The El Paso Rhinos won their seventh straight game, downing Tulsa, 7-2, taking first place from the Rampage in the process.
El Paso, the three-time defending Mid-West Division champion, is now 7-1-0. The win gives El Paso 14 points to Tulsa\’s 12 in the Mid-West.
After giving up a goal just 1:35 into the period, goaltender Matt Dizgun stopped 37 of 39 Tulsa shots for his first win of the season.
Special teams work sparked the Rhinos offense, as Navarone Copley scored a power play goal at 7:36 of the first period to tie the game.
Trevor Erickson gave El Paso the lead at 18:08 of the first before Copley scored again on the man advantage to give the visitors a 3-1 lead at 9:01 of the second period.
That effort was followed 48 seconds later by an even-strength blast from Ben Henne. The hosts scored on the advantage at 13:37, but the Rhinos\’
Donald Geary got another 13 seconds from time and El Paso took a 5-2 lead into the locker room after 40 minutes.
Two short-handed goals wrapped up the scoring for the Rhinos as David Fegler found Mike Vallier who beat the Rampage\’s Zac Enstrom 2:40 into the third period. Vallier was able to return the favor at 15:52, assisting Fegler for the game\’s final goal.
El Paso will play Tulsa once more tomorrow afternoon. Fans can watch the action live beginning at 2:45 p.m. MDT at www.tulsarampage.com.
