El Paso, TX- El Paso Rhinos shaved their way to a victory against the Wichita Jr. Thunder, 4-2 on Friday night.
As the first period opened, the Rhinos took an aggressive approach in starting the series against the Wichita Jr. Thunder. Tymen Edelkoort and Adam Conkling led the team in saves at first glance on the ice.
As the series against the Thunder progressed, the Rhinos had an impressive game of saves on the ice within the first 14 minutes. After an aggressive start into the first period, the Rhinos slid their first puck into the net ending the first period with a 1-0 lead thanks to Artur Laukaitis and an assist by Evan Camba. To conclude the first period, Rhinos skated off the ice with a 2-0 lead.
At the start of 2nd period the score sat at 2-0. Still aggressive into the second period, the Rhinos did their best to rack up their number of saves on the ice. Adam Conkling outdid himself on the ice with his saving percentage, the Thunder managed to skate a presence on the scoreboard for a score of 2-1, Rhinos on top.
The Thunder tied the score 2-2 almost halfway through the second period. As both teams racked up penalties, saves, and assists; the score remained 2-2 with 4 minutes remaining in the 2nd period.
The Rhinos, unhappy with the scoreboard, skated their way to another icy lead of 3-2, thanks to Riley Hummitsch and Brody Suerette at the end the second period.
With a cool 5 minutes left on the clock, the Rhinos slid their 4th goal to seal the deal for a 4-2 win game one of the series.
-Yazmen McCaskill