Amarillo, Tx– The Wranglers took care of business in El Paso to notch their third and fourth straight wins this past weekend.
Amarillo went into the series in El Paso, scoring 12 goals in the sweep of the Corpus Christi Ice Rays, and the offense did not slow down the following weekend.
Jack McDonald opened the weekend scoring on the power play at 5:21 of the opening period Friday night. Roman Zap and Rihards Simanovics would be credited with the assists. Amarillo’s defense would stifle the El Paso attack and limit their opportunities. McDonald would find the back of the net again late in the second period to give the Wranglers a 2-to-0 lead heading into the third period.
Carter Clafton would keep the Rhinos off the board in the third period with help from the Amarillo defense. Blake Farrell would notch an empty net goal late to secure the 3-to-0 win Friday night. Clafton would save all 26 shots faced on his way to his third shutout this season.
Saturday night featured more offense for Amarillo, who would get opening-period goals from Ben Ivey and Simanovics. The Wranglers would open up a 3-to-0 lead in the second period with a Roman Zap goal. El Paso would break the weekend shutout later in the second when former Wrangler Ryan Gingher found the back of the net for the Rhinos.
Zap would score again just 26 seconds into the third period to restore the three-goal lead. Jack Ivey would score at 5:28 of the third to give Amarillo a 5-to-1 lead, which would be the final score.
Clafton picked up his third consecutive win with 19 saves Saturday night. On the weekend, the Wranglers’ goaltender would make 44 saves on 45 total shots faced.
Amarillo has put up 20 goals during their four-game winning streak. Jack McDonald has extended his point streak to five straight games where he has put up five goals and three assists in that stretch. Roman Zap has also extended his point streak to four games with three goals and five assists in his last four games.
The Wranglers currently sit six points behind the Ice Wolves for the last playoff spot in the South division with two games in hand. Amarillo will travel to Shreveport to extend their win streak against the Mudbugs.