The Rhinos headed back to the Sun City after winning and tying the series in Oklahoma City last weekend. They faced the Blazers once again, this time in El Paso, but fell in the first game of the weekend series.
OKC stole the first lead of the night, thanks to Ross Barlett but El Paso answered back with a goal by Phil Pugliese. With the game tied, the Blazers managed to score again, snagging the lead once more. Corona Scorer of the game Simon Hobbis took advantage of the scoring opportunity, which tied the game, 2-2. To conclude the first period, OKC netted another goal before Evan Camba offered a point for a 3-3 tie.
Rhino netminder Artur Pavliukov held the Blazers scoreless for the first seven minutes and forty seconds of the second period. Joel Leckstrom and Victor Ekk slipped a couple past Pavliukov, giving the Blazers a 5-2 lead at the end of the second.
Despite a change in net at the start of the third period for the Rhinos, they were unable to stop the Blazers. OKC’s Viliam Seliga scored the game’s final goal early in the third, making the final score 6-3. The Rhinos were unable to garner any offensive power in the final two periods of the game. They will look for redemption in game two at 7:30 pm on Saturday.
-Yazmen McCaskill
