AMARILLO, TX — The Odessa Jackalopes (20-31-1-1) started off strong but fell to the Amarillo Bulls (40-7-3-3) by a score of 4-2 at the Budweiser Bull Pen in Amarillo on Saturday night.
The game actually started off well for the Jackalopes. After a fight 52 seconds in when Carter Wade engaged John Pesek. After the fight, the Jackalopes scored first on an offensive rush.
Joseph Winkelmann streaked into the zone on the left side, before sliding a pass to John Serafin. Serafin was able to find on open Vaclav Zidek in front and after a quick forehand-backhand move he tucked the puck into the net.
With a 1-0 lead the Jacks struck again while short-handed. Carl Skarstrom sent in a shot from the goal line that deflected off the goaltender and again off the post and into the net.
With a 2-0 lead going into the second period it looked as if the Jacks were in a strong position to take away two points from the evening. Amarillo had other ideas.
The second period was dominated offensively by the Bulls. Alex Camarre made several great saves but it was not enough as the Bulls scored three unanswered goals in the second to erase the deficit and take a 3-2 lead.
In the third period, the Jackalopes came out flying and had several good scoring opportunities. Odessa actually drew a five-minute major penalty but a retaliation call before the play resulted in the first tow minutes of the Odessa advantage being wiped out. Instead of a power play the Jacks played four-on-four. It was here that Amarillo extended their lead to 4-2.
The Jacks had several power plays to try to claw back but failed to convert. When all was said and done, Odessa went 0/8 on the man advantage. With the loss, and a Corpus Christi shoot out loss, the Jacks fall to 11 points out of a playoff spot with seven games left to play in the regular season.
