The Odessa Jackalopes took on the Lone Star Brahmas in North Richland Hills Friday night to begin a six-game road trip.
The 1st period started out as a very physical battle between the two teams. A pair of penalties were assessed as the teams would play 4 on 4 hockey. The Jacks would win the ensuing faceoff and a one-timer came in from Michael Kadlecik who fired the puck into the back of the net to make it a 1-0 game in favor of Odessa. The physicality would continue as just a few minutes later the Jacks and the Brahmas would return to 4 on 4 play. This time it would be the Brahmas scoring to tie the game. The Jacks would respond however, as Caden Morgan fluttered a puck toward the net and it caught Brahmas goaltender Deivs Rolovs by surprise, squeaking through the five-hole. That made it 2-1 in favor of the Jackalopes. The Jacks and the Brahmas would end the first period with 4 on 4 play, with the Jacks leading 2-1. Shots on goal read 14-4 in favor of the Brahmas.
The 2nd period was the continuation of the 4 on 4 that ended the 1st period of play. Quickly the Jacks would go shorthanded and on their first Kenner Printing Penalty Kill of the night. The Jacks continued their strong penalty kill effort from Friday and Saturday night’s contest, and killed off the penalty. It only took a couple of minutes for the first goal of the 2nd period as the Brahmas capitalized on a net-front scramble to tie the game, 2-2 with 15:13 to go in the 2nd. Past the midway point of the 2nd period, the Jackalopes would receive their 1st power play of the game. Toward the end of the power play the Jacks got set up in the offensive zone, but were unable to find the back of the net. No more pucks would find the back of the net, and the game would be tied at 2 after two periods of play. Shots on goal read 29-6 after two periods.
The 3rd period was a bit of a slower start in comparison to the other two. Lone Star would get a prime opportunity as the Jacks would get called for too many men on the ice, which sent the penalty kill back to work. The Brahmas had their fair chance of opportunities but stellar goaltending from Ivan Zhigalov and good shot blocking from the penalty killers kept the puck out of the back of the net. At the final media timeout, shots on goal were 36-8 in favor of Lone Star. The Brahmas would go back to the power play in the last six minutes of the game, testing the Jacks penalty kill once again. The Brahmas’ dangerous power play pressured the Jackalopes, but once again the penalty kill prevailed. Neither team would score for the rest of the period, resulting in a 3 on 3 overtime.
It didn’t take long as an odd man rush was started by the Jacks and Cam Dunn made no mistake, sniping one home to give the Jacks the extra point in the standings.
The Jacks improve to 18-22-6 on the year, with the next game being Saturday, February 17th, @ Lone Star. Puck drop is set for 7:30 P.M.