Mike Rivera, Tobias Pehrson and Brendan Gust each scored twice and goalie Brendan Manquen stopped all 25 Dallas shots as the El Paso Rhinos shut out the Snipers, 14-0, Sunday afternoon.
In total, 11 different Rhinos found the back of the net as El Paso stays undefeated at 6-0-0 (12 points), tying the Texas Brahmas (6-3-0, 12 points) at the top of the Mid-West Conference in the Western States Hockey League.
The Rhinos are the only unbeaten team left in the WSHL.
El Paso sweeps the weekend series against Dallas (0-15-0). The Rhinos outscored the Snipers, 40-5, on the weekend, winning 20-4 Friday night and 6-1 Saturday.
An El Paso native and team captain, Rivera scored twice in the opening frame as the Rhinos went into the first intermission with a 4-0 lead.
Gust scored the final two goals in a five-goal third period. Pehrson, the Swedish defenseman, scored his goals in the first and second periods.
Making his Rhinos’ debut, Manquen wasn’t challenged often but came up big when it counted. The big Californian allowed few rebounds when Dallas was able to get close.
El Paso travels to play the Gulls in San Diego next weekend, Nov. 4-6, before heading to Dallas to play the Snipers, Nov. 11-13.
The Rhinos next home games will be Thanksgiving weekend as they face the team that beat them in the Thorne Cup Finals last season, the Idaho Junior Steelheads. The Rhinos turned the tables on Idaho at Junior Nationals last season, beating the Steelheads for a berth in the national championship.
El Paso and Idaho square off in a series that will sandwich Thanksgiving Day, starting the three-game series Wednesday, Nov. 23, then finishing it Friday and Saturday, Nov. 25 and 26. All games will start at 7:30 p.m. Mountain Time.
For tickets and information, contact the Rhinos front office at 915/479.PUCK (7825), or go to www.elpasorhinos.com.
Follow the link for the boxscore of Sunday\’s game, via www.pointstreak.com: http://pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=1691763
