Weekend Preview: 10/8-10/10 Wichita Falls and Odessa

Oct 7, 2021

The IceRays host a three-game weekend home stand this weekend.  On Friday and Saturday, the team hosts the Wichita Falls Warriors, and on Sunday, the Odessa Jackalopes come to town.

The IceRays return to American Bank Center following their sweep of the Lone Star Brahmas two weeks ago.  The two wins against Lone Star moved the IceRays to 3-3 on the season, which has the team sitting at six points.  Six points puts the team into a tie for fourth place in the South Division with two games in hand over the three teams in front of them in the standings.  If the IceRays win all three games this weekend, they will be in sole possession of first place in the division.

IceRays’ staff has been busy over the past two weeks to bring in new players to take the team to the next level.  The highlight of the new players coming in was Stepan Kuznetsov.  Kuznetsov, a dual citizen of Russia and the US, comes to the IceRays via trade from El Paso.  In six games with the Rhinos, Kuznetsov tallied one goal and three assists. Other players coming in over the past week include Daniel Nekhamiyev, Michael Casey, and Stefan Carney. These additions will only boost the IceRays already tremendous roster as they face off against Wichita Falls and Odessa this weekend.

When the IceRays hit the ice against Wichita Falls, it will be the first time that the two teams face off with the Warriors coming into the league in 2020-21. Wichita Falls comes into the weekend in third place in the South Division.  Third is also the spot that they finished the regular season in last season as they clinched a playoff bid during their inaugural season. The Warriors reached that spot this season by sweeping the first place Amarillo Wranglers last weekend. Their three game winning streak dates to September 25th against Odessa, who also enters this weekend in a tie for first place.

The Odessa Jackalopes will battle against the IceRays on Sunday afternoon for the teams’ first matchup against one another since November 17, 2019.  The Jackalopes come into the weekend boasting their first position spot in the South Division standings as they are tied with Amarillo.  Odessa also comes into this weekend’s games coming off a sweep against the 2021 Robertson Cup Champion Shreveport Mudbugs. The team’s sweep came off the back of NAHL South Star of the Week Will Proctor.  Proctor is the backstop for the Jackalopes and stopped 63 of 65 shots last weekend against the Mudbugs.

Puck drop against the Warriors on Friday and Saturday is scheduled for 7:05 pm.  On Sunday, versus the Jackalopes, puck drop is scheduled for 3:05 pm.  Tickets can be found on Ticketmaster.