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NAHL Amarillo Wranglers

Wranglers Fall to IceRays 5-2 in Corpus Christi

January 4, 2025 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Amarillo Wranglers News Release


Corpus Christi, TX - The Amarillo Wranglers and Corpus Christi IceRays met for the first time this season at American Bank Center on Friday, with the IceRays taking the contest 5-2 after scoring three unanswered goals in the third period.

Amarillo hit the road and made their way to the gulf coast after wrapping up a five game homestand on New Year's Eve. They looked to take advantage of an IceRays team that despite sitting in second place in the South Division, was in danger of losing three straight games for the first time this season. Amarillo started goaltender Charlie Zolin between the pipes, while the IceRays leaned on Vladislav Bryzgalov in net in the first game of the two game weekend set.

Corpus Christi and Amarillo had a bit of a feeling out process in the first half of the opening period, with both teams getting chances here and there. About midway through the period, the Wranglers had a power play opportunity - and despite coming up empty handed, the game really opened up after that. In the bottom half of the first period both offenses traded blows with both Zolin and Bryzgalov standing on their heads to keep the game scoreless. The Wranglers would not be denied though, as with just 57.5 seconds left in the opening frame Amarillo went coast to coast as Sal Cerrato hit Trace Day on the move with a stretch pass where he found Morley Phillips cross ice for the score. Phillips' 7th goal of the season put the Wranglers up 1-0 and gave them the lead heading into the first intermission. Corpus Christi outshot the Wranglers 13-11 in the first, but the majority of the Wranglers' shots were prime scoring chances.

The IceRays broke through in the early stages of the second period, with back-to-back goals to take their first lead of the night. First, it was Max Ranstrom with a sneaky shot from beneath the left circle that snuck between Zolin's pad and the post for the tying goal 5:12 into the second. That goal was followed by a goal from Billy Biedermann to make it 2-1 IceRays 8:04 into the middle frame. Corpus Christi's pressure on the forecheck paid off as they found Biedermann ready for a one-timer off of a steal in the corner. The game did not feature a lot of penalties, but there was a moment at the midway point of the game where the Wranglers and the IceRays played 4 on 4, and Amarillo took advantage of the open space to tie the game. Trace Day rifled in his team leading 15th goal of the season from Corson Maguire and Hayden Hedquist to tie the game at 2-2 on the 4 on 4 with 7:13 left in the second period. The rest of the period went scoreless, and the IceRays and Wranglers went to the second intermission tied 2-2. Amarillo outshot Corpus Christi 13-7 in the middle period.

A strong third period from the IceRays helped break the tie and lead them to victory. Corpus Christi broke the 2-2 tie 8:43 into the period when Carter Krenke scored to make it 3-2 IceRays. Krenke's goal would end up being the game winner as it started a string of three unanswered goals from the IceRays to win. About two minutes after the go-ahead goal, Cooper Conway scored to make it 4-2 IceRays. With 3:54 left on the clock Corpus Christi added an insurance marker on a log shot from Andrew Hayek to make it a 5-2 game, and that's how it finished. The IceRays outshot the Wranglers 17-6 in the final frame and 37-30 overall in the game. Zolin stopped 32/37 while Bryzgalov stopped 28/30. Both teams were perfect on the penalty kill going 2/2.

The Wranglers will look for revenge in the second game of the two-game set against the IceRays on Saturday night 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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