Blaine, MN– In the second Showcase game, the Amarillo Wranglers pulled out the 5-to-4 overtime goal over the Minnesota Wilderness to get their second win of the young season.
The Wilderness would strike first when Bryce Howard buried a well-executed pass from Conor Ronayne 12 minutes into the first period. Both teams would get more chances in the opening frame but the score would remain 1-to-0 after the first 20 minutes.
Minnesota would quickly expand their lead after Cole Roseen fired a slap-shot past Jon Howe to make it 2-to-0 just over a minute into the period. Just two minutes later, the Wranglers would respond with a Dominic Schimizzi goal on the powerplay to draw within a goal.
At the halfway mark of the second period, Tommy Chunchukov would score his first of the season on a well-set-up play from Skrastins to even the score. Skrastins would continue to litter his name on the score sheet with a pair of goals in the second period including another powerplay goal to give Amarillo a 4-to-2 lead going into the third period.
The Wilderness would battle back early in the third on the strength of Amarillo penalties and would even the game with goals from William Persson and Matthew McQuade. The Wilderness would control the play for much of the third period and hold the Wranglers to only three shots. Howe would make big-time stops to keep the game even and force the first overtime game of the 2021 Showcase.
Both teams would exchange scoring chances throughout overtime but with just under two minutes remaining in overtime, defenseman Bryson Russell would work the puck below the goal line and pass it to a wide-open Skrastins in the slot. With time and space, the Wranglers winger buried the wrister top shelf for his seventh goal of the showcase and secure the Wranglers 5-to-4 overtime win.
Skrastins would finish the game with three goals and an assist. Glebs Prohorenkovs tallied two assists for an early-season total of four helpers. Jon Howe earns his first win of the season with 23 saves on 27 shots faced. The Wranglers scored five goals on only 23 shots.
The Wranglers join El Paso, New Mexico, and Lone Star all with a 2-0 record to start the showcase. Amarillo will take on the North Iowa Bulls on Friday at 5:15 p.m. North Iowa enters the matchup with a 1-1 record.