El Paso rallied together to sweep Dallas in the final game of the series on Sunday morning.
The Rhinos were only 3 minutes into the first period when the 5’11 forward, Phil Puligese took off with the first lead of the game. Just over a minute later, Riley Hummitsch, with the help of fellow defensemen Simon Hobbis and Brody Surette, followed up with yet another goal for a 2-0 Rhino lead over Dallas. With a hefty lead for El Paso, the game proceeded into the second period.
Without penalties called on either team during the first twenty minutes, Dallas started off with an interference penalty only 25 seconds into the second period. After surviving two minutes shorthanded, they earned a power play with Rhino defenseman Jake Kopinski’s slashing call. Both teams heavily focusing on defense, the Rhinos’ third goal was not scored until 11:38 in the second, over 23 minutes after Hummitsch’s first period goal. Joe Roach earned credit for the Rhinos’ third goal. Alex Johanson gave the Rhinos a 4-0 lead just before Dallas’s Jaroslav Vasicek cut the deficit to three at the start of the third period. Evan Camba, Jayden Ritchie, Tanner Mckechnie, and Chaseton Sare would all go on to score in the third period, making the final score 8-1.
Ending this weekend’s series with a sweep of the Snipers, the Rhinos will travel back to El Paso for the face-off against the Long Beach Bombers next weekend.
-Yazmen McCaskill