The Shreveport Mudbugs (9-2-2) struggled to get much going for most of the game as they fell to the Odessa Jackalopes, 6-3 on New Year’s Eve from Ector County Coliseum.
Odessa scored the game’s first goal at 10:39 when Lucas Coon redirected in his second tally of the season making it a 1-0 contest. The Bugs responded on an innocent shot from the LW circle from Mason McCormick which slipped in for his second goal of the season unassisted at 13:36 to tie the game, 1-1. Shreveport would then less than two minutes later take the lead when Braiden Dorfman rifled home his fourth goal of the year from the high slot to give the Bugs a 2-1 edge. Matt Vermaeten and Gio Procopio earned the assists on Dorfman’s PP goal at 15:15. Odessa came right back on their own PP when Fletcher Anderson poked home his fifth goal of the year in front to knot the game up, 2-2. Jacks led in SOG, 13-10 after the opening period of play.
Odessa would retake the lead at 1:05 of the 2nd period on an odd-man rush when Evan Orr would score his first tally to give the Jacks a 3-2 edge. The Jacks would add to their lead at 9:57 off another odd-man rush when Mike Manzo would bank in his fourth goal of the season making it a 4-2 contest. Shreveport struggled to generate much chances in the middle period. Jacks led in SOG, 19-18 after two.
Coon would open up the third period with a shorthanded breakaway and poke home his second goal of the game to give Odessa a 5-3 lead just :33 seconds in. Joe Mack would respond for Shreveport as he squeezed in his second goal of the season to make it a 5-3 contest at 2:00. The Bugs couldn’t generate much after that as Manzo tapped an EN goal for his second tally of the night to make it a 6-3 contest at 17:50.
It’s the first loss in regulation for Shreveport since Nov. 7th at Wichita Falls.
Cole Hudson suffers his first loss in regulation between the pipes giving up five goals against.
The Bugs and Jacks will play game two of this three-game series and ring in the 2021 year with a contest against each other tomorrow night at 715 p.m. from Ector County Coliseum.