Jacks as Clark was a key figure in Odessa's success over the last several years, and filling his shoes will be a tough task to fulfill.  I have not a clue why he decided to leave, so I am not even going to speculate, but I would like to say that I (as a Jackalope fan) appreciate everything he has done in his years with the Jacks.  I wish him nothing but the best in South Texas, and hope he comes to regret leaving the Permian Basin once the Jacks start beating up on the Bees next season ;).  Anyway, I know it has been months since I last blogged, and truthfully I don't know how much I will be blogging this upcoming season.  I have been a very busy man as of late, and honestly just have not had much time to blog.  Until next time, GO JACKS GO!!!

Future Hall of Famer?

Hello fellow Jackalope fans!  We are going to leave the NAHL Odessa Jackalopes for this post, and check up on a former, and arguably the greatest Jackalope in franchise history, Sebastien Thinel.  The reason why we are revisiting the past is because Sebby is just two points shy of earning his 700th point in his professional career, with the vast majority of those points being racked up while donning an Odessa Jackalopes jersey.  This is a huge milestone for Thinel, and it is definitely bittersweet for Jackalope fans, as he will have to reach that goal in another team's sweater.

 That said, Jackalope fans have a ton of great memories of Thinel as a Jackalope, we truly do appreciate all that he did for the team as well as the community, and I know I speak for the vast majority of Jackalope fans when I say congratulations to #43.  If this guy is not a Hall of Famer in the CHL when all is said and done, then I think it would not be a stretch to refer to the CHL as the Circus Hockey League.  Before I wrap this post up, here are Thinel's impressive career numbers as a professional hockey player:

REGULAR SEASON:

• Professional Point Total: 698 (with 647 of them as a Jackalope)
• Professional Goal Total: 248 (with 235 of them as a Jackalope)
• Professional Assist Total: 450 (with 412 of them as a Jackalope)
• Games Played as a Professional: 547 (with 502 of them as a Jackalope)

POSTSEASON (All as a Jackalope):

• Point Total: 61
• Goal Total: 20
• Assist Total: 41
• Games Played: 57

Oh yeah, not to mention he is a former Central Hockey League MVP.  And to all the critics out there that claimed he was not effective in the playoffs... I would take a point per game player in the playoffs every single day of the week.  Now that the numbers have spoken, I am going to go ahead and wrap things up here.  Hopefully I will blog again some time next week after the Jacks take on the New Mexico Mustangs for three games in a row this weekend.


Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and congratulations to #43!

Split With Fresno

Hello fellow Jackalope fans!  It is a cool, cloudy day here in the Permian Basin on Super Bowl Sunday, as the Jacks finished their weekend set of games with the Fresno Monsters with a split.  The Jacks lost in what was a pretty entertaining (though sloppy) game on Friday by a final of 4-3, but managed to win a thriller last night by a final of 1-0 in a six round shootout.  What a game last night, and what a night in general as Mike Gorman was placed on the Jacks Wall of Fame; the Jacks had their largest crowd of the season with 4,400+ cheering the boys to victory; and fans also found out that ticket prices for next season have dropped dramatically.  Overall, it truly was a great night to be a Jackalopes fan. 

With the Jacks win last night, they pulled to within six points of Corpus Christi for that fourth and final playoff spot in the Southern Division, and it truly was a shame that the Jacks skated away with no points after Friday's contest, where they allowed Fresno to score the game winning goal late in regulation.  Even one point would have been nice to have on Friday night, but in all honesty the Jacks have to start finding ways to consistently earn points if they want to catch up to the IceRays with only seventeen games left in the regular season.  It can definitely be done, but the Jacks will need to start winning some games (especially the head-to-heads with Corpus) regularly for the remainder of the regular season.  The good news here is that the Jacks have a favorable schedule for the rest of the way, with games against Wichita Falls, Corpus Christi, and New Mexico, which are all teams that we know the Jacks can beat.  The Jacks will finish the season on the road against Topeka, and the hope of their season could very well come down to how they do against a very good Roadrunner team.

On the other hand, Corpus has a tougher remaining schedule with nine of their last seventeen games against Odessa, Texas, and Amarillo.  By the way, three of the four games against the Jacks will be played at the ECC, which is a good thing considering the Jacks have not lost to the IceRays on home ice so far this season.  Also, Corpus has not had much success against Wichita Falls this season, with a record of 4-5-1 against the Wildcats.  To break down things even further, the Jacks are 9-4-3 against their remaining opponents, while Corpus was 18-15-2 collectively against their remaining opponents.  Where the Jacks are at an obvious disadvantage here is that they find themselves still six points behind Corpus with much of the regular season gone.  The Jacks really would have done themselves a favor had they managed to beat Fresno on Friday to pull within four of Corpus, but the past is the past, and the Jacks only need to look forward now. 

Here are a few things for the Jacks to look forward to:  the Jacks have defeated Corpus every time at the ECC this season, and three of the four remaining games between the two teams will be held at the Jack Shack (there are your six points right there); Corpus still has three games left with powerhouse Amarillo as well as Wichita Falls (who they have had limited success against); and finally, the IceRays have four games against third place Texas, although Corpus has had pretty good success against the Tornado thus far this season.

 All in all, the Jacks still have a decent shot at making the playoffs.  It won't be easy, though.  The boys will need to take care of their business, play strong hockey the rest of the way, and hopefully sneak past the IceRays for that final playoff spot.  All of this said, I'm going to go ahead and wrap things up here.  I hope to blog again soon, so be sure to keep up with The Enforcer.


Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets take care of the Mustangs this upcoming weekend!

Welcome Back

Hello fellow Jackalope fans!  It has been a long time (a very long time) since I last blogged, but I'm back, and I'm ready to discuss some Jackalopes hockey.  For those that followed the blog the last couple of seasons, I apologize for staying away from The Enforcer for so long, but this last year was a chaotic one for yours truly.  Anyway, I have updated the blog with a new and cleaner look; I've got a new poll up that I hope you vote in; and finally, I hope to blog as much as I can as the Jackalopes desperately fight for that final playoff spot in the Southern Division, as they find themselves eight points behind Corpus Christi with only nineteen games left in the regular season.  It is going to take a huge effort by the Jacks in order to catch up to and ultimately surpass Corpus Christi, and only time will tell if the Jacks will make the postseason in their inaugural season.  That said, I'm going to make this post a brief one, but I plan on blogging again soon.

Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets take care of the Monsters this weekend!

Sabbatical

Hello fellow Jackalope fans!  I know I've been blogging less and less over the last season, and there are a number of reasons for that, but I was just going to let all of those that do read the blog know that I'm going to be taking a sabbatical that will last more than likely until at least the beginning of the Jacks' 2011-2012 inaugural NAHL season.  Unless something drastic or exciting happens pertaining to the Odessa Jackalopes, more than likely I won't be blogging again until September, but if something exciting does happen, be sure to check The Enforcer for any updates.  I'm still debating on whether or not I will even continue with the blog next season, but I'll probably think more about that as the off-season drags on.  As always, I encourage any comments from those that read my blog.

Until next time (probably September) Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!!

