Wildcats Sweep Jackalopes, Advance to Division Finals
The Odessa Jackalopes were not expected to give the Wildcats much of a problem in the first round of the playoffs. Most believed they would just be a speed bump on the Wildcats’ road through the postseason. In the first period of Game 1, Odessa defied all expectations and put the Wichita Falls team and fanbase in shock, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in an 80 second span. All it took was one intermission for the Wildcats to wake up and play the way they were expected to. After trailing 3-0 in Game 1, the Cats scored 15 unanswered goals and held the Jacks without one for over 120 minutes of play. It took Odessa until Game 3 to finally score again, by which time it was too little, too late. A Jackalopes season which showed so much promise came to an end sourly for them, dropping Game 3 by a final of 6-3 at the Ector County Coliseum. The silver lining for the Jackalopes is that they made significant progress as a franchise, and qualified for the postseason for the first time since a soon-to-be NHL star Connor Hellebuyck was tending their goal. However, they were ultimately ousted by a much faster and deeper Wildcats team, and simply did not get enough scoring from their Big Five. Their top line and defensive pair combined for just two goals in the first round despite being responsible for over half of the Jacks’ scoring during the season, and none of them will be returning to Odessa next year.

The Matchup
The RoadRunners have historically been the Wildcats’ biggest adversary in the playoffs. The two teams have met three times in the postseason prior to this series, and Topeka has won all three. In 2009 and 2011, the Runners won in 5 games. In 2015, the Runners won in 4. In all three prior occurrences, however, the Wildcats have been the underdogs while the RoadRunners have had home-ice advantage. This time around, it is a completely differenty story. The Cats are the higher seed in this series and have been undefeated on home ice since December 19th. They’re 7-3-0 against Topeka this season and have won four straight against them. The table is turned, and it is up to the Wildcats to take advantage and to defy history again.

Tensions High
These teams’ hostilities are not limited to postseason play by any means. The last time the RoadRunners were in this building, the Wildcats scored a goal off of what appeared to be a missed offside call. Topeka’s GM/Assistant Coach Joe Clark lost his composure afterwards and was ejected from the game for Abuse of Officials. The Runners’ top scorer Johnny Walker also threw a tantrum, and was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to put his team down two skaters. Andre Pison scored on the ensuing 5-on-3 power play, which would ultimately hold up as the game winning goal for the Wildcats. A clear lesson was learned by Topeka that day, and it will be intriguing to track whether they will be more careful going forward or become even more hostile in this playoff series.

Cats on the Cusp of Setting Yet Another Record
Including the two home playoff victories against Odessa, the Wildcats have won 18 consecutive games at the KYC. The league record is currently shared at 19 by the Lone Star Brahmas of ‘15 and the Mahoning Valley Phantoms of ‘07. One more home sweep is all it will take for the Wildcats to break their first leaguewide record this year.