Central Hockey League: Jackalopes release 2009-2010 schedule

The Odessa Jackalopes will open the 64-game 2009-2010 Central Hockey League season with a 7:05 p.m. contest against the Corpus Christi IceRays on Oct. 16 at Ector County Coliseum.

The Jackalopes, who advanced to the Southern Conference Final last year, will make their first road trip of the season the following night when they travel to Amarillo to face the Gorillas in the first of 11 meetings between the teams.

Odessa will abandon the Ector County Coliseum for the annual Rodeo Road Trip after Corpus Christi comes calling at 7:05 p.m. on Jan. 2. The Jackalopes will return home after an eight-game hiatus on Jan. 29 to host the Arizona Sundogs in the first of three games in three days.

A familiar face will return to the Permian Basin on Oct. 27 when the expansion Missouri Mavericks come to town with former Jackalopes defenseman Scott Hillman at the helm. Hillman left Odessa two seasons ago to coach the Knoxville IceBears of the Southern Professional Hockey League to back-to-back championships.

“It will be nice to have Scott back in the building,” Jackalopes general manager Joe Clark said. “He was a huge part of this organization for so many years and many of the fans still remember how hard he played.”

Perhaps the toughest road trip will come early in December when the Jackalopes will face the Colorado Eagles at 8:05 p.m. on Dec. 12 before driving all night for a 4:05 p.m. contest the next afternoon in Amarillo, a trip of 491 miles.

After that, it’s back on the bus for a 695-mile sojourn to Arizona for a game on Dec. 16, with the final leg of the trip finding the Jackalopes in Allen on Dec. 18, a 1,033-mile trek from Prescott Valley, Ariz.

This year, with just 15 teams in the league, the clubs have been divided into the Northern and Southern Conferences, with five teams from each conference making the playoffs. The Jackalopes won the Southwest Division last season.