ODESSA, TX – Sebastien Thinel tallied three points and Joel Martin stopped 26 shots for the Odessa Jackalopes as they shut out the Texas Brahmas on Thursday night by a 5-0 final. 
The Jackalopes win their Opening Round series, 3-1, over Texas and will now face either Allen or Bossier-Shreveport in the next round.
Thinel finished with a goal and two assists in the contest, as his third period tally at 9:03 gave Odessa a 4-0 lead and put the game out of reach.   
Matt Gens added an empty-net goal with just over four minutes in the game, and Joel Martin took the Jacks the rest of the way for the win. 
For the second straight game it wasn’t until the second period until the scoring started as the Jackalopes rattled off three straight goals to take a 3-0 lead. 
Mark Ehl got things started 3:54 into the frame driving down the slot for his third of the playoffs. Kenny Corupe then finished off a 3-on-2 rush for Odessa from the right circle at 4:51. Alex Dunn scored a power play goal from the blueline that deflected off a Brahmas’ player with 5:46 left to play in the period. 
Wayne Savage stopped 31 shots in the losing effort for the Brahmas. Todd Robinson for Odessa recorded an assist in the game to extend his point streak to 20 games, going back to the regular season. 
It was Odessa’s first playoff shutout since 2009 when Juha Toivonen blanked the Texas Brahmas, 2-0, in Game Six of their Conference Final series. 
The Jackalopes now must wait to see who their opponent will be in the next round.  Mississippi and Tulsa must play their deciding fifth game on Saturday.  If Mississippi wins, Odessa will play Bossier-Shreveport.  If Tulsa wins, Odessa will play Allen.
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Next up for the Mudbugs will be a match up against either the third-seeded Tulsa Oilers or the winner of the Texas-Odessa series, pending this week’s completion of those two match ups. Contact comments@prohockeynews.com

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – The Mississippi RiverKings fell 4-3 to the Tulsa Oilers in Sunday’s game three of the opening round best-of-five series at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven.  Mississippi leads the series two games to one.  Both teams traded special teams goals in the first period. Tulsa’s Michel Beausoleil opened the scoring with a power play tally at 2:21 for a 1-0 lead. Chris Richards answered with a power play rebound goal at 14:40, assisted by Chris Auger and Brennan Sarazin to tie the game at 1-1.   Mississippi took a 3-1 lead in the middle frame on goals from Louis Dumont and Patrik Levesque. Dumont’s second goal of the playoffs came at the 1:01 mark with the assists from Darrell Stoddard and Auger.  Levesque scored the series’ first short-handed goal later in the period at the 16:54 mark after Auger fed the puck to him as he was leaving the penalty box. It was Levesque’s third goal of the playoffs. Derek Landmesser also received an assist on the goal. The game went the Oilers way for the remainder of the contest. Luke Lucyk scored a power play goal with 1:46 left to go in the period to bring the Oilers within one at 3-2, heading into the final period.

Tulsa’s Braden Walls’ screen shot from the left wing at 8:06 of the third period tied the contest, and Derek Eastman scored unassisted at 13:23 for the game-winning tally.  Mississippi continued to press but couldn’t score in the final minutes of the contest, including the last minute when goaltender Alexander Pechurskiy was pulled for an extra attacker.  The RiverKings won the offensive battle on the shot count 39-30, but only scored once in five power play opportunities. Tulsa was 2-for-4 with the man advantage.  Pechurskiy took the loss for the first time in the CHL playoffs (2-1) with a 26 save effort. Trevor Cann was the winning goaltender for Tulsa, stopping 36 of 39 Mississippi shots on net.  Game four of the series will be back at Southaven’s DeSoto Civic Center on Tuesday night at 7:05 PM. Contact comments@prohockeynews.com Contact the photographer at les.stockton@prohockeynews.com

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – As if the rivalry needed any steam, the Missouri Mavericks and Wichita Thunder faced off in an epic playoff match up that needed an extra session to determine the winner. Wichita scored the game winner 5:47 into the first overtime period and now lead the series, 2-1. Wichita struck first in the opening period, getting a goal from Matt Robinson with less than two minutes to play in the period. Aaron Davis was given an assist on the goal. With less than a minute remaining in the period, Wichita goaltender Marc-Antoine Gelinas was called for interference after colliding with Brandon Coccimiglio behind the net after the Mavs dumped the puck in. The Mavericks capitalized on the opportunity, scoring a power play goal with 13 seconds left in the period from Ray DiLauro. Simon Watson and Ryan Jardine were credited with assists on the play. At the end of one period of play, Wichita held a slim advantage in shots, out shooting the Mavericks 7-6. Wichita took control of the second period with Robinson’s second goal of the game three minutes into the frame. Assists went to Davis and A.J. Gale.

