Tonight the Ice Wolves took for the ice in front of their fans for the first time in over a month. The last game they played against the Odessa Jackalopes was back on Oct. 19. That night was the first win in Ice Wolves history after they beat the Jackalopes, 4-3. Odessa has won only one game in their last 26 appearances (Feb. 1 6-3 vs. Shreveport).
In the first period, New Mexico came out firing on all cylinders. They moved the puck extremely well and managed to get 17 shots on net. The first goal of the game did not come until there was five minutes left in the period. While shorthanded, Tristan Rand (2) created a turnover below the goal line in the Jacks’ zone and stuffed it past Andrew Takacs. New Mexico held Odessa to only six shots in the opening period.
The middle period is when Odessa started to become more involved in the game. They produced 17 shots in the middle period but Henrik Laursen denied them all. The Ice Wolves recorded 12 shots and were able to convert on one of them. Late in the period, Keegan Langefels (6) took a shot from the point that wound up deflecting off of the opposition and into the back of the net. After 40 minutes of action, the Ice Wolves led 2-0.
Odessa was able to cut the lead in half just :51 seconds into the final period. Ben Doherty (2) beat Laursen while on the powerplay. That was one of only five shots in the third period for Odessa. Past the midway point of the period and the Ice Wolves went back up by a pair. Alex Dominique mad a spectacular pass to Griffen Sanom, who scored his sixth goal of the season. With time winding down in the game, Odessa pulled Takacs in hopes the extra attacker would pay off. Griffen Sanom (7) made them pay for it, as he sailed a puck from his own zone that slid into the empty net. The Ice Wolves skated away with a 4-1 victory over the seventh place, Odessa Jackalopes. New Mexico outshot Odessa 40-28.
The Ice Wolves are still undefeated on home ice in the year 2020 (3-0). They will look to make it four tomorrow and pick up their third ever sweep, when puck drops at 7pm. They also have a chance to tie their longest point streak of the season at four. Following the conclusion of tomorrow’s game there will be a post-game skate. There are only a few tickets left so to make sure you get one click here.