The Odessa Jackalopes looked to continue their momentum following a strong performance against the Warriors the night before.
The 1st period started very similar to last night as John Wojciechowski would put home a second chance opportunity off of a 3 on 1 rush with Hunter Whisenand and Marcus Fechko. That goal would make it 1-0 Jacks, and just like last night, they would take that lead into the 1st intermission. Shots on goal after one period were 13-6 in favor of Odessa.
The 2nd period was where everything turned around. The Warriors would explode for three goals in just under four minutes to take a 3-1 lead in the 2nd period. However, the Jacks would not go quietly into the night as they gained some offensive zone pressure, Trevor Mitchell let one fly from the point, Cam Dunn had his stick in the right place at the right time, deflecting the puck into the back of the net, cutting the Warriors lead to 3-2. The Jacks would then be awarded a power play just two minutes later. The Warriors capitalized off of a clearing attempt as they had a forward streaking into the offensive zone on a shorthanded breakaway, and the Warriors would regain the two-goal lead, 4-2. Following some extracurricular activities at the end of the 2nd, the Warriors would begin the 3rd period on the power play.
On that power play, the Warriors only needed 23 seconds to find the back of the net. Warriors forward Drew Sutton notched his 3rd of the game, completing the hat trick. Just a few minutes later, Hayden DeMars skated into the offensive zone, toe dragged into the near faceoff circle and put one under the bar, trimming the Warrior lead to 5-3. The Jacks would then be awarded a 4 minute power play as Lem Vardy was high sticked and lost a tooth on the play. The Jacks would convert on the opening seconds of the power play, DeMars notched his 2nd of the game. The power play would not score in the final two minutes, and then with two minutes remaining the Jacks pulled Quentin Sigurdson in favor of the extra attacker. The best opportunity came with 12 seconds left where the puck was loose in the blue paint, a Jackalope hacked at the puck and the goaltender, Billy Stuski, made a sprawling skate save to win the game for the Warriors.
The Jacks fall to 16-19-4 on the season with their next game being, Sunday, January 28th, vs. El Paso @ 7:15 P.M. You can listen to the voice of the Jacks, Brandon Luisi, on NAHLTV and YouTube.