Hockey: Jackalopes drop home opener to Killer Bees

The shots came early and often for the Odessa Jackalopes on Friday, but not many made it passed Rio Grande Valley goaltender Wylie Rogers, as the Killer Bees won 2-1 in Odessa's home opener.

The Jackalopes (4-2) got off 54 shots but only forward Brian Swiniarski's breakaway goal in the second period got passed Rogers.

Still, Odessa coach Paul Gillis wasn't sweating the loss.

"I thought our team played extremely well and created a lot of opportunities," he said. "Most of the time, the shots go in and it creates five or six goals."

The Killer Bees (4-0) led 1-0 after the first period on Nicolas Dumolin's goal 8:38 into the game.

It looked like the tide was turning shortly after the teams came out of the dressing room when Swiniarski's third goal of the season tied the game 33 seconds into the second period off assists from Jean Bourbeau and Dave Van Drunen.

But Brian Bicek gave Rio Grande Valley the winning margin 13:10 into the second period.

Odessa's 20 shots in the second nearly equaled the 23 the Killer Bees tallied in the game. The Jackalopes going 0-for-11 on power play opportunities in the game didn't help make the game more winnable.

Odessa got off 16 shots in the third period. But the most excited the announced crowd of 2,870 got was to boo a fan in a Barack Obama mask. Still, the most popular Halloween costume at Ector County Coliseum appeared to be an empty blue plastic seat.

"It's just one of those games that you play good but you don't win," forward Sebastien Thinel said. "It's real frustrating. You just try to forget it and start thinking about tomorrow."

The Jack Shack will try to make up for lost time with another game tonight. This time the Jackalopes face Arizona at 7:05.

"It's good to get back quick," Thinel said. "It's another chance to redeem ourselves. We definitely need the two points."

In goal, Juha Toivonen stopped 21 of 23 shots. He drops to 3-2 on the young season, with a 2.81 goals against average.

Central Hockey League

NORTHERN CONFERENCE

Northeast Division

                              W    L  OTL   Pts    GF    GA

Oklahoma City        5    0      2    12    25    13

Bossier-Shreveport  5    1      0    10    30    12

Mississippi             2    4      0      4    14    24

Tulsa                       0    3      1      1      9    29

Northwest Division

                              W    L  OTL   Pts    GF    GA

Colorado                 8    0      0    16    39    23

Wichita                    3    3      0      6    20    23

Rapid City               1    1      4      6    26    25

Rocky Mountain      1    5      0      2    12    29

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

Southeast Division

                              W    L  OTL   Pts    GF    GA

Laredo                     5    2      0    10    26    17

Texas                      4    1      1      9    22    17

Rio Grande Valley   4    0      0      8    18      8

Corpus Christi         1    4      0      2    21    24

Southwest Division

                              W    L  OTL   Pts    GF    GA

Odessa                   4    2      0      8    30    15

New Mexico            2    3      1      5    25    29

Arizona                    2    4      0      4    20    27

Amarillo                   1    6      0      2    14    36

NOTE: Two points are awarded for a win, one point for loss in overtime or shootout. Overtime or shootout losses are only denoted in the OTL column, not the loss column.

Friday's Games

Arizona 6, Amarillo 3

Laredo 4, Corpus Christi 3

Colorado 4, Mississippi 2

Rio Grande Valley 2, Odessa 1

Wichita 3, Rocky Mountain 1

Oklahoma City 4, Rapid City 3

Bossier-Shreveport 9, Tulsa 3

Texas 5, New Mexico 2

Saturday's Games

Oklahoma City at Corpus Christi

Colorado at Mississippi

Arizona at Odessa

Laredo at Rio Grande Valley

Wichita at Tulsa

New Mexico at Rocky Mountain

Sunday's Games

Arizona at Amarillo

Rapid City at Wichita