Amarillo, TX – The Wranglers ended the 2023 calendar year on a high note, defeating the New Mexico Ice Wolves 5-3 at the Budweiser Bull Pen on New Year’s Eve.
The Wranglers and Ice Wolves met on Sunday for the final time this season, wrapping up the four-game season series on New Year’s Eve. Amarillo started goaltender Connor McDonough between the pipes, who had a record of 14-6-4-1, a 2.35 GAA, and a .912 save percentage coming into the matchup. The Ice Wolves started Jackson Fuller, who entered the game with a record of 8-6-2, a 2.76 GAA, and a .910 save percentage.
The first period was scoreless and saw no penalties committed. Shots were 5-3 in favor of New Mexico after 20 minutes of play.
The Wranglers ramped up the action in the second period and got on the board first as Jack Ivey cashed in on a rebound off of the left pad of Fuller 8:01 into the second period. Ben Ivey picked up the lone assist. The Ice Wolves responded with a power play goal with 6:14 remaining in the period to tie it 1-1. Ryan Johnson notched the goal from Schermerhorn and Harris. The Wranglers outshot the Ice Wolves 17-7 in the second frame.
Amarillo took the lead again when Alex Stepanek scored on a wrap-around shot to pick up his first goal in the NAHL and his first point as a Wrangler. Stepanek’s goal came 9:51 into the third and was assisted by Ben Ivey and Trace Day. Two minutes and thirty-five seconds later, Trace Day scored short side on Fuller to give the Wranglers a 3-1 lead. It was a laser of a shot that slipped between Fuller and the post to give Day his first goal in the NAHL. Stepanek and Jack Ivey earned assists on Day’s goal. With 3:11 to go, Ryan Johnson scored his second of the game to cut into the Wrangler lead and make it a 3-2 game. Moments later, New Mexico got a power play and pulled the goalie to go up on a 6 on 4 man advantage, but Jack Ivey foiled their plans with an empty net shorthanded goal with 2:24 remaining to go up 4-2. However, the Ice Wolves rallied back with another goal, a power play tally from Harris to make it 4-3 with 47.7 seconds on the clock. New Mexico pulled the goalie again to try and tie it, but Jack McDonald scored from Ben Ivey into the empty net to ice the game for good at 5-3.
With the win, the Wranglers improved to 17-10-5-1 on the season and hit the 40-point mark. Ben and Jack Ivey both had three points in the win, and Stepanek and Day scored their first NAHL goals and recorded their first multi-point games in the victory. Connor McDonough stopped 21/24 for his 15th win of the season.
The Wranglers are off to Greely, Colorado next weekend for the first-ever matchup against the Colorado Grit. Friday kicks off a three-game set over at Greely Ice Haus. Puck drop is at 8:15 CST. You can watch the game on NATV or listen in on the Wranglers YouTube channel.