Oklahoma City, OK – The Amarillo Wranglers defeated the Oklahoma Warriors 3-2 in overtime at Blazers Ice Centre on Friday to improve to 8-4-1 on the season.
After taking the first two games of the five-game set with the Oklahoma Warriors at home last weekend, the scene shifted to Blazers Ice Centre in Oklahoma City. The Wranglers once again turned to Connor McDonough in goal after he helped the team to victory in both games last weekend. McDonough had a record of 5-2-1, a 2.5 GAA, and a .912 save percentage entering the contest. The Warriors started Daniel Duris in goal, who had a record of 6-3-1, a 2.20 GAA, and a .931 save percentage coming into the game.
No scoring occurred in the first period, although there were plenty of penalties handed out on both sides. The Wranglers had two power-play chances in the first, while Oklahoma had three. The period ended with 4 on 4 action carrying over into the second period.
The Wranglers found themselves with a power play opportunity in the opening quarter of the second period, however, Drew Sutton scored shorthanded for the Warriors to make it a 1-0 game for the Warriors. The Wranglers quickly turned the tides just 42 seconds later when Alex Papaspyropoulos threw a stretch pass up ahead to Roman Zap for a breakaway goal. Zap beat Duris on the backhand to tie the game up 1-1. With penalties continuing to add up on both sides, Oklahoma finally cashed in on the power play 11:49 in when Nathan Rickey flung a shot on goal at the blue line while McDonough was screened to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead. The period ended with the Warriors up 2-1 and leading the shot count 19-11.
Back on the power play in the early stages of the third period, Topi Puikkkonen put home his 8th goal of the season 1:57 into the third to tie the game up 2-2. Gagnon and Ben Ivey picked up the assists on the power play tally. The remainder of the third period was scoreless – although both teams had plenty of chances on the power play. Oklahoma went 1/8 on the man advantage while Amarillo was 1/7 for the game.
In overtime, Puikkonen was able to jam home his second of the night for the game-winner, with assists coming from Papaspyropoulos and Gagnon. Puikkonen (2g), Papaspyropoulos (2a), and Gagnon (2a) all recorded multiple-point games. With the win, the Wranglers extended their winning streak to four games and improved to 8-4-1 on the season. Amarillo is now 3-0 vs. Oklahoma this season.
The Wranglers will look to continue their winning ways tomorrow night when they take on the Warriors for the second game of the three-game set at Blazers Ice Centre. Puck drop is at 7:15 CDT. You can catch all the action on NATV or our YouTube audio stream.