ODESSA, Texas — The Odessa Jackalopes tied up the Southern Conference Championship series with a 2-0 win in front of a sparse weeknight crowd at the Ector County Coliseum. The victory ensures a game six back on home ice for the ‘Jacks, who travel will North to the NYTEX Sports Centre for game five on Saturday night.
Brahmas goaltender Brett Jaeger entered the game with the best stats of any playoff goalie with a 1.76 GAA and a .941 save percentage and had earned a 3-0 shutout on Tuesday night, but it was Juha Toivonen who earned the shutout with a tremendous performance in net.
The first period was a tale of special teams as both squads were called for multiple penalties. The Brahmas had two early man-advantage opportunities but were stopped by the ‘Jacks penalty-killers. The ‘Jacks got their first power play opportunity at the 7:34 mark after Greg McConnell was called for high sticking, but they were unable to capitalize against the Brahmas, who had stopped them 19 consecutive times in the series coming into the game.
Dominic Leveille got a little too close to Brett Jaeger after the Brahmas netminder covered the puck on a save and was dropped by Texas defenseman Mike Vellinga. Brian Swiniarski took notice and both he and Vellinga ended up in the sin bin on matching roughing minors. The ‘Jacks had their best scoring opportunity seconds later, sending a flurry of shot attempts at Jaeger, but were unable to find the back of the net. At the end of the first 20 minutes, each team would go 0 for 3 on the power play.
The ‘Jacks looked much more energetic than they did in the last game, but the shot count was low at 8-7 with Odessa outshooting the Brahmas. The game was scoreless after one.
The second period was full of action as both teams had several scoring opportunities but neither squad could solve the backstoppers as Jaeger and Toivonen were absolutely solid in net. The play became more physical with a lot of extra shots and interfering taking place behind plays but referee Mark Lemelin was more conservative on the penalty calling than in the first frame, calling only four minors. Odessa led the shot count again at 11-7 in the middle frame and 19-14 through 40 scoreless minutes. Both teams went 0 for 1 on power play opportunities.
The Jackalopes finally solved the riddle of Jaeger with a score at the 2:26 mark of the third period. The Brahmas netminder had stopped 94 of the last 95 shots coming into the period. Paul Kelly, set up by Jeff Pierce and Dave Van Drunen, sent a wrister into the net, beating Jaeger and taking the 1-0 lead.
The action continued with the Jackalopes playing their best hockey of the night, motivated by the score by Pierce. The Brahmas were left to contend with a red-hot Toivonen, who has been stellar in the playoffs with five wins coming into the game.
The Brahmas’ penalty killers went back to work after the ‘Jacks earned a prolonged five-on-three opportunity due to three consecutive Texas penalties. They were successful in preventing another score but the effort ate up a lot of time.
The Brahmas had a chance to tie the game up with 2 1/2 minutes left in the game but Tyler Skworchinski’s breakaway was stymied by Toivonen, who stopped the ensuing shot with a kick of his right pad. The Odessa netminder would rob the Brahmas of another chance one minute later when he blocked all-star defenseman Justin Kinnunen’s slapshot from the right circle.
Jaeger was pulled with a minute left in favor of the extra attacker. Odessa’s Brian Swiniarski nearly sent the puck into the empty net with :48 left, missing by inches. Swiniarski was successful on his second attempt, backhanding a pass from Jean Bourbeau across the ice and into the net to make it a 2-0 game. Jaeger remained on the bench for the final 31 seconds, but the Brahmas were unable to score and the game ended with the Jackalopes earning a much-needed victory to keep the series alive for at least two more games.
Toivonen earned his sixth consecutive playoff win, stopping all 18 shots against. Jaeger accepted his second post-season loss, stopping 31 of 32 shots.
The Brahmas were assessed 20 minutes on 10 infractions. Odessa received 14 minutes on seven infractions. The Brahmas went 0 for 5 on the power play. Odessa went 0 for 8. Odessa has gone without a power play goal in 21 chances during the series with Texas.
Jaeger received the third star with his 31 saves on the night. Kelly was awarded the second star for his game-winning goal and Toivonen earned the first star for his outstanding performance in net.
The series will resume with game five on Saturday night at the NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills, Texas with the opening face off set for 7:05pm CST.
Contact the author at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com
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