Frustrating Situation

Hello fellow Jackalope fans.  It's been a long time since I last blogged, and I apologize for that, but in all honesty the main reason why I have not blogged in a while is because I'm a bit frustrated with where the Jacks are apparently heading now that they have ended their seemingly final season in the CHL.  Now, I know many of you may be surprised to hear that I'm frustrated considering I've said  time and time again that I'll support the Odessa Jackalopes as long as we have a team, but a lot has happened since my last post, and to be entirely honest with you, I think the Jackalopes owners may have jumped ship prematurely when they decided to become a junior hockey team in the NAHL.  It was announced yesterday that the Laredo Bucks will stay in the Central Hockey League next season thanks to a new luxury tax being implemented into the CHL where higher-revenue teams will pay a tax that will help out the teams that are struggling financially.  Now, there have already been opponents of this new tax arguing that it's not right to make the "rich" teams give to the "poor" teams, and while I would normally agree with that, according to Bucks owner Glenn Hart (courtesy of an article by Brian Sandalow), it was the higher-revenue teams that came up with the idea to implement this new tax.  Here is a quote from "The Monitor":  "Hart's confident this new system, that's a part of 'eight or nine' measures, would help keep teams like the Bucks viable.  He said it was the higher-revenue teams' idea to implement this."  So, if the so-called "rich" teams want to aid the "poor" teams through this new luxury tax, then I say there is nothing wrong with the new tax.  The teams should be able to do with their money whatever they want, and if that includes helping out their struggling opponents, then I say more power to them.  It seems like a very generous gesture by the higher-revenue teams, and it seems to show that the successful teams want to try and find a way for the CHL to work, or in the very least give the CHL time to restructure their league to make lower-revenue teams capable of surviving in the Central Hockey League for years to come.  At least that's how I see things here.

Now, lets get to the issue of why I am frustrated right now when it comes to the Odessa Jackalopes.  When I first heard the the Jacks were going to be leaving the CHL for the NAHL, I must admit that I was shocked and disappointed with the news.  Eventually I decided to at least give the move a chance (which I still intend to do, by the way), but now I'm at a point where I'm frustrated with the move.  Why?  The answer is actually pretty simple.  With all of these owner meetings that have been taking place over the last month or so in the CHL, it seems like in the very least a temporary solution has been put into place that will allow lower-revenue teams to stick with the pro game in the CHL.  If this new tax will work for teams like Laredo, Bossier, Mississippi, and Texas, then it definitely could have worked for the Jacks as well.  Now, I fully understand that there is no guarantee that this will work anyway, but I wish the Jackalopes owners would have waited a bit longer and at least given this apparent solution a chance before deciding to make the move to junior hockey.  The move has already alienated quite a few former Jackalope fans, including several of my family members and friends that were season ticket holders last season, and once this news becomes more common knowledge to more and more Jackalope fans, I'm afraid that more and more may end up turned off by the move to the NAHL.

  In all honesty, and I thought I would never say this, but that could include myself, and I consider myself a huge die-hard fan of the team.  Now, hear me out before calling me a hypocrite or questioning my "fanhood."  While I may ultimately disagree with the move to the NAHL and may state that the move to junior hockey was a premature decision, I will say with certainty that I will always be an Odessa Jackalope fan no matter what league they're in.  I may not be a season ticket holder next season (with that still being up in the air due solely to this move), but I'll still attend as many games as possible, I'll still be listening to the Jacks on the radio, and more than likely I'll still post on whatever forum Jackalope fans have next season.  I may shut down the blog, another decision that I'm not certain about yet, but I'll always be a fan in some form of the Odessa Jackalopes.

Now that I've cleared that up, I'll get to why I'm concerned about the future of the franchise, and I'll also give my opinion as to why I think it's not too late for the Jacks to back out of the move to the NAHL to stay with the pro game.  I'm concerned about the future of the franchise for the simple fact that I've heard some fans say that they will give the NAHL a chance, I've heard only a handful of people say that they like the move, but I've heard a TON of people say that they won't support the team if it moves to junior hockey.  I consider myself as big of a fan of the Jackalopes as any other fan out there, but when I'm not even sure if I'm going to renew my season tickets for next season because of this move, I can only assume that there are many others that feel the same way.  In fact, I don't have to assume anything, because as I've said before, I've heard many season ticket holders flat out say to me that they will not renew for next season if such a move is made.  If the small yet passionate core fan base that we currently have dies out, then I see the franchise ultimately doing the same, even if things are cheaper, for lack of a better word, in the NAHL.  I think anybody with common sense can see that.  Many like to point out that Corpus and Amarillo had virtually the same attendance numbers in the NAHL that they had in the CHL, but they also point out that those teams were selling the crap out of the move to the public through a ton of marketing, and to be honest with you, so far the Jacks don't seem to be doing the same.  In fact, according to the Rapid City Journal, no formal announcement has even been made yet pertaining to the move, which brings me to yet another point.

  In the Rapid City Journal it states, "One franchise apparently is set to leave.  Indications are the Odessa Jackalopes will join former CHL teams Corpus Christi and Amarillo in the North American Hockey League.  No formal announcement has been made, but the Jackalopes have added NAHL logos to their website and Odessa is listed on the NAHL website as one of four new teams in the Tier 1 Junior league for next season."  So, my question is this:  Is it too late for the Jacks to back out and stick with the pro game?  According to this article, things don't seem to be set in stone yet, and while some may say that I shouldn't rely on information from another team, I would counter with the fact that this isn't the first article from an opposing team that has said that it's not official that the Jacks are moving to the NAHL next season.  With the conversion of the Jacks' website, the holding of camps, and a meeting being called for potential host families, I think it's all but certain that we will be in the NAHL next season, but stranger things have happened.  All I can say is that I hope the Jacks stick with pro hockey.  Even if they do go the junior route this upcoming season, I really do hope that the team eventually finds it's way back to the pro ranks.  If not, I don't see a bright future for hockey in the Permian Basin.


Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets stay pro!

Battle of the Heavyweights

Hello fellow Jackalope fans!  I'm back, and as most of you probably already know, the Jacks won their series against Texas three games to one after absolutely dominating the Brahmas in game four by a final of 5-0.  Yes, that's right, the Jacks shutout the Brahmas in the clinching game for Odessa, which makes the Jacks 8-1 game seven loss at the NYTEX Sports Centre from a couple of seasons ago hurt a little less.  It was also great to see our team on the right side of the end-of-series handshake on home ice as it has been a long time since we Jackalope fans got to witness that.  My family and I got to watch the Jacks eliminate the Bucks a couple of seasons ago at the LEA (then the LEC) against the Bucks in an absolute thriller (maybe the most exciting game I have ever watched as a Jackalope fan), but this was the first time since (I believe) the Jacks defeated Austin a few seasons ago at the ECC that the home fans got to watch their team clinch a playoff series at the Jack Shack.  It was definitely great to see.

But, the most important thing was that the Jacks eliminated the bulls to move on to the next round (which we will get to in a moment), they sent the Brahmas to the golf course for the second season in a row, and finally the deciding round three of the epic Jackalopes versus Brahmas playoff series over the last three seasons goes in the Jackalopes favor with this series victory.  As Brien Rea said during the post-game show, the cow bells definitely were not ringing after game four at the ECC!  In all seriousness, though, I know I speak for all Jackalope fans when I say we will miss our heated rivalry that the Jacks have developed with the Brahmas over the last few seasons.

Moving on, lets talk about the Berry Conference Semi-Finals shall we?  In this five game series we will get to see our Jackalopes take on the Governor Cup champs themselves, the Allen Americans.  Of course, Jackalope fans as well as the Jackalopes players and coaches still have to have a sour taste in their mouths after being eliminated in game seven of the conference finals by Allen last season.  The Jacks were bitten by the infamous Governor's Cup curse last season, so I know we are all hoping the roles are reversed this season.  That said, I have dissected the numbers of both teams over their last fifteen games of the regular season as well as their round one playoff series, and I must say that this should be a battle of two titans in what should be a very exciting series.  They have very similar numbers, which we will get to in a few moments, so the Jacks have to play their best hockey and take the series one game at a time in order to be successful.  I think that's stating the obvious, so lets go ahead and move on to the actual numbers.  After all, the numbers do not lie.

