(EL PASO, TX) — Cody Oakes opened and closed the scoring and the Superior RoughRiders downed the El Paso Rhinos, 4-1, to send the reeling Rhinos to 3-4-0.
El Paso has never been under .500 this far into a season. The normally reliable Rhinos offense has yet to hit its stride.
Superior lived up to its Colorado hometown’s name despite being outshot by the hosts, 28-22. Goaltender Pontus Holm let in only one shot — defenseman Brennan Johnson’s blue line blast with just 1:12 left in the game.
In the meantime, the Rhinos are left to ponder the defensive mistakes that led to each of the RoughRiders’ four goals. A bad pass in the defensive zone led to game-opener, as Oakes was given the puck to break in on new goalie Nikifor Mukharev, zipping the puck through the five-hole to make it 1–0 at 14:32 of the opening frame.
Superior broke through El Paso’s defense for a pair of breakaway goals just over two minutes apart in the second period as Cameron Gardner got wide and shoveled a pass for an easy tap-in goal from Sean DeKramer at 13:01, followed by Blake Couture’s two-line bomb pass that found Mans Linqvist at 15:15.
Oakes closed the scoring at 6:52 of the third.
The Rhinos and RoughRiders square off twice more, at 7:30 p.m. MST Saturday and 4:30 p.m. MST Sunday. For tickets and information, contact El Paso’s front office at 915.479.PUCK (7825) or go to www.elpasorhinos.com.
-Duke Keith
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