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.
The Odessa Jackalopes are the Central Hockey League affiliate for the NHL’s New York Islanders and the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The team is currently in the middle of its 14th season. Season tickets, mini-plans, and single game tickets are available by calling (432) 552-7825 or visiting jackalopes.org.
Follow the Jackalopes all year long on Facebook and Twitter — Twitter.com/ODEJackalopes.