  Over the Americans last ten games of the regular season, they sported a record of 6-3-1, with 39 goals for and 33 goals against for a goal differential of +6 over the span.  Pretty good, right?  But, believe it or not, the Jacks actually were just a tad bit better during their last ten games of the regular season as they went 7-2-1, with 40 goals for and 26 goals against for a goal differential of +14.  To go back even a little further, Allen was 9-5-1 over their last fifteen games of the regular season, with 57 goals for and 49 goals against for a goal differential of +8.  But, once again the Jacks were just a tad bit better over the same stretch as they had a 10-4-1 record for their last fifteen games of the regular season, with 66 goals for and 50 goals against for a goal differential of +16.  Very, very similar numbers for both teams as the regular season started to come to a close, with the Jacks having a slightly better record.  But, the main thing that caught my eye when breaking down the numbers were the goal differentials for both teams over this span of time.  Over the Jacks' last fifteen games of the regular season, they scored sixteen more goals than they gave up.  Their offense was absolutely on fire, but somewhat surprisingly (considering how much the defense struggled early on) they were playing very good defense as well.  Conversely, over Allen's last fifteen games of the regular season, they only scored eight more goals than they gave up.  Not only that, but the Jacks also (over this stretch of games) scored nine more goals than the team that scored more goals than any other team in the CHL during the regular season.  What I take from these regular season numbers is that the Jacks are just as good as the Allen Americans, and have certainly been proving that over the last couple of months.  They just need to continue on with this great play.

  Moving on, lets go ahead and break down the numbers for both teams in the playoffs.  Lets start with the Americans first.  Allen swept the Killer Bees right out of the playoffs in convincing fashion.  No real surprise there as the Bees struggled all season, and it was as if they and Laredo were both trying their best to be that one team that did not make the playoffs in the Berry Conference.  The Americans scored 13 goals in the series with only five against for a goal differential of +8.  That's pretty impressive, but like I said, the Bees really had no chance in that series.  Now lets see what the Jacks did against the Brahmas.  The Jacks won their series against Texas three games to one.  They scored 18 goals while giving up ten to also give them a goal differential of +8.  Once again we see similar numbers from two great teams.  But, believe it or not, the numbers get even more similar when comparing the goaltending stats of both teams' goalies to the point where it's getting downright unbelievable.  In the postseason for Allen, Chris Whitley has a record of 3-0 with a 1.67 goals against average and a save percentage of 94.3%.  On the other hand, Joel Martin for the Jacks has also gone 3-0, also has a 1.67 goals against average, yet he has a slight edge when it comes to save percentage as he has stopped 94.7% of the shots that he has faced.  Their numbers are almost identical!  Now that I've broken down all of these numbers, and I know I've shared a lot with ya'll, I will say that I believe the Jacks have a slight advantage over the Americans not only because of a slight edge in the numbers, but also because the Jacks faced a much tougher opponent in the playoffs than Allen did.  The Jacks (in convincing fashion) defeated a very tough and very experienced Texas Brahmas team.  The Americans, however, predictably decimated a very bad Killer Bees team.  Therefore, I believe the Jacks are a little more battle tested, so to speak, which will hopefully work out in their favor.  Now that we've dissected all of these numbers, I'm going to do what I did in my last post and give the keys to the Jacks success in this series.  Without further ado, here they are:

•  OFFENSE- The Jacks offense has to continue to roll.  They have three players that are in the top five in scoring so far in the playoffs, while Allen's top scorer isn't even in the top twenty.  The Jacks must find the back of the net, and find it as much as humanly possible.  After all, this series could very well turn into a slugfest as both teams have potentially explosive offenses.
• SPLIT- A split for the Jacks in the first two games in Allen is an absolute must.  Stealing both games at the AEC would be amazing (and I actually think it could happen), but losing the first two would more than likely mean the end of the season for the Jacks.  Steal the home ice advantage, guarantee yourself two games at the ECC, and try and finish the job on home ice.
• GOALTENDING- As the numbers prove, both Martin and Whitley have been amazing in the playoffs thus far.  Martin must continue to be hot in net, while the Jacks must find a way to crack Whitley.
• DEFENSE- To bring up the numbers once again, the Jacks have been playing better defense than Allen has over the last couple of months, and that must continue.  The Jacks have to have good defense in order to be successful in this series.  Limit mistakes and turnovers in your own zone, and clear the traffic in front of Martin's net.
• SPECIAL TEAMS-  This is a big key to this series.  For the conspiracy theorists out there, it will definitely be interesting to see how these games are called by the refs.  Allen had the best power play in the regular season, and has the sixth best in the playoffs.  The Jacks had the fifth best power play in the regular season, and have the fourth best in the playoffs.  The penalty kill, however, is where these two teams differ.  Allen had a middle of the pack penalty kill percentage in the regular season, but has been perfect thus far on the penalty kill with a 100% success rate.  The Jacks penalty kill during the regular season was the second worst in the entire CHL.  The PK in the playoffs has not been much better, if at all, so the Jacks MUST stay out of the penalty box as much as possible.  NO STUPID PENALTIES!
• PLAY THEIR GAME- To me, this is the most important key to the Jacks' success.  Everybody knows of Allen's "physical" play.  The Jacks must neutralize this and not fall for the goonery.  They need to unleash Jean Bourbeau and make the Americans think twice before delivering cheap shots behind the play and after this whistle.  However, the Jacks have to protect their skilled players, and if they must fight fire with fire, then they should be more than ready with both Gruenke and Sawyer on their postseason roster.  That said, the Jacks need to spend as much time as possible in the attacking zone, and they really need to capitalize on their chances.  They must hit the net more often, and cash in on those juicy rebounds.  In the very least, they should be able to draw penalties in such instances.
• GOVERNOR'S CUP CURSE- It's time for the curse to bite Allen.  It did the Jacks in last season against these Allen Americans, so hopefully the roles will be reversed and the curse will bite the Americans right in the ass.

PREDICTION:  Jacks win series in 4 games.  I see this series much like I saw the series with Texas.  I see the Jacks splitting the first two in Allen, and then coming home to finish the job at the Jack Shack.  But, I would not be surprised in the least to see this series go to five games.  Still, though, I feel in my bones that the Jacks win this series in four games.

Now that I've concluded this very long blog post, I'm going to go ahead and wrap things up here.  The Jacks begin this series this upcoming Thursday and Sunday in Allen.  The series then shifts to Odessa for game three the following Tuesday (the 19th), with game four at the ECC (if necessary) being played on Thursday the 21st.  If a game five is necessary, it will be played in Allen the following day on the 22nd.  I do have one request before I wrap things up here.  Please show up at the ECC to support this team in a HUGE series.  Grab a friend, sibling, girlfriend, grandma, neighbor, or whoever you can get your hands on and drag them (if necessary) to the Jack Shack to enjoy some very entertaining playoff hockey.  We have had good crowds so far in the playoffs, so lets continue that trend and cheer our boys on to victory.  Hopefully I will be blogging in the next week or so with good news that the Jacks have won this series and will be heading to the conference finals to take on the winner of the Bossier/Tulsa series, but lets not count our chickens before they hatch.


Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and so we meet again Allen Americans!

Purple Cows, Here We Come!

Hello fellow Jackalope fans!  The regular season has concluded, the playoffs are literally just a few days away, and isn't it fitting that the Jacks opponent in the first round of the playoffs will be none other than... wait for it... the Texas Brahmas!  That's right, the same Texas Brahmas that the Jacks have played in the playoffs the last two seasons in a row.  Texas took round one with a knockout blow in game seven of the conference finals during the 2009 playoffs, while the Jacks took round two last postseason after coming back from being down 0-2 in the seven game series only to come back and win the next four straight to eliminate the purple cows from playoff contention.  Now it's time for the decisive round three, as this will probably be the last time that these two teams ever face each other as the Jacks have made it official that they are moving to the NAHL next season, while the Brahmas future is still up in the air (although many Brahma fans believe Texas will be moving to the SPHL).  It would be a great story if the Jacks somehow manage to finally bring home that elusive Ray Miron President's Cup, and a departing middle finger to Duane Lewis and the CHL would only be fitting as the Jacks will say good-bye to pro hockey after fourteen years, primarily (at least in my opinion) because of Mr. Lewis running the Central Hockey League straight into the ground.  But, that's a totally different story, and I want to focus on the first round of the playoffs for the Jacks in this post.

