This past Saturday the Jacks faced the Warriors for the final time this regular season. Odessa was still in search of their first win against Oklahoma (0-7). The Warriors won game one of the weekend series by a final of 6-1. The loss put Odessa on a two-game losing streak. It improved the Warriors win streak to 12.
Odessa started Quentin Sigurdson for game two. Marking his first start since Dec. 3, 2022. Just like the game before, Oklahoma came out looking for an early lead and it only took them two minutes to find it. The goal was scored by William Lawson-Body (11). The Warriors continued to keep the puck in Odessa’s territory and eventually, they would find the back of the net for the second time. This time it was Rylan Brady (18) and his goal came with less than four minutes remaining in the period. The Jackalopes would end the first period trailing 2-0 and were also being outshot, 15-4.
Nearly halfway into the middle period, Oklahoma would add to their lead. With their third goal coming from Garrett Horsager (8). About 1:35 later and the Warriors were once again on the scoresheet. The fourth goal scorer came from Malte Hasselgren (15). Odessa was able to end Daniel Duris’ hopes of a shutout after Michael Kadlecik (2) deflected Jack Christen’s shot from the point. The Warriors were not letting up though as they went back up by four with under a minute left in the period. Their fifth goal came from Max Dronen (8). Odessa was now trailing 5-1 after two periods and still being outshot, 31-14.
Odessa was able to withstand most of the pressure from Oklahoma in the final period, but the Warriors would record an empty-net goal before the final horn sounded. Their last goal came from Blaise Miller (13). The Jackalopes once again put up ten shots, but Duris denied them all. Resulting in another 6-1 win for the Warriors. Oklahoma had 49 shots and Odessa had 24. The Jacks went 0/1 on the powerplay and the Warriors went 0/3. The Warriors remain the only unbeaten team on home ice this season.
Even with the loss, Sigurdson recorded a career-high in saves (43). Odessa ends their season series with Oklahoma winless (0-8) and was outscored, 43-11. They were also shutout in two of the eight games. Odessa has now played 40 of their 60 games this season and is sitting 11 points out of a playoff spot. Something they have yet to be in all year. The Jacks continue their road trip this weekend when they face eighth place, Corpus Christi. Both games are scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. CDT puck drop.
Photo credit: Danne Braden
