The Rhinos extended their win streak to 15 games with a sweep of the Springfield Express over the weekend.
Game 1, 11-1 W
On Friday, the Rhinos showed their offensive strength, notching 11 goals over three periods. During the first twenty minutes, the Express held the Rhinos to only two goals. Max Kamper put the Rhinos on the board with a shorthanded goal and Austin Simpson followed up with a power play goal.
The second period saw seven more goals for El Paso with Tim Heffner earning a hat trick and Austin Simpson solidifying his three-point game with two more goals. Leeam Tivers and Carlo Wittor also posted two goals throughout the period. Springfield avoided the shutout when Vegard Faret slipped one past Rhino netminder Filip Krasanovsky just over four minutes into the period.
Nick Hames increased the Rhinos’ lead to ten during the third period and Ty Erramouspe finished the game with a goal with only a minute and thirty-five seconds left in regulation.
Notably, Chaseton Sare earned four assists throughout the game although he never netted his own goal during the game. Filip Krasanovsky stopped all but one of 18 and shots and collectively, the Rhinos scored two shorthanded goals and three power play goals.
Game 2, 5-2 W
Springfield started off game two with eight shots on goal and no penalties, only allowing one Rhino goal by Lukas Moravsky. While the second period included 24 penalty minutes on both sides, the only goal of the period was a power play goal at 14:32 by Chaseton Sare. The Rhinos posted 18 shots in the second period alone. The Express again avoided a shutout when Stephane Doering scored only a minute and six seconds into the third period. Before reaching the ten-minute mark of the period, however, Austin Simpson, Chaseton Sare and Colby Haugen each netted goals, increasing the Rhinos’ lead to five. Despite Springfield’s Filimon Ledenkov’s late goal in the third, El Paso still topped the Express 5-2.
Game 3, 1-0 W
On Sunday, Filip Krasanovsky finally earned his third shutout of the season when the Rhinos blanked the Express. Rhino defenseman JC Dubecky’s lone goal in the first period lifted El Paso over Springfield despite nine power play opportunities for Springfield and six for El Paso.
The Rhinos will face off against the Colorado Eagles in Fort Collins, Colorado this weekend. The Eagles, second in the Mountain Division, have 19 wins and 5 losses throughout the season. With defensemen Cole Richardson and Egor Sevriugen back in the lineup, El Paso will look for their sixth straight sweep of the season.