Jackalopes win fifth in a row

Carry momentum into conference finals, defeat Brahmas 3-1

Originally posted on Intotheboards.net and Prohockeynews.com

Primed and ready after winning four in a row against the Laredo Bucks to advance to the Southern Conference Finals, the Odessa Jackalopes took game one of the series in a 3-1 victory over the Texas Brahmas on Friday night. In front of a crowd of 2,114 at the NYTEX Sports Center, including a fair number of Jackalopes fans, Odessa won its fifth consecutive playoff win, a first in franchise history.

Despite the win, Odessa head coach Paul Gillis thought both teams had an off night.

"I don't think we played our best hockey and I don't think Texas played their best hockey. It was kind of a squirrely game with all the power plays and penalties and weird situations. I think both teams will be better tomorrow night."

Odessa got on the board first when Paul Kelly won the draw to the left of Brahmas goaltender Brett Jaeger. Kelly sent the puck to defenseman Dave Van Drunen, who found Jeff Pierce at the top of the right circle. Pierce's slap shot appeared to deflect off of a stick and into the net, giving the Jacks the 1-0 lead at the 13:44 mark.

It would be the only score in a penalty-filled first period. The Jacks narrowly outshot the Brahmas 9-8 in the first 20 minutes.

The second period started off much like the first, with a battle for control of the puck waging on both ends. Odessa established a two-goal lead with a three-on-one rush, silencing the crowd at NYTEX at the 12:15 mark. Defenseman Philippe Plante moved the puck out of the Odessa zone and sent it to Dominic Leveille at center ice. Leveille then fed the puck to defenseman Jarad Bourassa whose slap shot found the back of the net, beating Jaeger inside the left post.

Later in the period, the Brahmas capitalized on a Goalie Interference call on the Jacks' Kenny Bernard and scored on the ensuing power play to cut the lead in half with 1:08 left in the middle frame. Brandon Benedict got the tally, with the assist from Scott Sheppard and Jason Deitsch.

Once again, the shot count was separated by one as the Brahmas had the 11-10 advantage. The two teams were tied with 19 shots apiece after 40 minutes.

The Brahmas were unable to get any momentum going and the Jacks were able to maintain their lead throughout the final period. Brahmas coach Dan Wildfong pulled Brett Jaeger in favor of the extra attacker but to no avail and the Jacks took advantage, scoring on the empty net with just :22 left to provide the final score of 3-1. Paul Kelly was assisted by Sebastien Thinel and Dominic Leveille on the final goal.

Tempers flared at the end of the game with Jean Bourbeau and Greg McConnell going at it in the final seconds after a relatively peaceful game. McConnell would receive two minutes for Roughing and both were assessed five minute Fighting Majors.

Brahmas head coach Dan Wildfong gave this assessment of the game.

"It was definitely not our best game," Wildfong said. "We're not making any excuses...I don't think we came out the way we needed to and follow the game plan we drew up. We're going to watch the tape; we're going to break it down, but those guys know exactly what we need to do, and that's to keep it simple. We're trying to do way too much and if we keep it simple against these guys, I feel like we're going to do very well against them."

Juha Toivonen made 25 saves on 26 shots faced to get the win, his fifth in a row in the playoffs. Brett Jaeger took his first loss of the post-season, stopping 27 of 29.

The final shot count was 30-26, in favor of Odessa.

The Jackalopes went 0 for 9 on the power play. The Brahmas went 1 for 10.

Odessa was assessed 29 minutes on 13 penalties and Texas received 23 minutes on 10 infractions.

The third star went to the Brahmas' Brandon Benedict, who scored their only goal of the night. The second star went to Odessa's Jeff Pierce, who scored the first goal and the first star went to Odessa netminder Juha Toivonen.

You can view the box score here

You can view my photos from the game here

Game two of the Southern Conference Finals begins tonight at 7:05pm at the NYTEX Sports Centre.

Photo Credits: Robert Keith