Amarillo, TX – The Amarillo Wranglers defeated the Oklahoma Warriors 5-3 on Friday night at the Budweiser Bull Pen. Amarillo overcame a 2-0 deficit for the second straight game to win.
The Wranglers and the Warriors met for the first time since September 14th on Friday night at the Budweiser Bull Pen. Just 11 Warriors and 5 Wranglers from their last meeting remained on their respective teams’ rosters heading into Friday’s game. The Wranglers started goaltender Matt Schoephoerster for the second consecutive game, while Oklahoma leaned on Billy Stuski in net.
Oklahoma came out firing on all cylinders, going 2/2 on the power play in the first period to spot themselves a 2-0 lead. First it was Luke Rubin putting in a power play tally 6:55 into the first period, followed by a power play goal from Ben Likness with 4:46 remaining in the period to put the Warriors up 2-0. The Wranglers, who had previously gone 0/1 on the power play earlier in the period, converted on their second chance of the game late in the opening period. Marc LaFrance earned his first goal as a Wrangler with 1:08 left in the period. LaFrance’s centering feed got redirected by a Warrior in front of Stuski to make it a 2-1 game heading into the intermission, as all goals in the game had been scored on the power play.
The Wranglers brought the heat in the second period, outshooting the Warriors 14-5 in the middle frame, ultimately outscoring Oklahoma 3-1. Amarillo tied the game 8:32 into the period when Noah Wood banged in a centering feed from Daniel Rassega for his 2nd goal of the season. The Warriors swiftly responded, creating a turnover in deep that led to a wide open net for Riley Fast to pot his first goal as a Warrior to give Oklahoma the lead back at 3-2 with 7:08 left in the second period. The Wranglers were unphased, as Cole Saturdalen located Morley Phillips between the circles for his 9th goal of the season to tie the game again at 3-3 just 1:10 after Fast had given the Warriors the lead. The Wranglers would add another goal to take the lead before the period’s end, as Daniel Rassega notched his first NAHL goal on a steal-and-score with 3:04 left in the middle period to give Amarillo the lead at 4-3 heading into the second intermission.
Oklahoma had some golden opportunities to tie the game and even take the lead, but in the biggest moments the Wranglers held firm to keep the lead. First, the Warriors went to a 5 minute power play after Wranglers defenseman Anthony White received a match penalty for kicking. The Wranglers penalty kill, despite surrendering two power play goals in the first period, was perfect and held the Warriors off the board, preventing them from tying the game. Second, despite the Warriors best efforts to pepper shots on goal in an attempt to solve Schoephoerster for the 4th time, the Wranglers netminder was dialed in and made a series of acrobatic saves to hold the lead for his team. Oklahoma outshot Amarillo 13-8 in the third period, but it did not matter, as Schoephoerster stood on his head, and Noah Wood added another goal with a laser of a shot from beneath the left circle with 8:23 left in regulation to eextend the Wranglers lead to 5-3. Amarillo was able to shut down Oklahoma in the third and outshoot them 31-28 to complete the comeback win. Schoepherster stopped 25/28 in the victory, while Stuski stopped 26/31. Amarillo went 1/2 on the power play and 2/4 on the penalty kill.
Wood (2 goals), Rassega (1 goal and 1 assist), and Aleslov (2 assists), each recorded a multi-point night in the Wranglers victory.
Saturday Night’s game vs the Warriors is Teacher Appreciation Night at the Bull Pen, where teachers get in free thanks to complimentary tickets from Education Credit Union. Puck drop is set for 7:15 PM CST. Fans can watch the game live on nahltv.com, or listen in to the audio feed on the Wranglers YouTube Channel. Make sure you follow the Wranglers on Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube to stay up to date with the latest news and promos.