The El Paso Rhinos ran their Mid-West Division-leading record to 16-2-0 with a pair of wins in Rio Rancho, NM, as the team rounded out its three-game series with the New Mexico Renegades.
After beating New Mexico, 9-1, at the Sierra Providence Events Center in El Paso Friday night, the Rhinos won, 3-1, Saturday night and again Sunday afternoon, 4-1.
A day after El Paso got three different goal scorers in its 3-1 win, Sunday’s four-goal outburst came at the hands of a pair of Rhinos.
David Fegler, Anthony Knuth and Tyler Ridgedell all notched goals Saturday night, but Sunday’s scoring belonged to El Paso’s top line of returning Rhino Austin Balko and Alaskan newcomer, Navarone Copley.
Copley opened and closed the scoring, sandwiching goals at 15:21 of the second period and 14:59 of the third around Balko’s pair of third-period strikes at 6:17 and 11:11.
Copley’s first goal was scored on a 5-on-3 advantage for El Paso, while the speedy Balko’s last was an unassisted short-handed breakaway.
Goaltender Max Dizgun picked up his seventh and eighth wins of the season, as well.
The Rhinos return to El Paso in time for classes Monday before heading to Boulder, CO, next weekend for a three-game series against the only team to have beaten them this season, the Bison.
The Rhinos will split another series with the Renegades, Nov. 13-15, playing in Rio Rancho Friday, Nov. 13, then playing the final two in El Paso, Nov. 14-15. Both of those games can be seen the following day on MetroSports Southwest, Time Warner Cable channel 24, as well as seen live at the team’s website, www.elpasorhinos.com <http://www.elpasorhinos.com/>.
For tickets and information, contact the Rhinos front office at 915/479.PUCK (7825) or go to www.elpasorhinos.com <http://www.elpasorhinos.com/>.
