The Odessa Jackalopes following back to back wins in Amarillo, began a two-game road series against the New Mexico Ice Wolves on Friday.
The 1st period saw a lot of odd man rushes for both teams, but it would be the Ice Wolves getting the icebreaker on the power play. Yusaku Ando found himself uncovered in front of the net as he slid it past Jacks goaltender Ivan Zhigalov. That made it 1-0 Ice Wolves which is where the game would stand at the end of the 1st period. Shots on goal were slightly in favor of the home side 9-8 after 20 minutes.
The Ice Wolves would extend their lead in the 2nd period on an odd man 3 on 2 rush. A shot rang in from the far faceoff circle, bounced off the pad of Zhigalov and the rebound was pounced on by the Ice Wolves as it found its way in the back of the net, making it 2-0 Ice Wolves. The Jacks would get on the board a few minutes later on a beautiful pass across from Michael Kadlecik to Cam Dunn, who kept his stick on the ice to cut the lead to one for the Ice Wolves. All it would take New Mexico is 30 seconds to respond as Ethan Hull sniped one home for his 1st NAHL goal. The Ice Wolves would take the 3-1 lead into the 3rd period.
The 3rd period started slow for the Jacks, but thanks to a couple of power plays, the Jackalopes would find the back of the net. Hayden DeMars sniped the puck under the crossbar and following a 5+ minute review it was deemed a goal. The Jacks weren’t done there as 22 seconds later Teddy Manlove tapped home a backdoor pass to tie the game at 3. The Jacks would kill off a 5 on 3 late in the 3rd period and force the game to go to OT.
The Ice Wolves entered the zone and Graham Harris would sneak around a Jacks defender and cut toward the crease as he backhanded home the game winner for the Ice Wolves.
The Jacks fall to 20-23-7 on the year. Their next game is, Saturday, March 2nd, @ New Mexico Ice Wolves, 7:30 P.M. CST
All Jacks games can be streamed on the North American Hockey League’s streaming service NAHLTV, with the voice of the Jacks, Brandon Luisi. A free audio only version will also be available on the Odessa Jackalopes YouTube page.