Amarillo Wranglers Split Series with El Paso Rhinos
NAHL Amarillo Wranglers

Amarillo Wranglers Split Series with El Paso Rhinos

Published on December 29, 2025 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Amarillo Wranglers News Release


The Amarillo Wranglers had one last series remaining on the 2025 calendar year, a home stand against a strong El Paso Rhinos side. The Wranglers have made massive strides as a team on a weekly basis, and with some players finally starting to return from injury, the full depth of the Amarillo Wranglers is slowly becoming available. Injury bugs are unavoidable in hockey, but it's oftentimes better to have to shake off the injury bug early rather than during playoffs or a deep playoff push. The Wranglers have started to really click offensively, and the guys are meshing. There are many reasons for this, but you can tell with this team the guys at the end of the day just really have a good connection, not only on the ice but off the ice as well.

Saturday 12/27

In what would arguably go down as the most thrilling Amarillo Wranglers game not only of this season but of all time, it was about as good of a hockey game as you could ask for. A crowd of 4,014 was treated to a game like no other, and the 4,000-plus in attendance were on the edge of their seats all game long.

Jake Boulanger would get business started for the Wranglers just minutes into the 1st period, sending the packed crowd into a frenzy as the Wranglers went up 1-0. Boulanger would be assisted by Landon Poe and Alfons Jentler. With 5:09 left in the 1st, the Rhinos would tie the game up 1-1. Two minutes later Caden Hegarty would restore the Wranglers' lead with a cannon of a shot, taking the Rhinos' netminder's water bottle with it in the process. Hegarty would be assisted by Daniel Rassega and Ty Izadi. With just one second left in the 1st, the Rhinos would prod home a power play goal, sending it to the intermission tied up 2-2.

Heading back into the 2nd period, the Wranglers looked to shake off giving up a goal with one second left in the 1st period. Halfway through the 2nd period, Jake Boulanger would rifle home his 2nd goal of the evening, restoring the Wranglers' lead. Boulanger would be assisted by Landon Poe and Alfons Jentler yet again. Less than a minute later, Caden Hegarty would extend the Wranglers' lead while being assisted by Ty Izadi and Hayden Hedquist. The Wranglers would head into the locker room with a 4-2 lead after a massive 2nd-period display. Halfway through the 3rd period, the Rhinos would find two quick power-play goals, tying it up 4-4. With 6:23 left in the 3rd period, Kirill Evstigneev would send the home crowd into a rapturous cheer as he would snag the go-ahead goal, putting the Wranglers up 5-4. Evstigneev would be assisted by Cru Smith and Igor Petrov. The Rhinos would pull their goalie, but it was too little too late as the Wranglers would send the home crowd into a chorus of applause with a thrilling 5-4 home win.

Landon Poe: 2 assists, 2 points

Jake Boulanger: 2 goals, 2 points

Alfons Jentler: 2 assists, 2 points

Hayden Hedquist: 1 assist, 1 point

Igor Petrov: 1 assist, 1 point

Kirill Evstigneev: 1 goal, 1 point (game-winning goal)

Ty Izadi: 2 assists, 2 points

Cru Smith: 1 assist, 1 point

Daniel Rassega: 1 assist, 1 point

Caden Hegarty: 2 goals, 2 points

12/28

Coming off a thrilling win, the Wranglers were feeling good, but the game after a win is always the hardest to win, as the losing team usually has a chip on their shoulder. This would be the case for Sunday's game, as the El Paso Rhinos took a 5-4 loss to heart. Halfway through the 1st period, the Rhinos would snag a 1-0 lead, but Ty Izadi would tie the game up with 6:56 left in the 1st period. Just a minute later, though, the Rhinos would restore their lead, going up 2-1 heading into the locker room. The 2nd period would become the nail in the coffin period, as a penalty-laden period would allow the Rhinos to score two power play goals to head into the 2nd intermission with a 4-1 lead. The Wranglers would respond in the 3rd period but were made to wait until there was just 3:55 left in the 3rd period to make it a 4-2 game, but with time ticking away, the Wranglers would pull Girard from the net in search of two goals, but an empty net goal would condemn the Wranglers to a 5-2 loss. Head Coach Michael was pleased with his team's response in the 3rd period, but ultimately it was just one of those games largely decided by penalties.

Ty Izadi: 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points

Daniel Rassega: 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points

Cru Smith: 1 assist, 1 point

Ethan Ogle: 1 assist, 1 point

He also had this to say during the postgame interview.

"If you take away their power-play goals on both nights, it's a 2-2 scoreline on Sunday and a 5-1 scoreline on Saturday, so our 5-on-5 game is very strong right now and has come a long way." "I think if you put us up against any team 5-on-5 in this division, we can beat anyone on any given night." "I am very pleased with the progress this team has made, and we haven't even reached our full potential yet."

The Amarillo Wranglers hit the road this week, with a trip down to Corpus Christi, Texas, to take on the Corpus Christi Icerays. You can catch the Wranglers on the road via NAHLTV and on the Amarillo Wranglers YouTube for an audio-only feed.

Check out the Amarillo Wranglers Statistics

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North American Hockey League Stories from December 29, 2025


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