Southern Conference Finals Update - Jackalopes add emergency goaltender

Jeremy Symington returns to Odessa

The Odessa Jackalopes added 30-year-old Jeremy Symington to their roster today to backup their injured goaltenders.

The 6’ 2”, 250-pound goaltender from Camlachie, Ontario went 6-4-1 in 12 games played with the Jacks during the regular season. He had a 2.89 GAA and a .901 save percentage. He played in one game versus the Texas Brahmas, a 3-2 loss on February 13th in which he stopped 30 of 33 shots.

Symington was signed to a five-game contract with the Jacks on December 19th but was waived on December 26th. He played in one game during that period, resulting in a 5-3 win at Corpus Christi. He was re-signed to a five-game contract on December 31st and then signed a regular contract on January 16th. He was granted leave by the league on February 27th but did not return. He was activated by the league today.

The ninth-year professional has previously played with the Lubbock Cotton Kings, Laredo Bucks, Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and the Youngstown Steelhounds. He has played four seasons in the UHL/IHL with the Elmira Jackals, Port Huron Flags and the Kalamazoo Wings.

Alexandre Vincent, 22, who started Saturday night’s conference final game against the Texas Brahmas, left after two periods with an apparent back injury. Vincent missed most of the month of February (2/7 to 2/27) on injured reserve. Including Saturday night, he has three losses in the post-season.

Juha Toivonen, 21, who has been seen sporting a knee brace, has spent two lengthy periods on injured reserve. The first was December 2nd through January 7th and the second was January 9th through February 10th. Both of his injuries occurred while playing against the Arizona Sundogs. In post-season games he has started, Toivonen is 5-0 and is carrying a 2.13 GAA and a .913 save percentage.

I assume Toivonen will get the start for Tuesday night's game against the Brahmas and that Vincent is unable to play. If Symington gets a start or even comes in as a reliever, it'll say a lot about Odessa's capabilities in net for the remainder of the series.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith