The Jackalopes are coming off of a weekend without any contests, therefore they are recharged, rejuvenated and ready to go as they take on a struggling Colorado Grit hockey team this Friday and Saturday at the JackShack.
The Jacks, most recently, played the El Paso Rhinos as they so often did in the month of October and split the weekend series with them, winning Friday and dropping Saturday’s contest.
In Friday’s matchup the Jacks scored the opening goal off of a rebound and Zach Benayon pulled a move to get space around a defender, shot it toward the net, and Matt Ivanov was Johnny on the Spot, putting the rebound in the back of the net to give the Jacks a 1-0 lead. El Paso would respond in the 2nd period with a snipe from the top of the faceoff circle, but the special teams in the 3rd period was the difference. The Jacks were on a power play midway through the 3rd period and Michael Kadlecik deflected the puck in front of the net and the puck made its way past Kael DePape giving the Jacks a 2-1 lead. The Jacks would hold on for the win in their first home game of the season.
Saturday’s contest did not have the same fortune for the Jacks as they were shutout 3-0. El Paso would score their first goal in the 2nd and notch two more in the 3rd period to seal the win. This would be the first NAHL start for Maksim Bely, who kept the team in the game for most of the contest. He stopped 23/25 shots that came his way, including a couple of breakaway shots to end the 2nd period.
As for the opponent, the Colorado Grit, sit below the Jacks in the standings in 8th place. They have dropped seven straight contests and are looking to find a way to bounce back on the road this weekend. The Jacks need to make sure they keep their foot on the gas pedal this weekend and use the energy from the home crowd to their advantage to get four points out of this weekend.
This weekend is Military Appreciation Weekend at the JackShack. All active and retired military personnel, along with their families receive free entry into this weekend’s games. We will also be having various events throughout the weekend, such as a Veteran Palooza. This will take place Friday and Saturday in the morning and extend to the afternoon, more information on the Veteran Palooza can be found on the Jacks social media pages. We will also be having a live swearing in ceremony before Saturday night’s contest.
Be sure to bring those skates out. Following Friday and Saturday’s contests there will be a post-game public skate.
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!