North Richland Hills, TX – The Lone Star Brahmas defeated the Amarillo Wranglers by the score of 4-2 on Friday at NYTEX Sports Centre in the first meeting between the two clubs this season.
After splitting the home opening series with Corpus Christi, the Wranglers looked to get back into the win column with a victory against Head Coach Ryan Anderson’s former club, the Lone Star Brahmas. Connor McDonough started in net for the Wranglers, while Deivs Rolovs got the start for the Brahmas.
The first period was scoreless, although both teams had chances on the power play but were unable to convert. Wranglers captain Ben Ivey fought Lone Star’s Alex Keskintepe late in the first period, igniting tempers on both benches. The end of the first period saw roughing penalties assessed to both sides, starting the 2nd period with two minutes of 4 v 4 action.
50 seconds into the 4 v 4 situation, Lone Star’s Brock James scored to make it 1-0 Brahmas, with David Skuhrovec and Ray Murakami picking up the assists. The Wranglers later tied the game 13:50 into the second frame when Jack Ivey put home a pass from Ben Ivey for his 7th goal of the year extending his goal-scoring streak to six games. Jack McDonald picked up the secondary assist on the goal. After 40 minutes of play, the game was tied 1-1 heading into the second intermission.
Lone Star was able to add two more to their total to make it 3-1 with a goal from Spencer Sasenbury 3:37 into the third, and another from Brock James 8:41 into the period. Looking for a comeback, the Wranglers were able to score with 4:59 remaining in regulation to make it 3-2. Jack Ivey picked up his second of the game with Bryce Cooper getting the only assist. However, with 2:17 remaining in the third and the net empty, Brock James was able to put away the empty netter to complete the hat-trick and secure a 4-2 Brahmas victory.
The Brahmas improved to 6-4-0-1, while the Wranglers fell to 4-3 on the season. These two teams will meet again on Saturday night at 7:30 PM – watch all the action on NAHLTV or listen in on our YouTube audio broadcast.