The Odessa Jackalopes, following a shutout of the Shreveport MudBugs, took the ice Saturday night to try and extend the win streak to three games.
The first period was a similar story in the shots category, but the scoring was much different. Midway through the first period, the MudBugs would strike first. The Jacks penalty kill would be tested just a few minutes later, after a 3-3 performance Friday night. With 0:01 left on the power play for Shreveport, they would convert to extend their lead to 2-0 over the Jacks. They would take that lead into the 1st intermission. Shots on goal after 20 minutes stood 14-6 in favor of the MudBugs.
The 2nd period the Jacks woke up and responded in a big way. It all started with a funky bounce, as Jacks forward Cam Dunn was sent on a breakaway, the initial shot was stopped, but it rode up the goalie’s stick, hit the back of the skate of a MudBugs defenseman and it trickled into the back of the net, cutting the MudBugs lead in half. A couple of minutes later, Kowin Belsterling brough the puck into the zone dipped his shoulder around the defender, saw the goalie over-committing, and took it behind the cage for a wrap-around and found the back of the net to tie the game at 2 midway through the 2nd period. The Jacks wouldn’t be done yet, a 3 on 2 rush into the zone found Michael Kadlecik who dropped the puck to James Richman, he waltzed in between the hash marks, and wristed one home, low glove side, to give the Jacks the 3-2 lead. Toward the late stages of the 2nd, Kadlecik forced a turnover behind the net, found Dunn with a pass in the far faceoff circle, and he wristed it, high glove, on the MudBugs goalie to extend the Jacks lead to 4-2. However, in the dying seconds of the 2nd, the MudBugs possessed the puck in the offensive zone along the near half wall and they flipped a knuckleballer to the net, which fooled Jacks goaltender Quentin Sigurdson to cut the deficit to 1 with 10 seconds remaining in the 2nd. The period would end with the Jacks up 4-3. Shots on goal that period were in favor of Odessa 15-9.
The 3rd period Shreveport took that momentum from the last second goal in the previous period, and was able to find the equalizer just over midway into the period. Shreveport, on the power play, would connect on a backdoor pass into a wide open cage, tying the game at 4. The MudBugs would commit a penalty with a minute and a half to go, giving the Jacks the opportunity to win the contest in regulation, however, they were unsuccessful, the game would be sent to OT. The Jacks started the overtime period with a 0:24 power play, but couldn’t generate any offense off the rush. The MudBugs would skate out of their own zone just over halfway into OT, gain speed, and get a 2 on 1 rush. The cross-ice pass was tape-to-tape and the Bugs converted on the shot, gaining the extra point in the standings.
Following the contest, Jacks Head Coach Scott Deur commented on the 2nd period comeback, “It feels good to have a team that adopts the never give up mindset and continues to compete no matter what the scoreline is”
The Jacks fall to 8-9-3 (19pts) on the season, while the MudBugs improve to 12-7-1 (25pts). The next Jacks game is Friday, November 24th at 7:15 P.M. CDT. You can catch all Jacks games on NAHLTV and a free audio only broadcast on YouTube.
Reminder Jacks fans single game tickets are on sale and season ticket packages are still available. You can find them online or call 432-552-7825 and Tania can help you out. Come be a part of the Jacks family as we celebrate 27 continuous years of hockey in Odessa!