The Odessa Jackalopes, after only taking 1 out of a possible 4 points against Shreveport, faced the Amarillo Wranglers on Sunday.
The 1st period was a very even period, but it only took the Jacks about seven minutes, as a pass went across from the captain Jack Christen to fellow blue-liner Braden Pietila, and he waltzed his way into the faceoff circle and fired it into the back of the net, giving the Jacks a 1-0 lead. While the Wranglers would pressure toward the end of the 1st, they were unsuccessful in finding the back of the net, and the Jacks would take the 1-0 lead into the intermission. Shots on goal after 20 minutes were tied at 7.
The 2nd period started out well for the Jacks, James Richman just five and a half minutes in would get the insurance goal for the Jackalopes on a rebound out in front. Amarillo pleaded their case with the officiating crew, as the net was dislodged, but the goal still stood, giving the Jacks the 2-0 lead. In the later stages of the 2nd period, during the Jacks penalty kill, Hayden DeMars exited the zone and it turned into a mini 2 on 1 with Richman. DeMars found Richman with the pass, and he fired his 2nd of the game home past the Amarillo netminder. This would be Richman’s 3rd goal in 2 games and his 4th in 4 games. Amarillo would respond less than two minutes later with a PP goal as they fired one home past Odessa goalie Maksim Bely. The horn would sound, signaling the end of the 2nd and the Jacks took the 3-1 lead into the 3rd period.
The 3rd period saw the Jacks take an early penalty less than five minutes into the frame. Amarillo would capitalize and punish the Jacks as they scored their 2nd power play goal of the game. The Jacks PK has now given up 2 goals in back to back games. Just a couple of minutes later, Christen took advantage of an Amarillo forward who lost an edge, walked into the top of the faceoff circle, and restored the Jacks two-goal lead. This made it 4-2 in favor of the Jacks. The goal scoring would quiet down for a bit, but Amarillo head coach Ryan Anderson would pull the goalie with over four minutes to play. With just under three minutes remaining in the contest, Christen found the puck in the defensive zone, flipped it about 180 feet down the length of the ice, into the back of the net, giving the Jacks the 5-2 lead. It wasn’t over yet though. The Wranglers, less than a minute later, entered the zone along the left wing and flipped one into the back of the net, once again trimming the lead to two. The Wranglers, consequently, pulled their goalie once again, this time it was Zach Benayon along the left wing, who gained the blue line and fired one home to give the Jacks the three-goal lead back. The buzzer sounded and the Jacks were victorious by a final score of 6-3.
Following the game head coach Scott Deur spoke on Richman, who has caught fire lately. “He’s got one of the better shots on the team. They (Kadlecik and Dunn) keep finding him. He’s making due of a great opportunity here and finding a way to find the back of the net. It’s good to see him have that success.”
The Jacks improve to 9-10-4 on the season, while the Wranglers fall to 13-8-3 in their campaign. The next Jacks game is this Friday and Saturday, December 1st and 2nd, against the El Paso Rhinos. Catch all the action on NAHLTV and an audio only version on YouTube with the voice of the Jacks, Brandon Luisi
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!