The Amarillo Wranglers were victorious in a one-off held at the Outpost Arena in Albuquerque, N.M., against the New Mexico Ice Wolves over the weekend.
The 4-1 victory was the ninth road game in a row to begin the Wranglers to open the 2025-2026 campaign. Amarillo has this weekend off before they hit the road yet again for a two-game weekend series with the Oklahoma Warriors. Amarillo started off the season with an 11-game road schedule, one of the longest in the team’s history.
Saturday Night
There is no love lost between the Amarillo Wranglers and the Ice Wolves as Amarillo looked to tie up the season series and get those all-important two points for this single-game weekend. There was no scoring in the first period of this chippy hockey game. On the power-play, Long Beach native and hot stick handler Ty Izadi moved the puck to linemate Ian Buors who dumped a pass to Belarus native Yury Karatai, who launched a rocket, scoring his very first North American Hockey League goal of his career. Wrangler and Kyiv, Ukraine refugee Danylo Dolin scored his third goal of the season, giving Amarillo a 2–0 lead at the 9:05 mark of the second period on the power-play. Newly announced associate captain Daniel Rassega scored his fourth goal of the season (team leading) at the 3:34 mark of the second period as Amarillo took a 3-0 lead going into the second intermission.
At the 9:38 mark of the third period, New Mexico snuck one past hot Amarillo goal minder Trent Peterson. With 1:32 left in this game, Wrangler Hungarian David Lencses hit the empty net, scoring his first NAHL goal and wrapping up the victory for the Wranglers 4 –1.
Amarillo goalie Trent Peterson continued his hot play between the pipes, saving 40 of 41 shots and was recognized as third Star of the Week in the NAHL South Division, with an overall record of 4-1, 0.976 GAA and 0.07 SSV percentage. Peterson’s emergence in the NAHL has been nothing short of amazing after spending last season in the NA3HL for the Granite City Lumberjacks.
Amarillo is in second place in the South Division, 3 points behind the Lone Star Brahmas. Amarillo‘s record is 5-3-0-1 with 11 points. The Wranglers have a weekend off and then wrap up this 11 Game road trip against the Oklahoma Warriors at the Blazer Ice Centre in Oklahoma City.
The much anticipated home opener for the Amarillo Wranglers will be Oct. 24th in a three-game weekend series at the Budweiser Bullpen against the Odessa Jackalopes.
NA3HL West Texas Wranglers
The “N3” announced earlier in the year that the Amarillo Ice Sports’ LLC would be purchasing another hockey organization, anchored at the Amarillo Ice Ranch. The West Texas Wranglers are in the South Division of the NA3HL. The N3 is owned and operated by the NAHL and is a tier 3 junior hockey league. The league is made up of 38 teams, mostly located in tertiary markets. The N3 will provide opportunities at the D3 college level for scholarships. It also acts as a conduit to the NAHL as well as providing ample opportunity for our local skaters.
Texas Players
Defenseman Cutter Daniel (six points for the season), a Tascosa High School graduate who played most of his hockey here in Amarillo, was named the captain of the team. Odessa native and defenseman Austin Gray was recently announced as an associate captain. Dallas native and forward Gavin Brown has also contributed in the early part of the season with a total of seven points. Texas native Sven Svensson has scored some timely goals and is a major contributor to the West Texas Wranglers. Graham Dempsey, also another Amarillo native, has played eight games as a defenseman for the Wranglers. These are just a few examples of the local flavor.
Season update
The West Texas Wranglers team has played seven home games thus far this season in the world class ice facility Amarillo Ice Ranch, with a record of 4–4–0–1 with nine points. The West Texas Wranglers are currently in fourth place in the South Division. As an expansion team in its inaugural season, the quality product on the ice has been a high point for the N3. Owner and president of the Amarillo Wranglers, Austin Sutter, is not only a hands-on owner but is also the head coach of the West Texas Wranglers. This is truly a family affair with his son Brit Brookes at his side in a dual role as assistant coach and general manager of the organization.
Amarillo is now a destination spot at all levels of hockey, youth, high school, tier 3, and tier 2 in junior league hockey. With the advent of the Amarillo Ice Ranch, local hockey has exploded, and the numbers are very impressive with a unique opportunity in a tertiary market like Amarillo to provide growth and opportunity at all levels of hockey.
The West Texas Wranglers are currently on a 2-game winning streak after sweeping the Tulsa Oilers last weekend. West Texas will host the N3 New Mexico Ice Wolves this weekend at the Amarillo Ice Ranch for a two-game series.
Editor’s Note
Please listen for Tommy Tee‘s weekly recap of the Amarillo Wranglers hockey on the “Drive at Five” with Lance Lahnert every Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m. exclusively on 710 AM KGNC.