Jackalopes rise to the occasion

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas – Down but not out after two consecutive losses at the Ector County Coliseum, the Odessa Jackalopes were on a mission.  With the next two games at the NYTEX Sports Centre, there was no way they could consider any possibility but winning. It was time to step up. And step up they did.
With Juha Toivonen defending their net, Odessa’s three first-period strikes led the way for a 6-3 final score against the defending President’s Cup champion Texas Brahmas, cutting the Brahmas’ series lead in half and extending the series to at least five games.
 

The NYTEX fans were in top form as the game began, hurling comments at the Jackalopes players and beating on the metal wall panels to the beat of “Let’s go Brahmas.” Their enthusiasm diminished as the events of the first frame unfolded.
A board checking call of Jason Deitsch led to the Jackalopes’ first power play of the game. It took Jeff Pierce just 26 seconds to open up the scoring after a battle in front of the Brahmas’ net. Pierce was able to beat Brett Jaeger inside the right post to make it a 1-0 contest at the 4:50 mark.
Two-and-a-half minutes later, Odessa defenseman Garrett Gruenke made it 2-0 after taking possession of a loose puck at the left point and fired the puck past Jaeger through a screen in front of the Texas net.
Related