Pro hockey: Leveille leads Jacks’ charge in series opener

The Odessa Jackalopes are halfway home - but with plenty of work still left in front of them.

Dominic Leveille score two goals, including the game winner, and Olivier Proulx and Mark Johnson each had one goal to help Odessa defeat the Austin Ice Bats 4-1 in the Central Hockey League's first-round playoff game Monday night in front of 1,866 at Ector County Coliseum.

Odessa has a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 series, and the jackalopes can close out the series on Wednesday at Chaparral Ice in Austin. Game time is 7:38 p.m.

"I thought we had great energy," Odessa coach Paul Gillis said. "That's the way we want to play all the time. I thought that everyone, to a man, played great."

Referee Tudor Floru called 24 minor penalties, and Odessa was 1-of-8 on the power play. Austin finished 0-of-8.

Mario Joly and Chris Brannen each had two assists for Odessa, the No. 4 seed in the Southern Conference. Josh Legge, Sebastien Thinel, Mike MacDonald and Brian Swiniarski all had one assist.

Goaltender Alexandre Vincent, making his playoff debut, stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced.

Odessa got on the board just past the midway point of the first period when Leveille scored just as a penalty to Austin was expiring. A mere 20 seconds after Floru waved off an apparent Odessa goal, Leveille positioned himself at the right post and batted a pass from Jose Legge behind Austin goaltender Miguel Beaudry with 9:44 left in the first period.

"Vinny was solid," Gillis said.

Leveille scored the eventual winner just 30 seconds into the second period on a power-play opportunity. Leveille redirected a feed from Joly past Beaudry for a 2-0 lead.

"We were more physical," Leveille said. "They didn't like that, and it's something that we need to keep doing. This was a good win, but we still have to work hard in the next game."

Austin cut its deficit in half just 34 seconds after Leveille's goal when Darryl McArthur was able to skate uncontested down the slot and snap a pass from Ted Vandermeer past Vincent.

Proulx gave Odessa some insurance when he finished a rush up the right-wing boards by MacDonald, who carried the puck below the goal line and then slid the puck into the slot, where Proulx gathered it in and, with two defenders around him, snapped the puck inside the left post with 7:32 left in the second period.