  So, lets go ahead and have some fun with this soon-to-be-played series, shall we?  First, lets start off with the bad news.  The bad news is that Texas won the regular season series against the Jacks, as the Jacks only managed to go 3-5-1 against the Brahmas in the 2010-2011 CHL regular season.  That said, the Jacks did win the last meeting between the two teams in the regular season at the ECC by a final of 7-3 just a few weeks ago.  The other bad news for the Jacks is that Texas has the home ice advantage, and everybody knows that the NYTEX Sports Centre is a very tough building to win at.  But, the Jacks have had success there, especially during last season's playoffs, so if the Jacks can in the very least split the first two games at the NYTEX to start the series, then I really like their chances to seal the deal, so to speak, at the Ector County Coliseum the following Tuesday and Thursday. 

Now lets move on to the good news, before I give a list of the key elements for an Odessa Jackalope series win against the Brahmas.  The good news is that the Jacks have been hot as of late, while the Brahmas have been stone cold.  Lets back up this claim with some numbers.  In the Jacks last ten games they had a record of 7-2-1.  Meanwhile, in the bulls last ten games they went 2-8-0.  You want to go back even a little further?  In the Jacks last fifteen games they went 10-4-1, while the Brahmas went 5-10-0 in their last fifteen.  So, based on those numbers it clearly shows that the Jacks have been playing very good hockey over the last month or so, while the Brahmas have been playing pretty poor, inconsistent hockey.  As we all know, though, the playoffs are a totally different animal, and the Jacks can't underestimate this Texas Brahmas team, especially when they have home ice advantage.  Before I get to my list, I would like to throw a couple more numbers your way to show what direction both the Jacks and Brahmas seem to be heading.  In the Jacks last five games, they have scored 19 goals while giving up 11 for a goal differential of +8.  Conversely, in the Brahmas last five games they have scored 18 goals, but they also gave up 23 for a goal differential of -5.

Now lets get to my list of key elements in order for the Jacks to win the series against Texas:

• The Jacks must shut down, or at least limit the scoring of the Brahmas top line which consists of Deitsch, Woollard, and Hogeboom.  Those three players have accounted for a HUGE chunk of Texas' scoring against the Jacks this season, so if the Jacks are able to shut these guys down, then I really, really like their chances.
• The Jacks must (in the very least) split the first two games at the NYTEX Sports Centre to kick off the series.  If the Jacks head home down 0-2, it will be very difficult for them to win the next three straight, especially with game five (if necessary) being played in North Richland Hills.  But, if the Jacks can split the first two games and head to the ECC for the next two games, then I really like the Jacks chances.
• The Jacks need to keep the NYTEX Sports Centre as quiet as possible.  You may be thinking: How do the Jacks do that?  The answer is very simple.  Score early and score often.  Take the fans out of the game early, and you should be just fine.  If not, I personally know how loud and crazy it can get in the "Shoebox," (as Greg Rajan likes to call their arena).  Lets just say I have never left the NYTEX Sports Centre without a throbbing headache.
• Say it with me everybody:  DEFENSE!  If the Jacks play good defensively, and limit their turnovers in their own zone, then they should be successful.  The good news here is that the Jacks have been good defensively over the last month or so, so hopefully that trend will continue into the playoffs.  If it doesn't, however, then the Jacks will undoubtedly get burnt by the Brahmas.
• The Jacks goaltending has to be solid and consistent.  With Mole and Martin (or the M&M boys as some Jackalope fans now like to call them) being our goaltending tandem in the playoffs, I really feel confident.  Mole has been great since joining the Jacks, and I feel much more confident with Martin in between the pipes for us as opposed to McKee.  That's not meant to be a knock on McKee, but the simple fact of the matter is that Martin is a veteran goaltender that has playoff, but more importantly championship experience at this level of hockey.  Not to mention Martin looked pretty solid in the Jacks last regular season game against the Mudbugs, picking up the win while allowing only two goals on twenty-eight Bossier shots on goal.
• After Dan Wildfong "physically abused" both a referee and a linesemen the other night when they lost to Rio Grande Valley, I'm expecting (this is just a guess on my part) at least a four game suspension for Wildthong.  If he misses the series against the Jacks, then you take away the "Wildfong factor" from the bulls.  Say what you will about the guy, but I don't think anybody doubts his ability to really light a fire under his team.  If he's not behind the bench against the Jacks, that should mean good things for the Jacks.  By the way, I'm not predicting this potential suspension to be a major factor in the outcome of the series... I just think it can only mean good things for the Jacks should Wildfong not be behind the bench for the Brahmas.
• And finally, I'm expecting (although it has not been confirmed if either of these guys will return for the playoffs) Dominic Leveille and Dave Van Drunen to be back for the Jacks in the postseason.  Leveille is a definite scoring threat every time he hits the ice, while DVD is arguably the best defensive defenseman in the entire CHL.  Not to mention the Jacks always seem to play better with Van Drunen in the lineup.  Also, Bourbeau and Martin have been assigned back to the Jacks by Bridgeport, so that's more good news for us as Martin should bring stability in net for us, while Bourbs brings a much needed physical element to the team.

Now that I've shared my list with you all, I will conclude this post with my prediction on the outcome of the series between the Jacks and Brahmas.  I think the Jacks split the first two games at the NYTEX Sports Centre, but then come home to the ECC to win the next two straight.  I predict the Jacks win this series in four games.  All signs seem to show the Jacks as more than capable of winning this series, but of course the game is played on the ice, and the boys have to be hungry to be successful in the playoffs.  We Jackalope fans know that they are more than capable of going all the way, but that means absolutely nothing if the boys don't believe in themselves.  Something tells me, though, that the Jacks will be just fine.  With that said, I'm going to go ahead and wrap things up here.  As much as I'd love to blog again this weekend after the two games in North Richland Hills are played, I highly doubt I will be able to as I have a test on Friday at UTPB, and I also have to take a test on the internet on Sunday, so I'll definitely be busy with school this weekend.  But, be sure to check The Enforcer early next week for any and all updates pertaining to the Jacks playoff run.


Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets feast on some purple burgers beginning Thursday night!

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!

Big Weekend Coming Up

Hello fellow Jackalope fans!  It's a gorgeous day here in the Permian Basin, and the Jacks snapped a two game skid by defeating the Allen Americans by a 5-2 final last night at the ECC.  With the win, the Jacks record improves to 25-26-6 (56 Pts.) on the season, and they have jumped the Mississippi Riverkings for fifth place in the Berry Conference standings.  Hopefully last night's win against the team with the best record in the CHL will give the guys an extra boost of confidence when they host the Bloomington Prairie Thunder for the first time ever at the ECC for a pair of games this weekend.  Bloomington is one of the top teams in the Turner Conference, so the Jacks have to bring their "A" game and really limit their stupid turnovers in their own zone.  The good news is that the Jacks have, despite losing a couple in a row recently, been playing pretty good hockey, especially at home, so maybe they will sweep the Prairie Thunder right out of the Permian Basin.  The Jacks definitely need to keep on winning and earning points as both Mississippi and Arizona trail them just by one point for the fifth seed in the Berry, with the Jacks and 'Kings having played the same amount of games, and with the Jacks having two games in hand on the Sundogs.  The boys really need to separate themselves from those two teams as well as Rio Grande Valley, and need to try their best (which will be an extremely difficult task to accomplish) to catch the Mudbugs for the fourth seed in the conference.  If the Jacks can somehow miraculously catch Bossier Shreveport, then that would guarantee the Jacks home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.  Like I said, though, this will be a tall task for the boys, so they need to worry only about themselves and win as many of their remaining games as possible.  It would be nice to see the Jacks heading into the postseason red hot, and who knows, maybe they will be the dark horse to win the Presidents Cup.  We Jackalope fans know they are more than capable of doing this, the guys just have to believe it themselves and play up to their potential.

