Last night the Jacks faced Wichita Falls for only the third time this season. Odessa was 1-1 against the Warriors heading into game one yesterday. Wichita Falls was 4-1 in 2022 heading into the weekend series whereas Odessa was 1-2-0-1. The Warriors have also only lost one game in their last six. The Jacks entered last night on their longest losing streak of the season (0-2-0-1).
The Warriors opened the scoring by capitalizing on their first power play of the game. Joseph Harguindeguy (9) beat Alex Proctor 5:53 into the first period. The Jacks would find an answer less than two minutes later after Tanyon Bajzer (7) had his shot deflect off the stick of the Warriors goalie, Daniel Duris. It was the first time since Dec. 17th that Duris was between the pipes for the Warriors. The first of three periods finished tied at one apiece. Warriors led in shots, 13-6.
Odessa had a lot of momentum and pressure in the first half of the second period. However, as the game surpassed the halfway point, Wichita Falls started to find their groove and put up four-straight goals. Riley Brueck (14) put the Warriors back in the lead with 9:32 remaining in the period. Hunter Jones (2) made it a 3-1 Warriors lead at the 14:03 mark of the middle period. Cade Lemmer (10) scored less than 90 seconds later, making it a 4-1 deficit for the Jacks. Wichita Falls converted once again on a power play as Hunter Jones (3) notched his second of the game with under two minutes remaining in the period. After 40 minutes the Warriors were leading 5-1 and outshooting the Jacks, 25-14.
Noah Rupprecht came in to replace Alex Proctor for the third period. The Warriors scored their sixth goal on their first shot of the period. The goal was scored by Marshall Beaker which marked his first NAHL goal and it was also his NAHL debut. Odessa tried everything they could to beat Duris but he denied all seven of their shots in the final period. Resulting in a 6-1 victory for the Warriors. They went 2/3 on the power play and Odessa went 0/1. The Warriors outshot the Jacks, 41-21. It was also the second time that the Warriors put up six goals against Odessa. That was the first win for Duris since his 26 save shutout over Lone Star on Nov. 6th.
Tonight, the Jacks take the ice not only for game two but also for the second of four straight between them and the Warriors. The Jacks are now 1-2 against the Warriors this season. With their win, Wichita Falls improves to 16-13-4-2 (38pts). Odessa’s record is now 19-13-1-2 (41pts). Once again, the Jacks will enter the game tonight in third place. The Warriors are in fifth place and only two points away from tying Amarillo for fourth. Puck drop tonight is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT.
