Martin Makes Winning Save in 11th Round

(Odessa, TX) – Dominic Leveille scored in the 11th round of the shootout and Joel Martin made the winning save as the Odessa Jackalopes topped the Laredo Bucks, 5-4, on Saturday night at the Ector County Coliseum in front of a crowd of 4,318.

Leveille’s winning goal was his second of the shootout when he put a wrist shot right between the legs of Pier-Olivier Pelletier.  Martin turned aside Sylvain Deschatelets in the final round to seal the win, his 22nd of the season.

Odessa’s Mike Ramsay and Collin Circelli each scored third period goals to tie the game at 4-4 after Robin Richards put the Bucks up by two with a tally.

Laredo’s Igor Agarunov opened the scoring with the only goal in the first period, a wrap-around goal just 1:35 into the game from Curtis Billsten.

Both teams exchanged a pair of goals in the second period as Odessa took a 2-1 lead on a power play goal from Phil Plante at 5:02 and an even-strength goal at 12:19 from Sebastien Thinel.  Darryl Smith responded for Laredo with a pair of goals, both on the power play.  Smith scored at 17:34 and again with just 10 seconds left in the period.

Odessa’s record improves to 42-11-4 on the season, and they are now five points away from clinching the top seed in the Southern Conference.  

Phil Plante’s power play goal in the second period set a new season-high for the Jackalopes with 18 straight games scoring a power play goal.  Three of Odessa’s five meetings against Laredo have needed a shootout to decide the winner – Odessa has won all three.

The Jackalopes wrap up their homestand on Tuesday when they host the Rapid City Rush at 7:05 PM.  Odessa and Rapid City are currently the two best teams in the CHL, separated by just three points in the race for the Governor’s Cup Title.

The Odessa Jackalopes are the Central Hockey League affiliate for the NHL’s New York Islanders and the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  The team is in the middle of their 13th season in the Permian Basin.  Season tickets, mini-plans, and single game tickets are available by calling (432) 552-PUCK.

Follow the Jackalopes all year long on Facebook and Twitter -- Twitter.com/ODEJackalopes.