That said, it has been confirmed that Collin Circelli will be returning to the Jacks soon.  As soon as his team in Sweden finishes up in their playoffs, he should be on his way to the Permian Basin.  Hopefully that will be sooner rather than later, as a player from Europe has to play so many games in order to be eligible for the CHL playoff roster.  From what I've heard, he'll definitely be back in time to qualify, but it would be nice to see him back as soon as possible in order for him to adjust to some of his new teammates as well as help the Jacks finish the regular season on a high note.  Simply put, Collin is a big time goal scorer and has been sorely missed this season.  It will be great to see number sixteen back at the Jack Shack, and I don't think I'm the only one that feels that way.  Now lets move on to Juha Toivonen.  About a week ago General Manager Joe Clark was on the Jacks Power Hour radio show, and he confirmed that it would be extremely difficult and highly unlikely to get Juha back to the Jacks in time for him to qualify for the playoff roster.  He said that they were definitely interested in bringing him back, and he was definitely interested in coming back, but apparently it takes a while to settle immigration issues over in Finland, so it's almost guaranteed that we won't see Juha back in a Jackalopes sweater.  Clark did say their is a very small chance that it could happen, but not to count on it, so who knows?  Crazier things have happened, so I'm still holding on to that little beam of hope that Juha will somehow make his way to the Permian Basin for the playoffs.

Finally, I would like to mention the Jacks impending move to the NAHL next season.  Rumors have been circulating for months now about a possible move, and these rumors have been confirmed as the Jackalopes ownership group has confirmed that the team will be playing junior hockey next season.  While the move is not official yet, as the owners have to deal with the CHL in order to leave the league, it unfortunately looks like pro hockey has officially died in the Permian Basin after fourteen years.  The simple truth of this apparent move is that the Jacks have been bleeding money since the Nyborgs and Gasser took over five years ago, and it seems as if they just can't handle their losses any more.  According to the Odessa American, they have lost over three million dollars since purchasing the team (an average of $600,000 a year), so I fully understand why they are jumping ship as costs are much more manageable in the NAHL.  Of course, this is sad news as we will have to watch players that have been in Odessa for years move on to new cities, leagues, and even countries to continue their careers elsewhere.  I would like to say thank you to those guys, as well as every single player that has wore a Jackalopes sweater, for all of the great memories that you have created for us Jackalope fans to remember for the rest of our lives.  It won't be the same without you guys, and you all will be sorely missed, but I wish you all the best wherever you decide to go from here.

Now, I have personally heard several season ticket holders (some of my family members included) that have flat out stated that they will not renew their tickets if the Jacks move down to the NAHL.  While I'll support the Jackalopes as long as we have a hockey team, apparently many people feel differently, and I truly do hope that our attendance doesn't suffer even further with this move.  We may have small crowds much of the time, but we do have a solid and passionate core of die hards, so I'm really hoping we don't lose our core with this move.  If these fans won't come back to support the team next season, why would the casual fan?  I say junior hockey is better than no hockey (and I really applaud our owners for at least keeping the Jackalopes in some form alive) but some folks just don't feel the same way I do.  Having said that, I will have a separate post once the move is made official, to share even more of my thoughts and opinions about the move to the NAHL.  Now that I've shared the latest Jackalope news with everybody, I'm going to go ahead and wrap things up here.  Hopefully I'll blog again Sunday or sometime next week, depending on how busy I get with school, so be sure to check The Enforcer frequently for any updates pertaining to your Odessa Jackalopes.


 Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets send the Prairie Thunder back home with a couple of losses this weekend!

When Will This Madness End?

Hello fellow Jackalope fans!  I know it's been well over a month since I last truly blogged about Odessa Jackalope hockey, but as I said in my last post, school has really kept me busy as of late, and I was also battling the flu for most of this month, and finally started to feel better a few days ago.  I rarely get sick, but boy when I do, it hits me like a ton of bricks.  Anyway, moving on, lets talk some Jackalope hockey shall we?  Unfortunately the Jacks roller coaster of a season continues to be unpredictable as the Jacks have really struggled recently.  After a semi-successful rodeo road trip, where the team went 3-1-3, the Jacks ended up going 0-6-0 on the ensuing six game homestand which saw the return of Jean Bourbeau to the Odessa Jackalopes from their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  I must say that it was great to see Bourbs back on the ice at the ECC, but what was really strange about his return was that the horrible six game losing streak started with his return to the team, and ended once he was recalled by Bridgeport.  It was almost like some kind of curse or something (for all those superstitious hockey fans out there).  It would be silly to claim that Bourbeau is what caused the Jackalopes six game losing streak, but that was just an interesting fact that I thought I would share with everybody. 

As I stated a few moments ago, the Jacks snapped their losing streak the next game after Bourbs was recalled by Bridgeport, which saw the Jacks defeat the Laredo Bucks at the Laredo Energy Arena during a rare 11:00 AM hockey game by a final of 4-3 after the teams ended up deciding the outcome via shootout.  Then came a huge weekend set against the CHL leading Allen Americans.  To cut to the chase, the Jacks lost both games (one in regulation and the other in OT) but both games were one goal games that easily could have ended in favor of the Jacks.  That said, in both games the Jacks blew third period leads, which is something that has bitten the Jacks time and time again this season.  Now, granted these were just one goal leads in the third period on the home ice of the best team in the league, but still the Jacks need to find a way to keep their foot on the gas, and really put away their opposition instead of allowing them to make late comebacks.   Usually it was the Jacks last season that were the ones that made the frequent comeback, but unfortunately this season it appears the tables have turned as time and time again it seems teams are able to come back late in games to either tie the game against Odessa, or even take the lead for good.  That is unacceptable, and the Jacks really need to find a way to fix this problem, preferably before the playoffs begin.

  That said, I will say that the Jacks really played Allen hard this past weekend, and if they play like that for the remainder of the season, then they should definitely have plenty of success, and hopefully move up a few spots in the standing before all is said and done.  In order for this to happen, though, the Jacks are going to have to find a way to stay healthy (with Leveille, Van Drunen, and now Bernard all on the IR), play good consistent hockey, watch stupid defensive turnovers in their own zone, and finally have solid goaltending.  While McKee has been fairly solid for the most part since joining the team, Robinson really seems to be struggling as of late.  If he doesn't get back on the right track in the very near future, then in my personal opinion I would use McKee exclusively as my starter with Robinson being the occasional backup.  But, that's just my two cents.  I'm sure Gillis knows exactly what he is doing, but that's just this fans perspective when it comes to Odessa Jackalope goaltending.

  Moving on, there has been a rumor flying amongst Jackalope fans that Collin Circelli may be returning to the Odessa Jackalopes in the very, very near future.  Now, at this point this is just a rumor, but there is more than one fan that seems pretty confident that number sixteen will be wearing a Jackalope sweater again very soon.  Let me just say that if this rumor does indeed come to fruition, then I will be a very happy Jackalope fan.  I have been a huge fan of Circelli's since he became a Jackalope, and I was pretty disappointed when it was announced that he would be playing hockey in Sweden this season.  Collin is a very solid two-way forward, that is a major scoring threat every time he hits the ice.  He also hustles every time he is on the ice, and I think him being added to the team would help out tremendously as the Jacks have really lacked depth at the center position this season.  I honestly believe that he may be that much needed spark the Jacks need in order to really get rolling again, and it's easy to see that the Jacks need as much momentum as possible before the postseason begins in a little over a month.

