Amarillo, Tx– The Wranglers ended their season series with the Oklahoma Warriors with a 6-to-2 win Saturday night. The Saturday matchup also concluded the Wranglers’ seven-game road trip.
Amarillo started the night looking to hand the warriors only their fourth loss on home ice this season.
Goaltender Connor McDonough was called on to make big saves early on Saturday night and stood to the task to allow Amarillo to have the first strike. Ronan Walsh would open the scoring when he skated into the Warriors zone with Cooper Rice, and Rice set up Walsh, who fired a shot past Daniel Duris to give the Wranglers a one-goal lead.
Oklahoma would find the scoring touch early in the second period when Blaise Miller tied the game at 3:05 of the second. Just one minute later, the Warriors would take the lead with a powerplay goal from William Lawson-Body at 3:35 of the period. Amarillo would tie the game when Pierce Patterson set up Jack Ivey, whose shot rang off the post and in behind the Warriors goalie at 10:25. Later in the frame, Rihards Simanovics would tally his 15th goal of the season with a powerplay tally at 16:19 of the period.
Jonathan Barker would drop the gloves in a heavy-weight bout with Owen Dyer after consecutive hits to the knee of Ronan Walsh. Barker would send Dyer down to the ice and spark more momentum for the visiting Wranglers. Luke Morris would help the Wranglers build their lead in the final moments of the period when he deflected home a shot from Zack Kent with only 24 seconds left.
The Wranglers would chase goalie Daniel Duris after the second period. The Oklahoma goalie leads the NAHL with 23 wins but could not complete the game Saturday night, allowing four goals. Amarillo would extend their lead to 5-to-2 when Connor McNaughton banked home a rebound at 6:34. Kent would also find the back of the net to open up a 6-to-2 lead for the Wranglers. McDonough would keep the door shut to earn his first win as a Wrangler, making 20 saves on the night. Amarillo would hand the Warriors their tenth loss in regulation on the year and pick up a rare win for the visiting team at the Blazers Ice Center.
The Wranglers sit eight points out of a playoff spot with eight games remaining. Amarillo’s next opponent is the last-place Corpus Christi Ice Rays, who will visit the Bullpen this weekend. The