Warriors Finish Strong, End Showcase with 2-1 Record
NAHL Oklahoma Warriors

Warriors Finish Strong, End Showcase with 2-1 Record

Published on September 27, 2025 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Oklahoma Warriors News Release


Blaine, Minnesota - The Warriors wrapped up their time at the 2025 North American Hockey League Showcase with a 4-2 win over the El Mira Aviators on Friday morning. Another quick start offensively and strong defense throughout secured the victory for Oklahoma. It was an impressive performance coming off of a frustrating 5-2 loss the day before against Northeast. Here is a quick recap of both games.

Game 2 vs Northeast Generals (L - 5-2): After a commanding 4-0 win on day one for Oklahoma, the Warriors took on the winless Northeast Generals Thursday morning. Despite their record, Northeast is quietly one of the better teams in the East division, with several big bodied players and speed throughout the lineup. While Oklahoma had played the day before, this matchup was the first for Northeast at the showcase and it showed on the ice. The Warriors would score the first goal of the game, a blue line shot from Joseph Luger, but after that, the Generals appeared to have more energy and brought much more physicality than Oklahoma for the remainder of the game. Northeast has also quickly taken to the top of the league for Power Play goals, and it showed during the game. The Generals would score 2 with the man advantage, giving Oklahoma fits on how to properly deny them quality looks. The Warriors would pick up a second tally in the 2nd period from Ronnie Wade (2), but the second period 3 goal outburst along with 2 more in the 3rd gave the Generals a 5-2 win over Oklahoma. The Generals would go on to win their next two games at the showcase and finish 3-0 in Blaine.

Game 3 vs Elmira Aviators (W - 4-2): It was an early morning start for Oklahoma on their final day in Minnesota. A 9:30 puck drop for their first ever meeting against 2nd year NAHL team, the Elmira Aviators from Elmira, New York. For the 4th straight game, the Warriors scored the opening goal on a shot from Dominik Kiss (3) that ricocheted off a net-front skate and ended up into the back of the net. After holding a 1-0 lead for the larger part of the 1st, Elmira would tie the game on a wild play where the Aviator skater whiffed his first attempt at the shot, but quickly regained possession and snapped his second try into the top corner. Heading to the 2nd period, the Warriors began settling into their new-found fast style of play. A gorgeous move from Riley Fast created a 2 on 1 opportunity where Fast fed the puck to a trailing Ben Likness (4) and Oklahoma had the lead right back 2-1. Later on in the 2nd, a stolen pass led to a Warrior breakaway with Mason Wright putting a shot off the crossbar which Joey DeRosa (1) tapped in to double the lead. This was one a several weird plays in the game as Wright and everyone else in the arena had thought he had scored, yet the official waved it off and DeRosa luckily hammered it home. Speaking of the weird plays, Oklahoma hit the post not once, but 5 times in the game. 4 of those came in the 2nd period alone. The Warriors also had a goal waved off for a questionable goaltender interference, and another goal waved off due to inefficient evidence that the puck crossed the line. Regardless, the Warriors brought a 2 goal lead into the final frame of their time in Minnesota. With how Oklahoma had played, the lead felt relatively safe, however Elmira just the day before, was down by the same margin entering the 3rd period and came back to win against Shreveport. For the first few minutes of the 3rd, it seemed Oklahoma had control of the game. That was true, until a blown clearance turned into a beautiful back-door feed for the Aviators to bring it to a 1-goal affair. The Warriors, determined to not let the same fate happen to them, would find an answer of their own soon after. This time, it was the Aviators who had a busted defensive coverage and Dominik Kiss (4) found himself wide open in the slot to bury the Warriors' 4th of the morning. Ethan Gonyeau and Joseph Luger were credited with the assists on the Kiss goal. With the wind out of their sails, Oklahoma shut down the Aviators advances and secured their second win at the showcase, 4-2.

Here are the Point Stats from the weekend:

3 Points: Mason Wright (3 Ast)

2 Points: Dominik Kiss (2G), AJ Iwinski (1G, 1A), Ben Likness (1G, 1A), Jack McClellan (2A), Ethan Gonyeau (2A), Kyle Sorensen (1G, 1A), Joseph Luger (1G, 1A), Mack Blue (1G, 1A).

1 Point: Riley Fast (A), Joey DeRosa (G), Grady Knutson (A), Jakub Galnor (A), Ronnie Wade (G), Jakub Bednarik (A).

Post Showcase, the Warriors now have their eyes set on the South division foes set to come across their path. Starting October 3rd and 4th, Oklahoma will be home 4 of the 5 weekends in October taking on Shreveport, El Paso, New Mexico, and Amarillo. The one away weekend is a trip south to Brahamaland for a weekend series against Lonestar on the 10th and 11th.

Get your tickets now at OKWarriors.com and don't miss a second of the exciting action!

#OKLAHOMAHOCKEY #FIGHTLIKEWARRIORS

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North American Hockey League Stories from September 27, 2025


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