JUNIOR HOCKEY: Six players score as Jacks skate to key victory against IceRays

It’s not quite desperation time for the Odessa Jackalopes and their playoff hopes. But that time is close, and Saturday night they played with the energy befitting that attitude.

More importantly, they did it against the team they are chasing in the North American Hockey League’s South Division for the final playoff spot.

Lawrence Cornellier, Tyler Poulsen, Jared Docken, Josh Obregon, Jalen Krogman and Tyler Cayemberg all scored for the Jackalopes, who ran away with a 6-1 victory over visiting Corpus Christi at Ector County Coliseum.

The victory improved the Jackalopes to 15-20-5 and pulled them to within eight points of the IceRays (20-18-3) with 20 games remaining in the regular season.

Odessa closes its three-game weekend with a game at 6 tonight at Amarillo.

“I thought we came out in the first period and played well and created some good chances,” Jackalopes coach Paul Gillis said. “We got some goals. I thought we kept our energy up pretty good tonight.

“We are playing pretty good hockey the last month, other than the fact that we’ve got to put in some more goals.”

It is the second time in five games that Odessa has scored at least six goals, with the Jackalopes defeating New Mexico 10-3 on Jan. 20 in Rio Rancho, N.M.

Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped 17 of the 18 shots he faced, with Corpus Christi’s Danny Fetzer spoiling the shutout bid late in the second period.

The Jackalopes let the IceRays know what kind of night it was going to be on the first shift of the game, pushing down the ice on the forecheck and creating a pair of scoring chances against goaltender Sean Keating, making his first start of the season.

Keating, however, was up to the challenge through the first 20 minutes, stopping all 10 Odessa shots in the first period.

“I thought their goaltender kept them in the game in the first period,” Gillis said. “It could have easily been 3- or 4-nothing.”

It wasn’t until the second period was nearly halfway over that Odessa was able to solve Keating, with Cornellier’s goal breaking the scoreless tie at the 9:13 mark.

Standing in the left circle, Cornellier was able to settle down a rebound off the rear glass on a shot by Curt Rau. Cornellier then spun to his left and took one stride toward the slot and, when Keating began sliding from toward the right post, Cornellier snapped a wrist shot inside the left post.

Less than four minutes later, Poulsen netted the eventual game-winner on a penalty shot, taking control of a loose puck and driving in on Keating as Corpus Christi defenseman Vincent Conanan tried to impede his progress.

Awarded the penalty shot for the interference infraction, Poulsen skated in quickly, faked Keating to his knees and then snapped a shot into the upper-right corner of the net with 6:52 remaining in the second period.

“I wasn’t sure I was going to get the penalty shot,” Poulsen said. “It was nice to be able to finish and get the goal to help us get going.”