The Amarillo Wranglers lost two of three games this past weekend against the Odessa Jackalope at Ector County Colosseum.
Amarillo was victorious in the Thursday night affair 4-1. Friday night saw a thrilling overtime-shoot out game with Amarillo falling 4-3. Odessa then took the series with a 4-2 victory Saturday.
With the two losses, Amarillo has been eliminated from playoff contention with three games left in the regular season.
For the second time in franchise history, Amarillo will not be making a run for the North American Hockey League’s Robertson Cup. In this writer’s opinion, the last three weeks of the regular season for the Amarillo Wranglers has shown positive growth and an ability to position itself quite well going into next season.
The Wranglers (21-29-2-4, 48 points) final three games will be played at the Budweiser Bullpen this weekend. Amarillo will play two games against the Oklahoma Warriors and a Sunday matinee game with the Colorado Grit.
Thursday’s game
The first period of this game saw a total of 18 shots on goal without a single puck finding the back of the net. The defensive theme of this game continued into the second period when, at the 5:32 mark, Amarillo forward Daniel Rassega centered the puck to recently acquired (Danbury Hat Tricks) Ty Izadi as he lasered one passed the Jackalopes goalie. Ten minutes later, Amarillo scored again when William Larsson scored. Just a few short minutes later, Amarillo‘s Ty Izadi put the crowd on Hattrick watch when he scored his second goal in the second period, giving Amarillo a 3-0 lead going into the second intermission.
Odessa tried to make it interesting at the 7:21 mark of the third period when Gage Martell got an unassisted goal, tightening up the score 3-1. At the 17:48 mark of the third period, Noah Wood put a little icing on the cake as Amarillo came away victorious 4-1. Amarillo goalie Charles Antoine Girard stopped 27-of-28 shots for his fourth win of the season.
Friday’s game
With both teams in a must win situation for the sixth and final playoff spot in the southern division, the intensity of this game was measurable.
Amarillo scored towards the end of the first period when forward Kirill Evstigneev scored his eighth goal of the season as Amarillo held onto the 1-0 into the first intermission. Wrangler Daniel Rassega found the back of the net late into the second period, giving Amarillo a 2-0 lead at the end of the second frame. Amarillo net-minder Matt Schoephoerster was on shut out watch when Odessa’s David Hamr bounced one between the pipes.
Odessa scored again in the third period as the momentum shifted dramatically. With the game tied 2-2, recently acquired defenseman, Anthony White shot a laser from the point, giving Amarillo a 3-2 lead. Odessa then tied up this game when they scored their third goal of the period. This game skated into overtime.
With a total of six shots on goals in the five minutes of overtime, this game moved to a shootout. Odessa Jackalope Jeremy Jacobs secured the shootout victory as Amarillo fell 4-3.
Saturday’s game
Saturday night’s game saw Amarillo goaltender Pierre Antoine Girard between the pipes as he was looking for his second victory of the weekend. Odessa took an early 1-0 lead in a power play.
Recently acquired forward Mason Lupo scored his second goal as a Wrangler, tying this game up 1-1. Amarillo took a brief 2-1 lead in the second period when reserve forward Trevor O’Donohue scored his first goal as a Wrangler. The power play bug bit Amarillo again in the second period as Odessa scored their second power-play goal of the night. Odessa went on to score 2 unanswered goals, wrapping up this Saturday night game.
Editor’s Note
Please listen for Tommy Tee‘s weekly recap of the Amarillo Wranglers hockey on the “Drive at Five” with Lance Lahnert every Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m. exclusively on 102.9 FM the Panhandle Sports Star.