Following an exciting 2-1 victory on home opening night, the Jacks took the ice once again Saturday night to take on the Rhinos for the 6th time this month. Both teams changed their goalies from the previous night. Maksim Bely for the Jacks was starting in his 1st career NAHL game, while on the other end, Michael Manzi took the net for El Paso.
The first period neither team got on the board, but the opportunities were definitely there. The Jacks best chance that period came off of a give and go into the offensive zone, where Riley Rosenthal gave the puck to Zach Benayon as he entered the zone along the left wing, Benayon quickly found the cutting Rosenthal who fired it from the left faceoff circle and Manzi came up with a chest save and gave no rebound. Shots on goal that period ended five a side and we would enter the 2nd period scoreless.
The 2nd period continued the mantra of physicality in this series. Just a few minutes into the 2nd period, a weak shot from the point floated on net and Bely made the pad save, but allowed a juicy rebound in front of the crease and the Rhinos bounced and sent the rebound home to take the 1-0 lead. Just a minute after the goal the first power play of the game was also given out. Cameron Dunn went to the box two minutes for hooking, and the Odessa penalty kill came up big and didn’t allow a goal into the back of the net. The Jacks would have two power plays near the end of the second, but both would come up empty. El Paso would get a shorthanded chance on the 2nd power play for Odessa that period, but Bely came up big and stuck his skate to the post and made three remarkable saves to end the frame.
The 3rd period El Paso continued their momentum from the 2nd period. They would receive a power play just under the midway point of the 3rd period and Jakub Jerman in the faceoff dot would fire one home, extending the El Paso lead to two. The Jacks were not able to get anything going toward the end, they did pull the goaltender, and El Paso was able to convert in the dying seconds of the game giving them the 3-0 victory. El Paso more than doubled the Jacks shots on goal for the 3rd period, outshooting them 14-6.
Odessa falls to 6-8-2 on the season and stays at 7th in the division, while the Rhinos improve to 11-4-1. The next Jacks game is Friday, November 10th at 7:15 P.M. CDT. These games will be streamed on NAHLTV and 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!