Special teams has been a point of emphasis for Rhinos head coach Cory Herman, and his team has obliged in this series. Two power play goals in Friday’s 4-2 win were followed by two power play goals and two short-handed goals Saturday night.
A short-handed goal started the scoring for El Paso as David Fegler beat Tulsa goaltender Josh Brown at 7:53.
After Tulsa’s Michael Criscuolo tied the game, Josh DeLoach notched the game winner at 16:31 of the first period on the power play.
Eric LaBounty scored the next two goals for the Rhinos, scoring the only goal of the second period at 18:13, then scoring El Paso’s second with the man advantage at 6:48 of the third.
Leading goal scorer Jeffrey Schmudlach put in the last two, including a short-handed strike at 17:06, followed by the last of the game just over a minute and a half later at 18:44.
Tulsa falls to 12-4-1 on the season, but retains first place in the WSHL’s Mid-West Division with 25 points. The Rhinos keep second place with 22 points.
The Rhinos and Rampage will play once more Sunday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. MDT. Call the El Paso Rhinos at 915.479.PUCK (7825) for ticket information.
