Sunday Wrap-Up: Rhinos winning streak hits 9 with sweep
El Paso forward Tory Lund had five points and three goals in a three-game weekend sweep of New Mexico.
El Paso 4 @ New Mexico 2 – The El Paso Rhinos moved into a tie for 2nd place in the South Division as they won their ninth straight game thanks to a come-from-behind 4-2 win on Sunday in New Mexico, which completed a three-game road sweep of the Ice Wolves. Things looked good early for the Ice Wolves as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st period thanks to goals from Michael Schermerhorn and Graham Harris. The Rhinos stormed back in the 2nd period, tying the game at 2-2 thanks to goals from Bradley Walker and James Hooley III. In the 3rd period, goals from Tory Lund and Paavo Hiltunen secured the 4-2 win. Rhinos goalie Kael DePape made 22 saves in the win.
Amarillo 5 @ Colorado 6 (SO) - The Grit snapped their extended losing streak as Wilder Jacober scored two goals in a 6-5 shootout win. The teams traded goals throughout the entire game. In the 1st period, Jacober scored twice and Nicholas Capasso also scored for the Grit, while Topi Puikkonen, Morley Phillips, and Jack Ivery scored for Amarillo. In the 2nd period, the score was 4-4 as Luke Helgeson scored for the Grit, with Jack McDonald answering for the Wranglers. In the 3rd period, Colorado took a 5-4 lead on a goal from Payton Miller, but once again Amarillo had an answer with Puikkonen’s second goal of the game. The Grit scored four times in the shootout, which included the winner from Chris Graves.
Fairbanks 3 @ Springfield 4 – The Jr. Blues jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held off a late Ice Dogs rally to win the rubber match of their three-game set with Fairbanks by a 4-3 final on Sunday. The Jr. Blues led 2-0 after one period with goals from Hadley Hudak and Isaac Keller. Hudak would score again in the 2nd period to make it 3-0. Zach Howard added a goal early in the 3rd period to make it 4-0. The Ice Dogs stormed back with goals from Cole Burke, Nik Gudmundson, and Ian Norkevicus, but could not find the equalizer. Matt Schoephoerster made 27 saves in the win.
