On Saturday the Jacks took the ice to finish their weekend series against Corpus Christi as well as their 3-in-3 series. The Jacks entered the game on a season-high four-game win streak and picked up their first shutout of the season the night before beating the IceRays, 3-0. There was a lot on the line for Odessa on Saturday with it being their annual Teddy Bear Toss Night and trying to win all three games of a 3-in-3 series for the first time since Nov. 9-11, 2018 (vs. Topeka Pilots).
The Jacks had many scoring chances throughout the first period but all 14 of their shots were denied by Thomas Kiesewetter. The IceRays had nine shots but were able to notch the first goal of the game with under two minutes remaining in the period. The goal was scored by Jack Wandmacher (5). Corpus Christi took their 1-0 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes of play.
Odessa came out in the second period still in search of their first goal that would send teddy bears onto the ice. While Corpus Christi was doing everything in its power not to let that happen. With under five minutes remaining, Odessa was on the powerplay, and Ryan Mansfield (13) sent a wrist shot from the slot past Kiesewetter to tie the game at 1-1. Mansfield had this to say about scoring the Teddy Bear Toss goal, “I’d be lying if I wasn’t joking around before the game saying I had a dream about scoring it. In all seriousness though, I didn’t care who scored it I just wanted to get it over with because it was kind of weighing on the guys.” The captain went on to add, “After it went in, I shouted to the fans to get them on the ice but yeah it was a good feeling.” With some weight off their shoulders, the Jacks used their momentum to take the lead for the first time with less than 1:30 left in the middle period. Their second goal was scored by Ryan Kelly (5) after he made deked out the opponent and sent a backhander soaring past Kiesewetter. The Jacks went into the second-period intermission with the lead for the second-straight night. They were outshooting Corpus Christi, 28-23.
In the final period, the IceRays battled back to tie it roughly five minutes into the opening stanza. Their second goal of the night was scored by Frank Jenkins (3) from the point. The Jacks put up 15 shots but were unable to find the back of the net. That is the most shots they have produced in the third period this season. The 2-2 score would hold for the rest of the final period. Resulting in the second game in three days to go past 60 minutes for Odessa. Before the overtime period started, Odessa was outshooting Corpus Christi, 43-33. Marking a season-high in shots for the Jacks. The Jacks were 1-0 in 3-on-3 overtime this season and the IceRays were 0-4. It only took 50 seconds for the game-winning goal to be scored. After the Jacks won a neutral zone faceoff, Jackson Hay flipped the puck forward and raced down the ice. He got around the opposition and snapped the puck past Kiesewetter. “I saw an opportunity to go for a little skate and I just buried my head and put it towards the net. It found its way into the back of the net, so I was super excited about that,” stated Hay after scoring his first NAHL goal. The Jacks finished with 45 shots and the IceRays had 33. Odessa went 1/1 on the powerplay and Corpus Christi went 0/3.
The win put Odessa on a five-game win streak heading into their final games of 2022. Head Coach Scott Deur had this to say about Greg after he played all three games of the 3-in-3 series, “He has been great and makes us feel comfortable back there and obviously he competes his tail off, and the guys like playing in front of him. You can see why he is committed based on his play in the last four or five games.” The homestand comes to an end this weekend against the Oklahoma Warriors. Both games are scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
Photo by: Danne Braden
