NAHL Odessa Jackalopes

Roadrunners Race Past Jacks 6-3

Published on April 1, 2012 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Odessa Jackalopes News Release


TOPEKA, KS - In their first trip to Topeka this season, the Odessa Jackalopes fell to the Topeka RoadRunners by a final score of 6-3 on Saturday at the Kansas ExpoCentre. With the loss, the Jacks, playoff-bound in their inaugural NAHL campaign, fell to 27-27-5 overall this season and 0-3-0 head-to-head against Topeka.

Odessa winger Lawrence Cornellier got the scoring started at 7:10 of the first period, netting his third goal and fourth point in his past two games on a feed from Mikko Virtanen to stake the Jacks to a 1-0 lead. After Topeka's James Ring tied the game at one, Ryan Atkinson put Odessa up by a goal for a second time at 6:54 of the middle period when the Vacaville, California native poked a Darren Lapic pass through RoadRunner netminder Peter Traber for Atkinson's tenth tally of the season.

After the 'Runners rallied to tie the game at two at 13:44 of the second period on a power-play wrister from Trace Strahle, Topeka rattled off three more unanswered goals in the late second and early third periods to take a firm grasp on the game with a 5-2 edge. Alex Ostrowski briefly pulled Odessa within a pair of goals at 18:16 of the third, when he netted his eighth goal of the season, courtesy of Tyller Robert and Brandon Gorges, but Richard Young's late insurance marker, scored with less than one minute remaining in regulation, marked the RoadRunner's winning deficit at 6-3.

In his league-leading 53rd appearance of the season, Odessa goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped 34 of the 40 shots he faced and the Jackalopes were held scoreless on four power-plays in the game, including an extended five-on-three chance midway through the third period.

As the Jacks await a first round playoff series against top seeded Amarillo beginning on Friday, Odessa wraps up its inaugural NAHL regular-season with one final clash vs. the RoadRunners, Sunday at 6:05 pm at Kansas ExpoCentre in Topeka.

The Odessa Jackalopes celebrate their 15th Anniversary in 2011-12 and drop the puck on their inaugural campaign as a member of the North American Hockey League. Season tickets, mini-plans, and single game tickets are available by calling (432) 552-7825 or by visiting the Jacks online at www.jackalopes.org.

Be sure to follow the Jackalopes on Twitter @LetsGoJacks all season long and don't forget to 'Like' the official "Odessa Jackalopes" fan page on Facebook.

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North American Hockey League Stories from April 1, 2012


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