Last night the Jacks faced the top team in the NAHL, the Oklahoma Warriors. The Warriors went into game one on an 11-game win streak and were unbeaten on home ice. Odessa was in sixth place and eight points out of a playoff spot.
The Warriors were able to get out to an early lead by scoring ten seconds after the opening faceoff. It came off the stick of Joey Delgreco (16). The Warriors would add another to their total with just over two minutes remaining in the period. This time it was Garrett Horsager (7) beating Greg Orosz. The first period would end with Oklahoma leading 2-0 and outshooting Odessa, 11-7.
In the middle period, the Warriors once again came out clicking as they would go up 3-0 after Hunter Jones (15) scored from the point. However, Odessa was not backing down and was able to beat Daniel Duris. The first goal of the night for Odessa came from their leading scorer, Emerson Goode (23). Later in the period, Oklahoma had a powerplay and once again it was Delgreco (17) finding the back of the net. Owen Baumgartner (12) would make it 5-1 Oklahoma and after that goal, Orosz was pulled and replaced by Quentin Sigurdson. It was the first time Sigurdson took the ice since Dec. 3. The Warriors were still outshooting the Jackalopes, 23-10, after 40 minutes of play.
In the final period, Oklahoma put up one more goal before it was all said and done. Their final goal came from Blaise Miller (12) while the Warriors were shorthanded. The Jackalopes had some scoring chances throughout the final period but were unable to beat Duris. Resulting in a 6-1 win for Oklahoma and they are now 7-0 against Odessa this season. The Warriors outshot the Jacks, 28-15. Odessa went 0/3 on the powerplay and Oklahoma went 1/3. The final game of the season series between these two teams is set for tonight at 7:15 p.m. CDT.
