NORTH AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE: Jacks suffer home loss to Monsters
The Odessa Jackalopes got an unwanted lesson Friday night about going 100 percent on each shift, and it cost them dearly.
With the game tied late in the third period, Fresno’s Petr Mainer and Jeffrey Pauluk went behind the Jackalopes net and won a battle for a loose puck, with Mainer sliding the puck out in front of the left post to teammate Dominic Valencia.
Valencia wasted no time in snapping a shot under the crossbar with 6:37 remaining to play, to lifting the Monsters to a 4-3 victory in a North American Hockey League contest at Ector County Coliseum.
Filip Winkler, Riley Borer and Pauluk also scored for Fresno, which improved to 19-16-8.
Lawrence Cornellier scored a pair of power-play goals for Odessa (15-22-5), which failed to gain ground on idle Corpus Christi for fourth place and the final playoff position in the South Division.
Taylor Portner, in his first game with the Jackalopes, scored the team’s third goal to erase a two-goal, second-period deficit with 5:51 remaining before the second intermission.
“I thought it was a sloppy game by both teams in the first period,” Jackalopes coach Paul Gillis said. “We played better in the second period and then in the third period, they took advantage of their one good chance, winning the battle behind the net and then scoring.
“I thought we had three or four good chances in the second period and some more in the third period, with Lawrence hitting the crossbar.”
The Monsters wasted little time putting the Jackalopes on their heels, netting the first goal of the game just 2:35 into the first period.
Knocking a puck out of the air at the right point, Winkler chased it across the top of the zone before gaining control at the top of the left circle. Winkler skated down into the circle and, using a pair of teammates as a screen, snapped a shot that surprised Jackalopes goaltender Connor Hellebuyck as it snuck inside the right post.
Cornellier tied the game just past the midway point of the first period.
With Odessa on the power play, Tyler Cayemberg and Bryan Mitchell worked hard in the left corner to keep control of the puck and then Mitchell sent a pass ringing around the boards that Cornellier picked up on the right wing.
Skating into the circle, he moved around one Fresno defender and then snapped a wrist shot over the glove hand of Monsters goaltender Tomas Sholl with 8:43 remaining in the first period.
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>> Monsters 4, Jackalopes 3
Fresno 1 2 1—4
Odessa 1 2 0—3
First Period—1, Fresno, Filip Winkler (unassisted) 2:35. 2, Odessa, Lawrence Cornellier (Bryan Mitchell, Tyler Cayemberg) 11:17 (pp). Penalties—Tyler Poulsen, Jackalopes (slashing), 5:03; Mikhail Bushinski, Fresno (slashing), 10:40; Darren Lapic, Jackalopes (goaltender interference), 12:59.
Second Period—3, Fresno, Riley Borer (Mikhail Bushinski) 1:55 (sh). 4, Fresno, Jeffrey Pauluk (Zack Wallace, Kyle Sucher) 7:05 (pp). 5, Odessa, Lawrence Cornellier (Jalen Krogman, Tyler Minx) 9:30 (pp). 6, Odessa, Taylor Portner (Bryan Williams, Mikko Virtanen) 14:09. Penalties—Luke Sandler, Fresno (high sticking), :27; Karl Andersen, Fresno (cross checking), 3:23; Matthew Williams, Jackalopes (cross checking), 6:33; Kyle Sucher, Fresno (charging), 8:08..
Third Period—7, Fresno, Dominic Valencia (Petr Mainer, Jeffrey Pauluk) 13:23. Penalties—Riley Borer, Fresno (fighting), :02; Tyler Poulsen, Jackalopes (fighting), :02; Tyller Robert, Jackalopes (cross checking), 16:28.
Shots on Goal—Fresno, 15-10-13—38; Odessa, 6-14-10—30. Power-play opportunities—Fresno 1 of 4; Odessa 2 of 4. Goaltenders—Fresno, Tomas Sholl; Odessa, Connor Hellebuyck; A—2,812. T—2:12. Referee—Steve Reneau. Linesmen—Kevin Cassidy, Chase McGee.
