The Odessa Jackalopes have hit a snag to start the 2nd half of the season. They have dropped their last four games, and five of their last six, however, they have a big opportunity this weekend to gain six points in the standings as they take on the 2nd place MudBugs Friday and Saturday, and the 1st place Lone Star Brahmas on Monday afternoon.
The Jacks are coming off an off weekend following a 3-in-3 against the Corpus Christi IceRays and the Lone Star Brahmas. While they came up empty in terms of points, there are definitely some areas where the Jacks played well. In two of the three contests, the Jacks scored the 1st goal, one of them being on the power play. Going into this weekend, one of the focal points is ensuring that the Jacks bring a full sixty minute effort to the game in order to take the lead, keep it, and manage the rest of the game to get points out of the weekend.
Taking a look at the Shreveport MudBugs, they have been on a tear as of late. They are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, a very solid team, with a 23-8-2 record on the season. This season, against the MudBugs, the Jacks are 1-1-2 on the season, meaning they’ve gotten standings points in three of the four games played against the MudBugs. It has always been a good series between these two teams, and the two games this weekend should prove to be the same.
Now for the other team the Jacks play in the span of four days, the Lone Star Brahmas. The Brahmas and the Jacks just met on New Years Eve, which proved to be a competitive game for the most part. The Jacks would have a great 1st period and take the lead into the 2nd period, however, it was a power play goal that sparked the Brahmas and tied the game. Lone Star took the reins from there and never looked back. Between the 2nd and 3rd periods the Brahmas outshot the Jacks 27-12. Lone Star would go on to win the game 3-1. For the Jacks to be successful against the Brahmas on Monday, they’ll have to not only stay out of the box, but also replicate the effort in the 1st period across a full sixty minutes.
Taking a look at some stats for the Jacks while on the road this season, they are 5-10-2. Their last road win came against the Shreveport MudBugs on November 17th, where they shut the Bugs out 2-0. Scoring the first goal will be key for the Jacks as well, as their record on the road when scoring first is 4-2-0, while when the opponent scores first is 1-8-2. The schedule for this weekend’s games is as follows,
Friday, January 12th @ SHV 7:11 P.M. CDT
Saturday, January 13th, @ SHV 7:11 P.M. CDT
Monday, January 15th, @ LOS 1:00 P.M. CDT
These games can be watched on the league’s streaming service NAHLTV. There will only be a home broadcast of these three upcoming games.
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!