Amarillo, TX – The Amarillo Wranglers defeated the Oklahoma Warriors 3-2 in overtime on Saturday at the Budweiser Bull Pen to extend their winning streak to three games and move to 7-4-1 on the season.
After stopping 25 of 28 shots in Friday’s 5-3 win, the Wranglers once again turned to Connor McDonough in net. McDonough had a record of 4-2-1, a 2.57 GAA, and a .907 save percentage entering the game. The Warriors went with Dylan Johnson in goal, with Johnson carrying a record of 2-1, a 3.33 GAA, and a .904 save percentage.
Ben Ivey opened the scoring for the Wranglers with a shorthanded goal 10:48 into the first period. Applying pressure shorthanded, Ivey was able to steal the puck away in the Oklahoma zone and rip a shot past Johnson for the 1-0 lead. The goal was Ivey’s fifth of the year and his second shorthanded. The Warriors tied the game at one apiece with 2:14 to go in the first frame when Max Vig was able to corral a bouncing puck and send it past McDonough for the score. Brueck and Brenner picked up assists on the goal. Late in the first period, Oklahoma’s Landon Flemming received a game misconduct and a five-minute major penalty for fighting/instigation. The power play time for Amarillo would carry over into the second period.
In the late stages of the power play, Amarillo defenseman Kyle DeMarco fired a shot from the neat point that beat Johnson to give the Wranglers a 2-1 lead and DeMarco his first goal of the year. Morris and McNaughton picked up the assists on the power play tally. Oklahoma tied the game up 2-2 when Riley Brueck put home his second goal of the year from Vig and Sutton with 11:39 to go in the second frame. After 40 minutes of play, the game was tied 2-2. Shots were 25-19 in favor of the Warriors.
The third period was scoreless, with both teams having some power play time. Connor McDonough made a few huge saves to keep the game tied at 2. 60 minutes weren’t enough, so the game went to 3 v 3 overtime.
In overtime, Oklahoma had two breakaway chances and on both opportunities, Connor McDonough made big-time saves to keep the game going. Amarillo’s Topi Puikkonen quickly got to work in the offensive zone cycling around Oklahoma territory and then driving towards the net where he found Connor McNaughton backdoor for the overtime winner. McNaughton now has four goals over his last three games and extends his goal-scoring streak to three games. McDonough stopped 34 of 36 shots faced in the win.
The Wranglers will be in Oklahoma City next weekend for three more games against the Oklahoma Warriors at Blazers Ice Center. You can catch all the action on NAHLTV and our YouTube audio stream.