The Thunder added to their lead 10 minutes later on a goal from Troy Schwab with assists from Jesse Bennefield and Brent Cullaton. Nick Sirota cut into the Wichita lead with less than four minutes to go in the period. Sirota collected a loose puck in the slot and from his knees, put it in the back of the net to cut the Wichita lead to one goal. At the end of the second period, Wichita had out shot the Mavericks 24-13.
Ryan Jardine wasted little time in getting the Mavericks back into the game in the third period, tying the game just three minutes into the third period at 3-3. Ray DiLauro got his second assist of the game on the Jardine tally. Shawn Fensel gave the Mavs a late lead with three minutes to go in regulation on a power play goal with the assist from Nick Sirota. Wichita tied the game with 58 seconds left in regulation on a goal from Bennefield, with a little help from Schwab and Cullaton. With the score tied after 60 minutes of regulation play, the game headed to overtime. Ryan Jardine was whistled for tripping at the 4:51 mark of the first extra session and Wichita went on the power play. The Thunder capitalized with a goal from Daniel Tetrault 5:47 into the extra period with assists from Kory Scoran and Aaron Davis. With Wichita holding a 2-1 series lead, the Mavs are now just one loss away from elimination. Wichita out shot the Mavericks 41-23. The series now shifts to Wichita, where the Thunder host the Mavericks at the Intrust Bank Arena. If necessary, the Mavericks will host the Thunder at the IEC on Wednesday at 7:05pm in the fifth and deciding game of the series. Contact comments@prohockeynews.com Contact the photographer at daniel.russel@prohockeynews.com

RAPID CITY, S.D. – One night after being pulled in the first period, Danny Battochio bounced back on Saturday night, turning aside 24 shots in a 3-1 win over the Dayton Gems.
The Rapid City Rush now hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series, with game three in Dayton on Tuesday.
The Rush got a much better start than in game one, tallying the first goal of the contest just 1:58 into the first frame. On the power play, veteran center Brendon Hodge carried the puck to the top of the right circle where he unloaded a slap shot through the five-hole of Derek MacIntyre for the lone goal of the first stanza.
Similar to the first period, the Rush collected an early goal in the second, this time doubling the lead. Crisp passing in the neutral zone between Dave Grimson and Ryan Menei set up Konrad Reeder, who went streaking down the right wing boards and fired a shot to the short side, making it 2-0.
With less than four minutes remaining in regulation, the Gems spoiled the shut out bid for Battochio, potting an extra attacker, power play goal. Damian Surma’s pass to the goal mouth was tapped home by Chris Lipsett, pulling the Gems to within one.
Unfortunately for Dayton, a second extra attacker did not pay off as Jesse Schultz sent home an empty-net goal to secure the 3-1 win. Schultz’s goal was his first in a Rush uniform and fifth point in the last four contests. Game three will be played this Tuesday at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Contact comments@prohockeynews.com

PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. – Needing overtime to earn their first postseason victory since the 2008 Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup Finals, the Arizona Sundogs pulled even at a game apiece in their opening round best-of-5 series against the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs Saturday night at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, Louisiana. The two teams were deadlocked in a 1-1 tie for more than 38 minutes before Luke Erickson tallied his first goal of the playoffs 4:08 into overtime to earn the win. Collecting an outlet pass from defenseman Jamie VanderVeeken early in the extra frame, Erickson entered the offensive zone along the far side boards before snapping a wrist shot high blocker side past Ryan Munce for the game-winner.
Cam Keith also assisted on the play for his second helper of the night.
Shawn Limpright opened scoring at the game’s 15:12 mark, beating Scott Reid stick side with an effort from the slot after Jeff Kyrzakos found the forward unmarked between the circles. Patrick Schafer tied the game at one with his first career playoff goal just shy of the second period’s six-minute mark. With possession below the Mudbugs’ goal line, Keith feathered a pass to Schafer who slipped a backhand between the legs of Munce at the far post. Shots were 29-25 in favor of the Sundogs in the contest. Both teams were held scoreless on the power play in the tightly-contested game. Arizona was limited to one man advantage opportunity while the Mudbugs received just two. The best-of-5 series now shifts to Arizona for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday, April 5 and Wednesday, April 6 at 7:05pm at Tim’s Toyota Center. Contact comment@prohockeynews.com