  Lets hope that momentum shift begins tomorrow evening when the Jacks travel to Prescott Valley, Arizona to take on the Sundogs who are just five points behind the Jacks for the sixth spot in the Berry Conference standings.  The Jacks need to really find a way to separate themselves from Arizona, Laredo, and especially Rio Grande Valley in the conference standings, as well as find a way to move up a spot or two in order to be in as best a position as possible for the playoffs.  They can begin to work towards that goal starting tomorrow against the 'Dogs, then it's off to North Richland Hills for a Friday night contest against their rival, the Texas Brahmas.  Once they conclude their current road trip, it's back to the Jack Shack for a five game homestand, as well as a month of March that features ten of the fourteen games in that month being played at the Ector County Coliseum.  Lets just hope that the Jacks have a lot more success in their many coming home games than they had during their last homestand.

  I definitely have faith that they will get back on the right track very soon (hopefully starting tomorrow evening), as I believe there is just too much talent on this team for them to continue to struggle like they have the last several games.  I also firmly believe that once this team is fully healthy, especially when Dave Van Drunen returns, then the team will be unstoppable when they're playing their best hockey.  We all know what they are capable of, and I'm dying to see some Jackalope hockey that we  know the team is more than capable of displaying.  Having said all of this, I'm going to go ahead and wrap things up here, and enjoy the rest of Valentines Day (by the way happy Valentines Day to all).


Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets take care of those sun puppies tomorrow night!

I'll Be Back

To quote the former governator of California himself, "I'll be back."  I apologize for not blogging in over a month, but I have really been overloaded with school, not to mention I was battling the flu for pretty much all of February so far.  I'm finally starting to feel better, though, so I plan on blogging either some time this weekend, or some time early next week, so keep checking for updates on The Enforcer.  Hopefully when I do blog again I will be blogging with news that the Jacks swept Allen over the weekend.  They definitely need to get something going in the right direction, especially considering they just snapped a six game losing streak with a shootout victory over Laredo yesterday afternoon.  The Jacks now need to get a good winning streak going, get above the .500 mark again, and pass a few teams in the Berry Conference standings.  Then again, the Jacks seem to be a better road team this season, so maybe a lower seed in the playoffs wouldn't be such a terrible thing.  Who really knows at this point.  That said, I'm going to keep things short and sweet here as I'm going to go ahead and wrap things up here.  As mentioned before, I should be blogging in the very near future, so keep your eyes glued to The Enforcer. ; )

GO JACKS GO!!! and lets take down (to steal a nickname from a fellow Jack fan) those commies this weekend!

It's Hunting Time!

Hello fellow Jackalope fans!  It is a chilly December day here in the Permian Basin, and the Jacks are gearing up for the Laredo Bucks, as they visit the ECC (aka the Jack Shack) for the fifth meeting between the two teams so far this season.  The season series thus far is tied at 2-2, so the Jacks will be looking to get the upper hand on the Bucks tonight, and more importantly the Jacks will look to earn two points to move out of the cellar of the Berry Conference.  As I have said before, the Berry Conference is packed so tightly in the standings that if the Jacks win in regulation tonight (depending on how the other Berry Conference teams fare tonight) they could move from last place in the conference standings all the way to being tied for fifth place in the conference.  While fifth place is still not where the Jacks want to be in the standings, it would be a lot better than being in last place in the conference standings, so hopefully the boys will come out on fire tonight and get to hunting!  If the Jacks play as well as they did the last time they hosted the Bucks at the ECC earlier this month (a 4-1 Jackalope victory), then I really like the Jacks chances of taking the two points.

That said, inconsistency has been the Jacks number one enemy so far this season, so hopefully the Jacks will start playing some consistent, good hockey starting tonight.  They are coming off a huge 3-2 OT victory over the Colorado Eagles at the BEC (the first victory for the Jacks ever at the BEC), so hopefully they will come into tonight's game with confidence and a bit of a spark, so to speak.  Speaking of the Jacks and Colorado Eagles, this past weekends series between the two teams saw a split for the Jacks, with the Jacks being hammered 8-3 in Friday's game, while playing a much better game on Saturday, stealing two points after the two teams went into OT.  Todd Robinson scored the game winning power play goal with just six seconds left in OT.  Apparently Colorado head coach Chris Stewart wasn't very happy that the Jacks received a whole seventeen second power play in OT, as he received an abuse of officials game misconduct at the end of the game.  I guess he forgot that his team enjoyed two lengthy five on threes in regulation, as well as a thirty-four second power play to start OT.  Mr. Stewart, everything doesn't go your way all the time, and it's about time you learn that.  That being said, it was like a tale of two teams when it came to the Jacks this past weekend.  Hopefully the Jacks that showed up on Saturday show up tonight against Laredo.

  Moving on, according to Pointstreak Ryan Hersey will be tonight's referee, so I'm fully expecting several penalties to be called on both teams.  If that turns out to be true, then the Jacks special teams are going to have to be very good tonight, and our goaltender (Martin I'm assuming) has to be on top of his game as well.  Our defense will also have to play some good hockey tonight, and since Michael Schutte has been activated from the IR, there should be no excuses for our defense playing poorly tonight.  The D will be fully healthy, and with all of the talent on the defense, they better play up to their potential tonight.  As far as our offense goes, I'm not too worried.  Despite currently sitting in the cellar of the Berry Conference, the Jacks have scored the fourth most goals in the Berry Conference, and the fourth most in the entire CHL for that matter.  Our offense seems to be "clicking", and Gillis and Cressman seem to have found line combos that really work for the team, so as I just stated I'm not worried about our offense at all.

  Before I wrap things up here, I would like to say thank you to the Odessa Jackalopes players, Slap Jack, as well as all of the Jackalopes staff that were out and about in the community the other day, spreading the holiday cheer to many people right here in the Permian Basin.  They continue to show that they care for our community, and as I have said many times before, it's about time for the community to return the favor by showing up at the ECC to support the boys.  Our attendance has been pretty bad so far this season (partially due to having so many home games on weekdays), and folks from Odessa, Midland, as well as the rest of the small towns of the Permian Basin need to show that they care for this team as much as this team cares for the community.  With that said, I'm going to go ahead and wrap things up here.  Be sure to check The Enforcer in the coming days for any updates pertaining to the Odessa Jackalopes.  If I'm not able to blog again before Christmas, I would like to say Merry Christmas to all of my readers, as well as wish everybody a happy new year!


Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and it's hunting time tonight at the Jack Shack!

Jacks Hoping to Soar in Colorado

Hello fellow Jackalope fans.  It's a beautiful day here in the Permian Basin as the Jacks gear up to take on the Colorado Eagles for a pair of weekend games up in Loveland Colorado.  This will be the Jacks first visit back to the BEC since the Van Drunen/MacMillan incident, and I'm hoping that they go in to Colorado looking for revenge against the Eagles in the form of a scoreboard beat down.  Obviously, the Jacks were more than likely embarrassed by the outcome of the late November game between the two teams at the ECC that resulted in the Jacks losing by a final of 5-2.  I'm sure they are ready to prove to the rest of the league, but more importantly to themselves that they are a much better team than their current record indicates, and a couple of wins against the Turner Conference leading Eagles would undoubtedly give the team some much needed confidence to help propel them to play some more good, consistent hockey in order to start really climbing in the Berry Conference standings.

