Central Hockey League: Leveille blasts Jacks past Laredo in shootout

Trying to stop Odessa Jackalopes forward Dominic Leveille once in a shootout is tough enough, but facing him twice is nearly an impossible task.

Laredo goaltender Pier-Olivier Pelletier had the unenviable task Saturday of trying to stop one of the top scorers in the Central Hockey League — and failed.

Leveille scored twice in the shootout as the first and 11th shooter, with his final shot lifting the Jackalopes to a 5-4 victory in front of 4,318 at Ector County Coliseum.

Leveille beat Pelletier over his left shoulder on the first shot and then went between the pads the second time down the ice.

“He was already set up high, so I stayed low,” Leveille said. “This was a good win after coming back in the third period.”

Philippe Plante, Sebastien Thinel, Mike Ramsay and Collin Circelli also scored for Odessa, which came back from a two-goal deficit in the final 10 minutes of the game.

The Jackalopes (42-11-4) need just six points to clinch the Southern Conference title.

The Jackalopes play host to Rapid City at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, with the Rush just three points behind (88-85) in the race for the best overall record in the CHL.

Jeff Pierce and Thinel each added two assists to the victory, with Circelli and Kory Karlander finishing with one helper each.

Goaltender Joel Martin made 21 saves during the game and then nine saves in the shootout.

“We shown, I think, all year that we are always in it,” Jackalopes coach Paul Gillis said. “I thought it was really good that we came back; I’m not happy that we got ourselves in that predicament to start with.

“They had three power-play goals, but they were on broken plays for the most part. I think the issue was that we got four penalties in a row in the second period and we deserved them.”

Laredo tallied first, less than two minutes into the contest, when Igor Agarunov, moving the puck from right to left behind the Jackalopes’ net, got into Martin’s blind spot and was able to wrap the puck around the left post at the 1:35 mark of the first period.

That was the score in the second period when Odessa finally found the back of the net on Plante’s power-play gaol at the left post with 5:02 gone in the period. The scoring play started with a pass from Karlander to Thinel, who carried into the right circle and then fired a bad-angled shot at Pelletier that was knocked down.

Plante, however, was in the right spot at the right time as the puck settled at his feet and he quickly sent it inside the left post to tie the game.

The Jackalopes then took the lead when Pelletier stopped a shot by Pierce from the left hash marks, only to have the puck bounce right to the stick of Thinel, who quickly slid it between the goaltender’s pads with 7:41 remaining in the second period.

That’s when Smith got involved, scoring back-to-back power-play goals at the 16:04 and 19:19 marks of the period to keep the Bucks in front at the end of 40 minutes of play.

Laredo then gave itself a two-goal cushion when former Jackalope Robin Richards, again on the power play, pushed the puck past Martin at the 9:43 mark of the third period.

Ramsay then decided to have a say in the outcome, creating a steal in the left circle of the Bucks’ zone, flipping a shot on net, where Pelletier made the initial save, but Ramsay back-handed the rebound over the netminder’s left shoulder with 6:40 left in the game.

Circelli then tied the game with a bit of luck on the power play.

Working along the goal line to the left of Pelletier, Circelli sent the puck into the crease looking for a rebound for one of his teammates. But the puck bounced first off a Bucks’ defender and then the skate of Pelletier and into the net just 52 seconds after Ramsay’s goal.