It was another tough weekend on the road for the Amarillo Wranglers, who dropped both games against the league-leading Lone Star Brahmas at NyTex Sports Centre.
Friday night ended in a 5–1 loss, while Saturday’s contest showed improvement but still resulted in a 3–1 defeat. The two losses extend Amarillo’s winless stretch and make an already difficult playoff push even more challenging.
The Wranglers now sit at 18–29–2–2 with 40 points in the South Division of the North American Hockey League. With only nine games remaining in the regular season, Amarillo trails the final playoff spot by 13 points. While the odds are getting slimmer, the team still has opportunities to build momentum as the season winds down.
Friday’s Game
Amarillo came into Friday’s matchup hoping to snap a four-game skid against one of the NAHL’s most dominant teams. Instead, Lone Star showed why it has been among the league’s elite this season.
The Brahmas took control early, scoring five unanswered goals across the first two periods. Amarillo struggled to establish any rhythm offensively and had difficulty slowing down Lone Star’s relentless attack.
The lone highlight for the Wranglers came late in the third period. At the 8:57 mark, Amarillo finally broke through on the power play. A heads-up play from a newly acquired backup goaltender launched the puck down the ice to forward Jake Bollinger, who finished the opportunity by finding the back of the net.
That goal prevented the shutout, but it did little to change the outcome as Amarillo fell 5–1 in a penalty-filled and often disjointed contest.
Saturday’s Game
Saturday night brought a more competitive effort from the Wranglers, thanks in large part to strong goaltending from Cavin Greniuk. The netminder, recently acquired from the Aberdeen Wings, stepped in for starting goalie Casimir Weckstorm, who was sidelined due to illness.
Greniuk delivered an impressive performance early, keeping Amarillo in the game with several key saves.
However, Lone Star struck first midway through the opening period. Forward Christian Venticinque capitalized on a loose puck during a penalty kill and scored his 16th goal of the season, giving the Brahmas a 1–0 lead heading into the first intermission.
Greniuk continued to shine in the second period, turning aside all 11 shots he faced. Despite the defensive effort, Amarillo’s offense remained quiet, and the score stayed 1–0 entering the final period.
The Brahmas wasted little time extending the lead in the third. Forward Vincenzo Capano blasted a shot through traffic to make it 2–0.
Amarillo answered midway through the period with a promising moment for the future. Seventeen-year-old rookie Frenk Kolgushkin, celebrating his birthday, scored his first NAHL goal after taking a crisp pass from teammate Jake Thornton. The young forward, who previously played AAA hockey with the Colorado Rampage, cut the deficit to 2–1 and energized the Wranglers bench.
Head coach Michael Hill pulled Greniuk with 33 seconds remaining in hopes of forcing overtime, but Lone Star sealed the game with an empty-net goal to secure the 3–1 win.
Injury Bug Strikes Again
The Wranglers have battled injuries all season, and the latest blow came earlier this month when associate captain Ty Izadi suffered a serious eye injury in a game against the New Mexico Ice Wolves.
Izadi’s season is over after the freak incident, though he underwent a successful procedure and is now recovering at home in Long Beach, California.
The fan-favorite forward finishes the year with 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points, ranking third on the team. He was also a key piece of the Wranglers’ well-known “Hegs and the Hounds” scoring line.
Forward Alfons Jentler is expected to take over Izadi’s role alongside Caden Hegarty and Daniel Ressega as Amarillo adjusts its lineup down the stretch.
Looking Ahead
The road doesn’t get any easier for Amarillo, but the season isn’t over yet. The Wranglers head south this weekend to face the Corpus Christi IceRays for a two-game series at the American Bank Center.
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