Greeley, CO – The Amarillo Wranglers defeated the Colorado Grit 4-3 in overtime on Friday night at Greeley Ice Haus. Alexander Aleslov buried the game winner 2:02 into overtime to put the Wranglers just 7 points out of a playoff spot.
The two teams met for the first time since December 21st at Greeley Ice Haus with the playoffs creeping closer and closer. Amarillo needed this game to stay in the playoff hunt, and getting the start between the pipes was goaltender Charles-Antoine Girard. Colorado started goaltender Peter Sterling in the 10th meeting of the season between the two clubs. Forward Trevor O’Donohue and defenseman Carson Wendorff made their NAHL debut’s for the Wranglers.
The first period was scoreless, but did produce a good chance for Colorado late in the period when the Wranglers took two penalties to set up a two man advantage for the Grit. The Wranglers penalty kill was up to the task and got the kill, as the period came to a close with the game tied 0-0 and the shot count in favor of the Grit 11-7.
In the opening moments of the second period, Amarillo got its own chance at a 5 on 3 power play, but came up empty handed. A little while later, 9:56 into the period, Amarillo went to its third power play of the game – and this time struck gold. Marc LaFrance potted the first goal of the night and his 6th goal of the season 8:08 into the second period after he slammed in a rebound off a shot that was initially taken by Hayden Hedquist. Colorado responded to tie the game at 1-1 shortly thereafter, as just 1:06 after LaFrance’s goal, Luke Helgeson took the puck the other way and fired on goal to Girard, who made the save, but the rebound hit his own diving teammate in the slot and boomeranged into the back of the net. Helgeson’s 8th goal of the year was assisted by Lucas Mann and Sheldon Rioux. The Wranglers snatched the lead back with five minutes left in the period, as Kirill Evstigneev and Trevor O’Donohue hustled hard on a shift that led to O’Donohue’s first goal in the NAHL on a one-timer from the slot. Amarillo took the 2-1 lead into the locker room, having tied a season high for shots in a period with 21 in the second frame. The Wranglers outshot the Grit 21-13 in the middle frame and 28-24 through two periods.
In the blink of an eye, Colorado flipped a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead within the first 1:15 of the third period. Exactly one minute in, Sheldon Rioux sniped a shot past Girard for his 9th of the season on a steal and score to tie the game up at 2-2. Only 15 seconds later, Landon West scored his 5th goal of the season from Noah Grolnic to give the Grit their first lead of the night. West’s backhander from the slot gave the Grit some momentum, and they had a chance to take an even bigger lead as they went to the power play shortly afterward. However, the Wranglers penalty kill remained perfect, putting a pin in Colorado’s momentum. Amarillo was able to use the kill as fuel, as 8:52 into the third period, Jake Boulanger scored from long range to tie the game up at 3-3. Boulanger, who was playing as a defenseman due to the absence of Padraic Whited and Anthony White, ripped a shot from the right point that beat Sterling for his 5th of the year and his 4th as a Wrangler. With 17.9 seconds left in regulation, the Wranglers were called for a too many men on the ice penalty, leading to a Grit power play to end regulation – ultimately carrying over into overtime. Through regulation, Colorado outshot Amarillo 40-37.
In the biggest moment of the season, the Wranglers pulled through. Amarillo was able to kill off the penalty to start overtime and immediately score the game winner 4 on 4, as William Larsson led the play into the attacking end after the kill, juked Sterling out of position and centered for Aleslov from the goal line to set up the game winning goal. Aleslov drilled it into the back of the net 2:02 into overtime, giving the Wranglers the 4-3 victory. Charles-Antoine Girard was sensational yet again, stopping 37/40 in his third win of the year, en route to being named the first star of the game. Amarillo went 1/3 on the power play and 4/4 on the penalty kill in its 20th win of the season.
The Wranglers and Grit will meet again on Saturday to cap off the weekend, with puck drop set for 5:05 PM CDT. Fans can watch the game live on NATV or listen in on the Wranglers YouTube channel. Make sure you’re following the Wranglers on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube to stay up to date with all the latest news and promos.