The Shreveport Mudbugs (8-1-1) rallied from an early hole to knock off the Odessa Jackalopes, 3-2 for a second straight night to grab the sweep on home opening weekend at George’s Pond in Hirsch Coliseum.
Odessa got on the board first for the second straight night as Joey Musa redirected a puck in for his second goal of the season at 3:31 to give the Jacks an early 1-0 edge. The Jacks added to their lead when Ben Doherty shot in his third goal of the year from the slot to make it a 2-0 lead at 12:47. Shreveport had their best chance late in the opening period when they a two on zero rush to the net, but Connor Hasley made an unbelievable paddle-save to rob Lukas Sedlacek of a tap in tally. Odessa led in SOG, 17-7 after one period of play.
Shreveport responded on the powerplay at 9:34 when Matt Weber threw a shot towards the net from the left point which pinballed into the net to give the Bugs life and make it a 2-1 contest. Aidan Metcalfe earned the only helper. It was the only goal of the period filled with plenty of scoring chances for the Bugs which they couldn’t find the equalizer on. The Jacks led in SOG, 27-21 after two periods of play.
The Bugs got a big lift from another defenseman in Dilan Peters who powered home his first tally of the season from the point which tied the game, 2-2 at 14:32 of the third period. Dawson Sciarrino and Sean Bunting earned the helpers on the game-tying tally.
The game stayed tied 2-2 going into overtime for a second straight night where Sciarrino did a nifty between the legs and flipped in his third goal of the year to lift the Bugs to a 3-2 victory. Joe Mack and Chris Hedden received the assists on the game-winning goal.
Cole Hudson earned his sixth win in net making 37 saves on the night.
The Bugs will host the Amarillo Bulls next Friday night at George’s Pond in Hirsch Coliseum for the first of a two-game series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:11 p.m.