The Odessa Jackalopes were a minor professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team based in Odessa, Texas

Odessa, Texas

Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small portion of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 99,940 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Odessa, Texas Metropolitan...

. The team played in the Central Hockey League

Central Hockey League

The Central Hockey League is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. Its current champions are the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, which defeated the Colorado Eagles four games to three in the 2011 playoffs....

 (CHL), and was an affiliate of the New York Islanders

New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

. The Jackalopes played their home games at Ector County Coliseum

Ector County Coliseum

The Ector County Coliseum is a 5,131 seat multi-purpose arena in Odessa, Texas.It is home to the Odessa Roughnecks , the Odessa Jackalopes , the Sand Hills Rodeo, and the biennial Permian Basin International Oil Show.The Coliseum was built in 1954 and was previously the home of the original...

.

All Jackalopes games were broadcast live on KMCM

KMCM

KMCM , branded as "KMCM 97 Gold Oldies", is a radio station that serves the Midland–Odessa metropolitan area with oldies by broadcasting the Classic Hits satellite feed from ABC Radio Networks...

 from the franchise's inaugural year until the 2009-10 season when KFZX

KFZX

KFZX is a radio station located in the Midland/Odessa, Texas market which plays a classic rock music format.-History:102.1 went on air in 1983 as "K-WES the HOT 102 FM". City of license was Monahans, Texas. The station went on air from a thousand foot tower near Notrees, Texas.The CP was obtained...

 took over the broadcasting rights to the live games and the Monday talk show called Hockey Talk.

History

In October 1997, Odessa joined the Western Professional Hockey League

Western Professional Hockey League

The Western Professional Hockey League is a defunct minor professional ice hockey league.It operated in the United States from 1996 to 2001, with teams in the southern United States, mainly Texas. The league started with six teams in the 1996-1997 season and grew to 18 teams in 1999-2000...

 (WPHL). In their first season the home games drew an average of 4,000 spectators. Over the next couple of seasons that numbered leveled off, and the team now averages just over 3,200 hockey fans each game. The team mascot, a Jackalope

Jackalope

The jackalope is a mythical animal of North American folklore described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns or deer antlers and sometimes a pheasant's tail . The word "jackalope" is a portmanteau of "jackrabbit" and "antalope", an archaic spelling of "antelope". It is also known as Lepus...

, quickly became one of the most popular in hockey's minor leagues, and team merchandise featuring the snarling, antlered rabbit, has sold well throughout the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Leagues

The Jackalopes continued playing in the WPHL until 2001 when the league merged with the Central Hockey League. Since the 2001-2002 season the Jackalopes have played in the CHL.

On March 23, 2011, the team confirmed that they would be leaving the CHL and joining the North American Hockey League

North American Hockey League

The North American Hockey League is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is enterting its 36th season in 2011-12. It is currently the only Junior A Tier II league, sanctioned by USA Hockey. The NAHL currently acts as an alternative to the United States Hockey League...

 (NAHL).

Captains

Captain

Captain (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, each team can designate an official captain for each game. The player serving as captain during the game wears a "C" on his or her jersey...

 - Sebastian Thinel

Alternate - Philippe Plante


Alternate - Mike Ramsay

Note: Thinel named as Captain replacing injured David van Drunen & Ramsay named Alternate.

External links

• Odessa Jackalopes