Amarillo, TX – The Oklahoma Warriors defeated the Amarillo Wranglers by the final score of 4-2 at the Budweiser Bull Pen on Saturday night.
Oklahoma won the previous matchup on Friday night by the final score of 4-2, as the Wranglers were looking to rebound with a victory. Both goaltenders who started the previous matchup got the nod tonight, Connor McDonough for the Wranglers and Daniel Duris for Oklahoma. Jack McDonald played in his 100th NAHL game – all with the Wranglers – and recorded a point with an assist. This game marked another matchup in the Austin Hose Rivalry Series, with Oklahoma leading the standings with 8 points to Amarillo’s 7 and Odessa’s 5.
The Wranglers began the game with a few scoring chances and were bringing the energy to begin play. However, it was Oklahoma who struck first, with a goal from Louie Kamienski to make it 1-0 Warriors with 3:21 remaining in the first period. A loose puck came off of the boards at the right point and Kamienski fired the shot for the score. Max Dronen and Branko Vukas earned the assists. But the Wranglers quickly rallied back and responded with a goal of their own from Roman Zap to even the score at 1-1 exactly a minute later. Zap’s goal was his 13th of the season and his 38th point overall. Trace Day earned the lone assist. The game was tied 1-1 heading into the first intermission, with Oklahoma outshooting Amarillo 14-8.
In the second period, only one goal was scored and it belonged to the Warriors’ Geno McEnery to give Oklahoma the lead at 2-1. It was a couple of quick passes followed by the strike by McEnery 11 minutes into the second frame. The big star of the second period was the Wranglers penalty kill, which went 5/5 through two periods. The Warriors were up 2-1 and led the shot count 27-17 after two periods.
In the third period, the Wranglers’ Grayson Gerhard was assessed a five-minute major penalty for head contact and received a game misconduct. The Warriors then scored once on the power play to make it a 3-1 game. Anthony Cafarelli scored from Kaden Nelson on the power play 3:39 into the third. The Wranglers returned the favor with a power play goal of their own, courtesy of Jack Ivey with 9:55 remaining in the third. It was Jack Ivey’s team-leading 26th goal of the season from Jack McDonald and Zap to cut the Oklahoma lead to 3-2. Amarillo tried to mount a comeback attempt but the Warriors sealed their fate with an empty net goal by Max Vig to make it 4-2 with 2:15 remaining.
The Wranglers will look to get back in the win column in their next matchup with the El Paso Rhinos over at El Paso County Events Center on 2/9, and 2/10. You can catch the game on NATV or listen in on YouTube.