Blaine, MN– The Wranglers outlasted the Aberdeen Wings for a 4-to-2 victory on Saturday afternoon to close out the Showcase with a 4-and-0 record.
The Wranglers opened the scoring with a power-play goal from Rihards Simanovics at the 6:30 mark of the opening period. Simanovics became the latest Wrangler to score his first NAHL goal. Amarillo would hold the Wings to only eight shots in the first and took the one-goal lead into the first intermission.
Aberdeen would showcase the hand-eye coordination to tie the game in the second when Anthony Galante batted a puck out of mid-air to beat Luca Ganz to even the score. Amarillo would head back to the man advantage later in the period, where Simanovics would fire home his second of the game to reclaim the lead for the Wranglers. The defense then shut down the Aberdeen attack, limiting the Wings to only five shots in the middle period.
The majority of the final period would be a defensive struggle with neither team able to find footing in the offensive zone. Late in the game, Logan Cleary would get separation in the Aberdeen zone and beat Cole Moore in the Wings net to give Amarillo a 3-to-1 lead.
Three minutes later, the Wings would get back on the board with a Zachary Reim goal at the 18:06 mark of the period. The Wranglers would quickly seal the game when Kyle Demarco scored an empty net goal after firing toward the open cage from inside his blue line.
Luca Ganz would pick up his second win facing 21 shots against the Wings. The Wranglers would join the Oklahoma Warriors at the top of the South division with a 4-and-0 start to the season.
Rihards Simanovics was named the South division second star of the week with two goals and two assists in the four games. Goalie Carter Calfton was named as an honorable mention for the South division.
The Wranglers begin divisional play Sept. 23-24 on the road against the Shreveport Mudbugs at Hirsch Coliseum. Both games will start at 7:11 p.m. and can be seen on HockeyTv.