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NAHL Amarillo Wranglers

Jackalopes Best Wranglers 6-3 in New Year's Eve Showdown

January 3, 2025 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Amarillo Wranglers News Release


Amarillo, TX - The Odessa Jackalopes defeated the Amarillo Wranglers 6-3 on New Year's Eve at the Budweiser Bull Pen. It was a sweet homecoming for Jackalopes defenseman and Amarillo native Austin Richards, as he finished the night with three goals and one assist.

The Wranglers and Jackalopes met for the second and final game of a two game set at the Budweiser Bull Pen. For the Wranglers, it was their third game of the weekend after hosting Lone Star on Friday, and Odessa on Saturday. It was the Wranglers' first time playing on a Tuesday this season and their fourth time playing on New Year's Eve, with Amarillo entering the matchup with a record of 2-1 on the holiday.

Odessa started goaltender William Karphed for the second straight game, while the Wranglers turned to netminder Charles-Antoine Girard between the pipes. Amarillo got the fireworks started early on the power play just 2:04 into the first period Trace Day rocketed in his 13th goal of the season and his team leading 6th power play goal to put the Wranglers in front. Odessa tied the game swiftly, as just 1:35 after Day's goal, Austin Richards scored his first goal of the night on the power play to bring the game to a 1-1 tie. After one period of play, the Jackalopes led the shot count 15-12.

Amarillo retook the lead in the second period with Day's second goal of the night 4:53 into the frame. Day's 14th goal of the season was assisted by Will Sinclair and gave Day his 2nd multi-goal game of the season - tying him with Sal Cerrato for the most among active Wranglers. Once again, the Wranglers lead was short lived. Odessa tied the game with 11:36 left in the 2nd period to make it 2-2 with Nick Metelkin's 11th goal of the season. Metelkin's goal would be the beginning of 5 unanswered Odessa goals to take them from being down 2-1 to up 6-2. Odessa continued to press as the period went on and cashed in again to take their first lead of the night with a goal from Jordan Larkee with 7:06 left in the middle frame. Amarillo found themselves on an extended penalty kill as Cru Hanas was given a 5 minute major and a game misconduct along with a 2 minute minor for cross-checking, giving Odessa seven minutes of power play time to work with to finish the 2nd and begin the 3rd.

The Jackalopes made the most of their time on the power play, particularly Austin Richards, as he scored twice in 21 seconds within the first two minutes of the period to complete his first career hat trick and give Odessa a 5-2 lead. The Jacks tacked on another from Marcus Fechko 4:41 into the third to bring their lead to 6-2. The Wranglers dug in a bit and were able to put one more past Karphed to make it 6-3, with Corson Maguire notching his 14th goal of the season from Carl Jacobson and Hayden Hedquist. With the assist, Hedquist recorded his first NAHL point. Despite the goal coming with 8:08 left in the third, the Jacks were able to withstand a Wranglers comeback and take the New Year's Eve Showdown at 6-3. Odessa outshot Amarillo 39-35 and won the special teams battle, with the Wranglers finishing the night 1/4 on the PP and 3/6 on the PK.

The Wranglers will make their way to the gulf coast to take on the Corpus Christi IceRays at American Bank Center on 1/3 and 1/4 at 7:35 PM CST. Fans can watch live on NATV at nahltv.com or listen for free on YouTube. Make sure you follow the Wranglers on Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube to stay up to date with the latest news and promos.

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