ODESSA, TEXAS – The Corpus Christi IceRays (28-17-4-4) earned a point but fell just short in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Odessa Jackalopes (21-25-5-1) on Saturday night from the Ector County Coliseum.
The Jackalopes continued the momentum set from last night’s comeback win to tack on the first two goals of the contest in the first period. At 6:39, Jackalopes forward Ludwig Stenlund led a 2-on-1 rush up the left wing and snapped a shot from the circle to give the home side a 1-0 lead. The Jackalopes added their second at 10:42 when a cross-zone pass to defenseman Rowan Savidant connected, and with the help of a screen flipped it from the left point to double the lead, 2-0. The IceRays found an answer on their first power play for the second-straight night at 15:42 when forward Brad Power forced in a rebound in front of the net to cut the lead in half, 2-1.
Power came back early in the second period to bring the IceRays back even, 2-2, when he received a centering pass from forward Josh Tripp and tapped the puck through the netminder at 2:46. The IceRays came out firing in the second period, taking the first five shots of the frame before the Jackalopes regained their composure and forced the issue through the end of the second period, including a near go-ahead goal in the final minute of the frame.
After a close but scoreless third period, the game trailed into overtime. In the final minute of the extra frame, Jackalopes forward Zach Zech sniped a shot from the right circle to seal their second-straight 3-2 win over the IceRays, this time in the extra period.
Jackalopes netminder Jonny Hogue (14-13-3) earned the win, stopping 25 of 27 shots, while IceRays goaltender Tomáš Vomáčka (17-11-5) was saddled with the overtime loss, halting 38 of 41 shots. The IceRays open a two-game weekend with the Lone Star Brahmas on Thursday, Mar. 23 at 7:05 p.m. from the American Bank Center for the final buy-one, get-one free game of the season. Tickets are available at the arena box office or online at Ticketmaster.com. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on SportsJuice.com, Hockey TV, and 87.7FM in-arena.
Join the IceRays in their push for the 2017 Robertson Cup Playoffs and pick up seats for the final games of the 2016-17 season by calling the IceRays Front Office at 361-814-PUCK. In addition, stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays), YouTube (IceRays TV), Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays), Snapchat (@goicerays), and Periscope (@goicerays).