  While I would be content with a weekend split with the Eagles (as everybody knows how difficult it is to win at the BEC), I have faith and know that the Jacks are more than capable of stealing two wins in Loveland.  Personally, I would like to see Michel Robinson get both starts against Colorado, and if he plays like he did a couple of nights ago against Arizona, then I really like the Jacks chances of skating away with four huge points.  Obviously I have no clue if Robinson will get both starts in net for the Jacks this weekend (although I do assume he will at least get the start tomorrow), but personally I would prefer to see him get both starts in net to see what he is capable of against a great team in a hostile environment, while at the same time sending a message to Joel Martin that if he doesn't pick up his game soon, then Robinson may start seeing more and more consecutive starts.  That's just my two cents on the goalie situation, and I know Gillis likes the play-till-you-lose rotation, so that is what I am actually expecting to see when the Jacks take on the Eagles.

  Hopefully we will see the Jackalopes explosive offense this weekend as well as some good defense, although it was announced a few days ago that Michael Schutte has once again been placed on the 10 day IR, meaning the Jacks will once again be without one of their top defensemen for at least the weekend series against Colorado.  With that said, the Jacks now have Justin Sawyer on their blue line, so I would be willing to bet that the Eagles will be more reluctant to resort to any goon tactics this weekend, although I would not be surprised if I am proven wrong.  If they do go that route, though, (as they have been known to do when trailing in a game) then the Jacks should be prepared with three enforcers in Garrett Gruenke, Darryl Bootland, and the aforementioned Justin Sawyer.  I'm sure all three of those guys will be more than ready if the Eagles decide to get dirty and intimidate our skill players, although I'm personally hoping for some good, clean, hard fought hockey games between two very talented teams.  I must give credit to the Eagles for not gooning things up against the Jacks at the ECC last month, but of course they won that game easily, meaning they really had nothing to be frustrated about.

Finally, now that I have hyped up (or at least tried to) the weekend series against the Jacks and Eagles, I will end this post by addressing where the Jacks currently are in the Berry Conference standings.  The Jacks current record sits at 9-12-1, and they are currently tied for 6th place in the Berry Conference with the Arizona Sundogs and Tulsa Oilers, with all three teams having nineteen points a piece.  The standing are so tight in the conference, that the Jacks are just one loss away from being back in last place in the conference standings, yet only one two points back of being tied for fourth place in the conference.  To further display how tight the standings are in the Berry Conference, the Jacks are also just four measly points away from being tied for third place in the conference, so if the Jacks can start playing some consistent hockey at the level that we all know they are capable of playing at, then I would predict that by the end of December the Jacks will be (at least) in fourth place in the conference, but I actually would not be surprised to seem them in third place in the conference.  It sure will not be easy for the Jacks since the standings are so tight and there really are no weak teams in the league, but I have faith that this team is now quickly heading in the right direction.

Don't get me wrong as I believe there is still quite a bit of work to be done in order for this team to be considered one of the elite in the league, but if the last ten games are any indication of how the Jacks are coming along, then they should start to rapidly climb in the standings not only in the Berry Conference, but in the entire CHL as well.  As a fellow Jackalope poster over on the CHL Forums pointed out, the Jacks are 7-3 in their last ten games, so hopefully this is a sign that the Jacks are indeed on the right track.

  With all of this said, I'm going to go ahead and wrap things up here.  Be sure to check The Enforcer frequently in the coming days, as I will hopefully be blogging with the good news that the Jacks were successful against the Eagles.  I can't guarantee that I will blog this weekend at all as I've been swamped with some of my final school work for the semester, but I fully intent to blog some time next week. 


Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets get some revenge against those Colorado Eagles!

Breaking News! (Updated)

Hello fellow Jackalope fans!  We have some breaking transaction news from the Odessa Jackalopes as it was announced earlier today that the Jacks have traded defensemen Pierre-Olivier Beaulieu and David Brown to the Bloomington Prairie Thunder in exchange for defenseman and enforcer Justin Sawyer.  This was a bit of a surprising move to me, not necessarily that a trade was made by the Jacks, but more on who was traded by the Jacks.  I could have thought of a couple other Jackalope players that I would have waived/traded before either of these guys, but that's just me, and I know Gillis knows what he is doing so I definitely won't second guess his decision.  With that said, I would like to wish both Beaulieu and Brown all the best up in Bloomington, and would also like to say welcome to Justin Sawyer.

As far as who the Jacks received in exchange for Beaulieu and Brown, I must say that the Jacks definitely needed to add some toughness to the team, and that is exactly what Sawyer will bring to the ice.  I know he played with the Oklahoma City Blazers a couple of seasons ago, and I do remember the name, but since the Jacks never played the Blazers that often, I don't really remember him.  However, from what I have seen on Youtube, I was pretty impressed with his fighting skills, so hopefully he will be that much needed spark that the Jacks have been without for pretty much the entire season.  The Jacks will now have three enforcers on the team, so there should be no more excuses that toughness is what this team is lacking.  Sawyer also seems (based partially on his stats as well as what I have read on certain team boards) to be a pretty good defenseman, so that is also good news for the Jacks.  Ultimately I think a trade was probably needed to shake up this team a bit, and I think this is exactly what this trade will do.

Also, before I wrap things up here, it was also announced earlier on Pointstreak that defenseman Michael Schutte has been activated from the IR, which is even more great news for the Jacks.  I think a defensive pairing of Dave Van Drunen/Michael Schutte would be one of the best in the entire CHL, and now that the team will have a  healthy defense, I'm expecting the Jacks to start consistently playing some good hockey.  I have faith that they will (hopefully starting this weekend) when they take on the Bucks and Bugs respectively.  With all of this said, I'm going to go ahead and wrap things up here.  Be sure to check The Enforcer in the coming days, as I hope to blog soon with good news that the Jacks are back to their winning ways.

*It was also just announced on the CHL website that Sebastien Thinel has been named the CHL Player of the Month.  Very well deserved as Sebby has been red hot pretty much since the season started, so I would like to say congratulations to Thinel for being named the CHL Player of the Month for the month of November 2010.  It's no secret that Sebby is my favorite player, and I truly believe that he is the heart and soul of this team and franchise.  For the month of November Sebby averaged almost two points per game as he had 25 points (10G/15A) in thirteen games with a +/- rating of +10 in the month. Once again, congrats to Sebby, and keep up the great work!


Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and welcome to Odessa Justin Sawyer!

Rush Crushed!

Hello fellow Jackalope fans!  It is a very windy day in the Permian Basin, and the Jacks are gearing up for the Colorado Eagles (who visit the ECC tomorrow evening) after sweeping the defending Ray Miron President Cup Champs Rapid City Rush this past weekend.  While the Rush were far from crushed in the game on Saturday night (with the Jacks winning 3-2 after a seven round shootout) the Rush were absolutely crushed on Fridays contest where the Jacks pummeled the defending champs by an 8-0 final.  The Jacks made a huge statement this weekend in the Black Hills, and lets hope the Jacks continue to play good hockey tomorrow night when they take on the Turner Conference leading Colorado Eagles.

  By the way, this will be the first meeting between the Jacks and Eagles since the Van Drunen/'MacMillan incident that left Van Drunen with a mangled face and broken jaw.  It should be an emotional, interesting, exciting night, and lets just hope that the Jacks put an absolute beatdown on the Eagles on the scoreboard.  I'm hoping for a huge crowd at the Jack Shack for tomorrow's contest since the Van Drunen/MacMillan incident received quite a bit of publicity throughout the Permian Basin.  I know it's a weekday game, and very few teams have good weekday game crowds, but I'm hoping for a huge exception tomorrow.  I hope people from Odessa, Midland, and the surrounding cities and towns come out to support the boys and let the Eagles know how we feel about them.  But, more importantly I hope all these folks show up tomorrow to let Dave Van Drunen know how we feel about him.  He is our captain, our leader, our best defenseman, and the backbone of this Odessa Jackalope team.  We are extremely happy that he has been back in the lineup for the past few games, and I am very pleased that he will be in the lineup tomorrow when the Jacks take on the Eagles.  It can't be said enough how vital Dave Van Drunen is to this team.  It's time for this community to get behind the Jackalopes, and come out to support them like the Jacks support the community.

