Amarillo, TX – The New Mexico Ice Wolves defeated the Amarillo Wranglers on Saturday night by the final score of 3-2 at the Budweiser Bull Pen. Michael Schermerhorn scored twice for New Mexico, while Ben Ivey scored shorthanded for the Wranglers.
The Wranglers entered the contest with a record of 16-9-5-1 and started Connor McDonough in net. McDonough made his 26th start of the season posting a record of 14-6-4-1, a 2.32 GAA, and a .914 save percentage coming into the match. New Mexico entered the game with a record of 15-11-2-1 and started Jackson Fuller between the pipes. Fuller had a record of 7-6-2 with a 2.81 GAA, and a .907 save percentage entering the night.
New Mexico opened the scoring when Michael Schermerhorn scored on the power play to give the Ice Wolves the game’s opening goal 5:32 into the game. The assists were awarded to Graham Harris and Ryan Johnson. The Ice Wolves scored again to take a 2-0 lead 9:10 into the period when Olivier Lamothe scored from Ryan Seelinger and Bryce Johnson. Shots were 12-9 in favor of New Mexico after one period of play.
In the second period, the Wranglers fought back looking to get on the board, peppering Jackson Fuller with 19 shots in period two to the Ice Wolves 4. Unfortunately for the Wranglers, Fuller stopped all 19 shots he faced that period, and the Ice Wolves extended their lead to 3-0 when Schermerhorn scored his second goal of the game Yusaku Ando and Graham Harris 10:21 into the period. Shots were 28-16 in favor of Amarillo after the conclusion of the second period.
Not backing down, the Wranglers continued to bring the heat in the third period and were finally rewarded for their efforts when Ben Ivey scored shorthanded to make it a 3-1 game. Ivey’s goal was his ninth of the year and third shorthanded, coming unassisted 2:37 into the third period. Then just 2:22 later, Nick Troutwine scored his first goal as a Wrangler to pull the Wranglers within one; making it 3-2 with 15 minutes remaining in the third. Zap and Gagnon notched the assists on the goal. The Wranglers continued to push but were unable to find a way to slide another puck past Fuller, and the Ice Wolves won 3-2.
The Wranglers will look to bounce back in the season series finale and 2023 calendar year finale with a New Year’s Eve Showdown against the Ice Wolves tomorrow night. Puck drop will be at 7:15, you can get your tickets at panhandletickets.com or watch on NATV, or listen on YouTube.