Tyler Beasley scored his second consecutive hat trick and the El Paso Rhinos won a share of first place in the Mid-West Division, defeating the New Mexico Renegades, 4-2, Friday night.
El Paso\’s win coupled with the Boulder Bison\’s 3-2 loss in Tulsa gives each team 56 points and a share of the division lead.
Renegades forward Garrett Phillips earned Second Star of the Game honors, scoring the first of two goals in the second minute of the game to give New Mexico a lead it carried into the first intermission.
But Beasley, the leading goal-scorer in the Western States Hockey League, equalized 3:48 into the second period, followed by El Pasoan Mike Rivera just 41 seconds later, and the Rhinos suddenly had a lead they would not relinquish.
Beasley scored twice more in the second, once on the power play, for his league-leading 37th and 38th goals of the season.
The Rhinos and Renegades will play twice more, at 7:30pm MST Saturday and 5:30pm MST Sunday. For tickets and information, contact the Rhinos front office at 915/479.PUCK (7825) or go to www.elpasorhinos.com.
