For the Amarillo Wranglers, they have been looking to turn the tides in the back half of the season as they push for playoffs. The Wranglers have had a lot of great games under their belt in the new year, but they have had some bad luck in terms of penalties, empty net goals, and 1-goal losses. The Wranglers looked to tally points this past series against the Corpus Christi Icerays, who have been one of the hottest teams in the league the past few weeks.
1/16
The Wranglers would get a blazing hot start as Tiernan O’Rourke would rifle home a goal less than a minute gone in the 1st period. Caden Hegarty and Daniel Rassega would assist Tiernan O’Rourke. The Icerays would find the lone goal of the 2nd period, tying the game up 1-1. Alfons Jentler would rifle home the go-ahead goal, putting the Wranglers up 2-1 under 2 minutes into the 3rd period. Jake Boulanger and Jacob Miller would tally assists on Jentlers goal. The Icerays would tally two quick goals in a span of a few minutes to take a 3-2 lead. Ian Buors would find the game-tying goal with 3:43 left in the 3rd period. Ian would be assisted by Mason Lupo and Yuri Karatai. The Wranglers would start the overtime strong, getting a lot of good looks, but ultimately the Icerays would slot home the overtime winner with 2:30 left in the OT. The Wrangler would still pick up a point in the process.
Tiernan O’Rourke: 1 goal, 1 point
Caden Hegarty: 1 assist, 1 point
Daniel Rassega: 1 assist, 1 point
Alfons Jentler: 1 goal, 1 point
Jake Boulanger: 1 assist, 1 point
Jacob Miller: 1 assist, 1 point
Ian Buors: 1 goal, 1 point
Mason Lupo: 1 assist, 1 point
Yuri Karatai: 1 assist, 1 point
1/17
After a heartbreaking overtime loss, the mood was still upbeat as the Wranglers played a stout game on Friday night and still picked up a point. Alfons Jentler would bury the first goal of the game with 13:39 left in the 1st period. Jentler would be assisted by Tiernan O’Rourke and Jake Boulanger. The Icerays would get a power play goal with 7:14 left in the 1st period, tying it up heading into the 1st intermission. Kirill Evstigneev would find the go-ahead goal less than two minutes into the 2nd period. Alfons Jentler and Jake Boulanger would assist Kirill. With 5:01 left in the 2nd, the Icerays would find their 2nd power play goal on the night, tying it up heading into the 3rd period. The Wranglers would have some solid looks to snatch the game winner in the 3rd, but neither side could find the game-winning goal, so it would go to overtime yet again. The Wranglers would yet again have the majority of looks in overtime, but the Icerays would yet again find an overtime winner. The Wranglers would tally another point, securing two points on the weekend.
Alfons Jentler: 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points
Tiernan O’Rourke: 1 assist, 1 point
Jake Boulanger: 2 assists, 2 points
Kirill Evstigneev: 1 goal, 1 point
The Amarillo Wranglers are still within striking distance of a playoff spot and are looking to gain some ground this week. The Wranglers venture to El Paso to take on the El Paso Rhinos. This season the Wranglers are 2-4 against the Rhinos and will be looking to replicate their form against the Rhinos on those 5-4 and 3-2 wins they had over the Rhinos this season. The Wranglers are 7 points off a playoff spot currently, so a sweep over the Rhinos this weekend; if Shreveport are swept, they would only find themselves 3 points off a playoff spot.
Photo Credit: Lauren Corea https://www.locophotography.com