Corpus Christi, TX – The Amarillo Wranglers defeated the Corpus Christi IceRays on Friday night at American Bank Center by the final score of 2-1. Connor McDonough earned his 19th win of the season, breaking the Wranglers franchise record for most wins in a single season by a goaltender.
After having the previous weekend off, the Wranglers and IceRays met for the third time this season and the first at American Bank Center. This matchup was the first of a two-game set in Corpus Christi. Amarillo started Connor McDonough in goal, who entered the night with a record of 18-6-4-2, a 2.39 GAA, and a .910 save percentage on the season. Corpus Christi started Bryant Marks in goal, who had a record of 7-10-0-1, a 3.54 GAA, and an .893 save percentage on the season entering the game.
The first period was scoreless, but the Wranglers peppered Marks with 15 shots in the first frame and outshot the IceRays 15-3 after twenty minutes of play. Amarillo had its chances, but Marks stood on his head to keep it a scoreless game.
The Wranglers continued to throw everything they could at Marks, but the Corpus Christi netminder stood tall. The IceRays scored 7:45 into the second period to open the scoring, Zakhar Polshakov scored his sixth of the season from Sobush and Zaske to make it 1-0. Physicality ramped up as the game went on, and Luke Morris fought Gage Parillo with 7:59 remaining in the second period to zap any momentum the IceRays had. Amarillo outshot Corpus Christi 16-9 in the second period alone, and 31-12 through two periods – yet the IceRays led 1-0 heading into the second intermission.
Amarillo got some chances on the power play in the third period, and their top three unit in the league did not disappoint. 6:10 into the final frame, Roman Zap ripped a one-timer past Marks for the power play score to tie up the game 1-1. Jack Ivey and Nolan Gagnon earned the assists. Back on the man advantage, Ben Ivey won a faceoff and quickly got the puck to Jack Ivey who fired home his team-leading 25th goal of the season to give Amarillo a 2-1 lead. As the IceRays started to push back, McDonough made some acrobatic and incredible saves to hold the score to 2-1 and guide the Wranglers to victory. Amarillo outshot Corpus Christi 48-25.
With the win, McDonough passes Max Gutjahr for the most wins by a goaltender in Wranglers’ franchise history with 19 on the season. Jack Ivey now has goals in each of his last 8 games and has 10 goals and 7 assists in that span. The Wranglers improved to 23-10-5-2 and extended their winning streak to four games.
The Wranglers will wrap up the season series with the IceRays on Saturday night at American Bank Center. Puck Drop is at 7:35, you can catch all the action at www.nahltv.com.