ODESSA, TX – The Odessa Jackalopes, in partnership with the North American Hockey League, are proud to announce their schedule for the 2020-2021 season. This season will mark Odessa’s 10th as a member of the NAHL and will consist of a 52-game schedule against teams in the South Division such as the Amarillo Bulls, Lone Star Bahamas, Shreveport Mudbugs, New Mexico Ice Wolves, and the Wichita Falls Warriors who are making their NAHL debut.
The schedule offers 26 home games and 26 road contests. All home games will be at the Ector County Coliseum and feature a 7:15 pm puck drop except the October 31 game against New Mexico which will start at 3:10 pm. Furthermore, while the schedule contains several three-game series there are no Sunday games on the Jackalopes’ schedule.
The Jackalopes will open their season in Wichita Falls against the Warriors on October 23 and 24. Their home opener will be the following week on October 30 and 31 against the New Mexico Ice Wolves.
The Jackalopes will spend the next two weeks at the Ector County Coliseum as they host the Amarillo Bulls (November 6-7) and the Shreveport Mudbugs (November 13-14) in back-to-back weekends. Following a bye week in mid-November, the Jackalopes will travel to Amarillo for their first of two mid-week games on Wednesday November 25 before welcoming the Bulls back to Odessa that coming Friday and Saturday (November 27-28).
December will see the Jackalopes on the road for the start of the last month of the year. The Jackalopes will have a travel to Wichita Falls (December 4-5), and Shreveport (December 11-12) with their second mid-week game in Amarillo on Tuesday, December 8.
The Jackalopes will close out the last week before the holiday break with a three-game series against the Lone Star Brahmas on December 17, 18, and 19 at the Ector County Coliseum. After the holiday, the Jackalopes will welcome 2021 in style with a three-game home series against the Shreveport Mudbugs running through New Year’s Eve and up to January 2.
As January heats up, so will the Jackalopes’ schedule. Odessa will spend most of the month on the road in New Mexico (January 8-9), Lone Star (January 15-16), and Amarillo (January 22-23) before closing out the month at home as they host Wichita Falls (January 29-30) for the first time since April of 2017.
The Jackalopes will start off the month of February at home on Thursday, February 4 as they host the Shreveport Mudbugs. Then they will spend the rest of the month on the road in New Mexico (February 12-13), and Shreveport (February 19-20) before a bye week to close out the month.
March will see a more balanced schedule from the Jackalopes as they will have a long home stand sandwiched between two road trips. The Jacks will start the month on the road in Lone Star on March 5 and 6 before coming home for five straight home games. This includes a three-game set against Lone Star (March 11-13) and a two-game stretch hosting the New Mexico Ice Wolves (March 19-20). Odessa will finish their March schedule in Amarillo for their final weekend against the Bulls on March 26-27.
The month of April promises to be more intense than previous years due to the late start. The Jackalopes will host Wichita Falls in their final meeting on April 2-3 at the JackShack. After that, the Jacks will embark on their final road-stand of the season as they travel to Shreveport (April 9-10) and Lone Star (April 16-17) before ending the regular season at the Ector County Coliseum against the Ice Wolves on April 23-24.
The Jackalopes will be led by first-year head coach Jason Fortier along with his assistant Nate Skidmore, who is also in his first year coaching the Jacks. All of the Odessa Jackalopes games both on the road and at home will be broadcast live on HockeyTV.com, broadcaster Jason Ruff will return for this third season behind the microphone.
The Jackalopes look forward to welcoming fans back to the Ector County Coliseum this October, social-distancing measures will be in place in order to promote a safe, healthy and enjoyable experience.