  Now that I've hyped up tomorrow's game, lets go ahead and take a look back at this past weekends games that featured the Jacks taking on the Rush.  We will start with Fridays contest where the Jacks absolutely crushed the Rush by an 8-0 final, which was the worst defeat the Rush have suffered in their franchises history.  Several Jackalopes registered multiple points in the game, with eleven different Jackalope players registering at least one point in the game.  Todd Robinson finished the night with four assists; Sebastien Thinel had two goals and one assist; Kenny Corupe and Kenny Bernard also had two goals and one assist a piece; Mike Lesperance tallied one goal and one assist; Jeff Pierce, Mike Ramsay, and Alex Dunn all finished the game with two assist a piece; Dominic Leveille had one goal; and finally Patrick Mbaraga and Phil Plante each had one assist in the game.  Man, that was a lot to type.  Congrats to all those guys on registering points in the blowout against Rapid City, and congrats to the team as a whole for picking up two big points against a very good Rapid City team.  Now lets move to the play of Michel Robinson, who picked up his as well as the teams first shutout of the season.  Simply put, Robinson was fantastic in net for the Jacks stopping all thirty of the Rapid City shots.  Congrats to Robinson on the shutout, and if I were a betting men I would say that Robinson gets the start in net tomorrow night when the Jacks host Colorado.  The Jacks special teams were also (for a change) great in the game, with the power play going 4-11, while the penalty kill killed off all five of the Rush man advantages.  All in all, it was a great win for the Jacks, and the largest margin of victory the Jacks have had against any opponent so far this season.

With that said, I think everybody was shocked that the Jacks beat the Rush so badly on Friday on Rapid City's home ice, and nobody was surprised to see a much more competitive game on Saturday night.  The Jacks completed the sweep of Rapid City on Saturday night by defeating the Rush by a final of 3-2 after a seven round shootout.  This was a great game to listen to on the radio, so I can only imagine how exciting it was for the home crowd to watch it live.  Sebastien Thinel continues to be red hot as he tallied both of the Jackalope regulation goals in the second game.  Corupe, Plante, and Robinson all finished the night with one assist a piece, and Alex Dunn scored the game winner in the shootout.  Congrats to all the guys on an exciting win, and an even bigger congrats to the boys for skating away from Rapid City with four HUGE points.  Michel Robinson was in net for this game as well, and once again he was simply amazing.  He stopped 32 of the 34 Rapid City shots on goal, as well as six of the seven Rush shooters in the shootout.  His record now sits at 2-2-1 with a 2.15 goals against average and a 93.3% save percentage.  He is quickly becoming a favorite of mine, and he is definitely proving that he is not a backup to anybody.  Finally, the Jacks power play was terrible in this game going 0-6, where they were unable to convert on two lengthy five on threes as well as three minutes of a five minute major against Rapid City's Les Reaney after he was called for slew footing.  It is still very perplexing how the CHL's best power play from a season ago is now one of the worst power plays in the CHL the very next season with multiple returning players.  I just don't get it.  With that said, the Jacks penalty kill was pretty good once again killing off six of seven Rush man advantages.

  Now that I have covered both games against Rapid City this past weekend, I'm going to go ahead and wrap things up here.  Remember to show up tomorrow for what is sure to be an exciting game between your Odessa Jackalopes and the Turner Conference leading Colorado Eagles at the ECC.  Be sure to check The Enforcer frequently as I will hopefully have a recap of tomorrow's game some time later in the week.


Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets make chickens out of those Eagles tomorrow night at the Jack Shack!

Weekend in the Black Hills

Hello fellow Jackalope fans!  As promised, I will give a preview of this weekends games where the Jacks take on the Rapid City Rush of the Turner Conference.  Lets start with where both teams currently stand in their respective conferences.  The Rush currently sit in second place in the Turner Conference, trailing only Colorado by three points in the standings.  There current record sits at 8-5-2 (18 Pts.), with with a 5-2-0 home record thus far.  They will surely be a huge test for the Jacks this weekend, but I'm liking the Jacks chances based on their recent performances (for the most part).  Now lets check to see where the Jacks currently stand in the Berry Conference.  The Jacks are currently tied for last place in the Berry Conference with Tulsa, and have a record of 5-10-1 (11 Pts.).  They definitely need to improve their play on the road as their road record currently sits at an unacceptable 2-6-1.  The Jacks also recently had their three game winning streak snapped by the Texas Brahmas, but hopefully they will get another one started this weekend against the Rush.  As bad as it sounds that the Jacks are currently tied for last in the Berry Conference, the conference is currently so tight that the Jacks are only five points away from being in third place.  Therefore, if the Jacks offense continues to be explosive like it has been over the last several games, if the Jacks defense wakes up (which it hopefully will with the return of Dave Van Drunen), and if the Jacks can get some consistent goaltending, then I feel the Jacks will start winning more and more in the very, very near future, and hopefully start to climb their way to the top of the Berry Conference. 

Now that we had addressed where both the Rush and Jacks currently sit in their respective conferences, lets go ahead and talk about both teams special teams.  The Rush currently have the CHL's second best power play unit with a 24% power play conversion percentage.  On the other side of things, the Rush penalty kill is currently ranked 17th in the CHL with a PK percentage of 77.78%.  The Jacks special teams have been flat out horrible this season, with their power play ranking 17th in the CHL with a 13.41 success rate, while their penalty kill is currently the worst in the league as the team has only been able to kill off 74.44% of the oppositions power plays.  This is one of the main areas that has been killing the Jacks all season long, and it is simply stunning how a team that has so many returning players from last season that had the league's best power play and penalty kill to have one of the league's worst special teams play the very next season.  It just doesn't make much sense, but hopefully the Jacks will correct this problem very soon.

Finally lets go ahead and address both teams leading scorers as well as goaltender play.  The Jacks currently have the CHL's top and third highest scorers in Sebastien Thinel and Todd Robinson respectively.  Thinel leads the league with 28 points (10G/18A), while Robinson is currently third in scoring in the CHL with 24 points (9G/15A).  Jackalopes goaltending has been a bit inconsistent this season with Joel Martin sporting a record of 4-7-0 with a 3.86 goals against average and an 88.6% save percentage.  Michel Robinson, despite not winning a game for the Jacks yet has actually played very well in net.  His current record is 0-2-1 with a 2.97 goals against average and a 91% save percentage.  I say Robinson gets both starts in net for the Jacks this weekend, although that is purely a guess on my part.  Not lets move on to Rapid City's leading scorers and goaltenders.  The top two scorers for the Rush are Ryan Menei and Derek LeBlanc respectively.  Menei currently has 20 points (11G/9A) while LeBlanc has 16 points (8G/8A).  Scott Wray also has 16 points (7G/9A).  Goaltending for the Rush has been decent as well this season, with Danny Battochio sporting a record of 7-3-2 with a 2.85 goals against average and a 91% save percentage.  His backup, however, has been less than stellar with a 1-2-0 record with a 4.23 goals against average and an 87% save percentage.

  Now that I have given a preview for tonight's game against the Rush, I'm going to go ahead and get off of here.  I have been swamped recently with a ton of schoolwork, and finally had a day to get back to blogging.  I hope to blog again either on Sunday or Monday hopefully with good news about the Jacks weekend in the Black Hills, so be sure to check up on The Enforcer regularly.


Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and crush the Rush this weekend!