The Amarillo Wranglers took down the New Mexico Ice Wolves Friday night 5-to-4 to earn their 21st win of the season.
The weekend series marks the final time Amarillo and New Mexico will face off in the regular season. The Ice Wolves would open the scoring early when Brandon Holt powered home a powerplay goal at 3:34 of the first period.
Wranglers goalie Carter Clafton would shut the door for the remainder of the opening period, stopping 17 of 18 shots in the first 20 minutes. In the final minute, the Wranglers would cash in on an Ice Wolves turnover when Glebs Prohorenkovs buried his 15th goal of the season with just 33 seconds remaining.
Amarillo would waste no time finding the scoresheet in the second period when Logan Cleary notched his 10th goal at the 1:10 mark of the frame. Moments later, Danylo Korzhyletskyi would score his first NAHL goal while the Wranglers were on the powerplay to give Amarillo a 3-to-1 lead. The Wranglers continued to bury pucks in the back of the net when Tommy Chunchukov scored at 6:12 of the period to open up a three-goal advantage. Clafton would continue to seal the door when New Mexico generated chances throughout the period.
Later in the period, Chase Davis would follow up on his rebound to score his first goal as a Wrangler and chase Ice Wolves goalie Beni Halasz. Amarillo would take a 5-to-1 lead into the third period.
New Mexico would net two goals throughout the third period when William Howard scored at 5:07 of the third. The visitors would then score a shorthanded goal halfway through the period to make it a 5-to-3 game.
The Ice Wolves would get one more in the final seconds when Sully Scholle put home his first NAHL goal to draw New Mexico to within a goal with ten seconds left. The Wranglers would hold on to secure the 5-to-4 win and pick up their 21st victory of the season.
The Wranglers got multi-point nights from Prohorenkovs, Korzhyletskyi, and Kyle Demarco. Clafton would earn his second win in a Wrangler’s jersey with a 37 save outing. Amarillo and New Mexico will wrap up their series Saturday at 7:05.