The Odessa Jackalopes rebounded from Thursday’s loss in a wild way, defeating Amarillo 3-2 in a shootout Friday night at Ector County Coliseum.
After giving up a two-goal lead, the Jackalopes managed to pull off the late win after Michael Kadlecik’s goal in the shootout clinched the game for Odessa.
“I thought we had a good first period but then I thought we were kind of hanging on,” Odessa head coach Scott Deur said. “I thought Amarillo got better as the second and third periods went on. Once you get into a shootout, it’s 50-50 so I’m glad we were lucky enough to get the shootout win.”
It was the second time in two days that the Jackalopes gave up an early lead against the Wranglers, only this time, it was a 2-0 advantage that Amarillo came back from.
“It’s something that we talked about,” Deur said. “When you have a team down, you have to keep going. We’re not a team that scores a lot so when you get up, you have to make sure you’re doing the right things.”
The Jackalopes improved to 13-11-2 for the season while the Wranglers now sit at 15-9-5.
Amarillo outshot Odessa, 35-22.
After an intense start to the game, the Jackalopes found the back of the net on a goal by Hayden DeMars with assists by Theodore Manlove and Adam Armijo with 10:01 left in the first period, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead.
It didn’t take Odessa long to double its lead as Cameron Dunn drove straight to the net and slipped the puck past Amarillo goalie Connor McDonough for the 2-0 lead with 9:15 on the clock. Odessa ended the first period with a 2-0 advantage.
The second period remained relatively quiet as neither side could get much going.
Amarillo picked up its first penalty of the game, 5:25 into the period, when Tommy Chunchukov was called for high-sticking.
A Wrangler attempt was deflected off the glove of Odessa goalie Quentin Sigurdson, keeping the visitors off the board with 9:17 remaining.
Dunn nearly got his second goal of the game soon after but it was a determined save by McDonough who denied the Jackalopes another goal.
Sigurdson continued to keep the Jackalopes ahead by two goals as the Wranglers threw almost everything they had during a stretch in the period.
The Jackalopes then got another power play as Amarillo’s Jack McDonald was penalized for high-sticking with 4:07 left in the period.
Odessa was unable to take advantage of the power play, however and the lead remained only at two goals.
The Jackalopes were then penalized as Zach Benayon was sent to the box for tripping.
The Wranglers made the Jackalopes pay as they found a way to get on the board, scoring on a goal by Jack Ivey with less than a minute in the period.
Four minutes into the third period, the Wranglers tied the game up with a goal by Ben Ivey with assists by Jack McDonald and Colin Doherty.
Shortly after, Dunn picked up a penalty for slashing.
Grayson Gerhard nearly made it 3-2 on a 2-on-1 attempt but was denied by Sigurdson with six minutes left in the period.
Neither team could get the winner in regulation and the game went into overtime.
It was the Jackalopes first overtime game since their Nov. 24 contest against Shreveport which resulted in a 1-0 loss in a shootout.
Overtime went by fairly quick as neither side could find the game-clinching goal and the game went to a shootout where Kadlecik’s goal gave the Jackalopes the win.
“We practice it every week and we knew what everyone was going to do,” Deur said. “I knew what guys to put out there and a lot of guys were tapping (Kadlecik) on the shoulder and I sent him out and thankfully he put it away.”
>> ONE MORE BEFORE THE BREAK: The Jackalopes and the Wranglers will conclude their three-game series with a 7:15 p.m. puck drop Saturday at Ector County Coliseum.
After that will be a two-week break for Christmas.
Odessa will return to action on Dec. 29 at Corpus Christi.
>> WHEN WILL WE SEE YOU AGAIN?: After this weekend’s home series, the Jackalopes will be on the road for over a month as the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo (as well as other events) will soon replace the ice at Ector County Coliseum.
The Jackalopes won’t be back at home until Jan. 26 against defending Robertson Cup winner the Oklahoma Warriors.
