The Wranglers were able to earn a weekend split falling in a nailbiter 3-2 on Friday before getting an exciting shootout win 3-2 on Saturday.

Amarillo currently sits in fifth place in the Northa American Hockey League South Division with a record of 11–11–0–2 (24 points) two points behind the Shreveport Mudbugs.

The Wranglers have this weekend off before traveling to West Texas to take on the very hot and physical El Paso Rhinos for two games at the El Paso County event center.

Coaching change

Just 20 games into the season, the Amarillo Wranglers decided to part ways with head coach Taylor Harnett on Nov. 20, after he was hired over the summer.

Just nine days following Harnett’s dismissal, the Wranglers announced the hiring of new head coach Corey Wogtech.

Wogtech becomes the third coach in as many seasons for the Amarillo Wranglers.

“I am honored and humbled for the opportunity to become the head coach of the Amarillo Wranglers,” Wogtech said in the Wranglers press release.

With a wealth of coaching experience that encompasses all levels of junior league hockey, Amarillo has positioned itself quite well as they start the second half of the season.

As a gold tender, he played collegiate hockey and moved on to play professional hockey in the Southern Professional Hockey League and the international hockey league before retiring after his last season playing in Europe in 2009.

Coaching in the NAHL and the USHL along with a successful stint at the college level with the University of Nebraska, Omaha. Wogtech’s contributions help make the Wranglers a top 10 program.

Wogtech also worked under current Bowling Green head coach Dennis Williams, who was the former Amarillo head coach leading the then Bulls to the 2013 Robertson Cup championship.

Harry Mahood, president of hockey operations and general manager of the Amarillo Wrangler is excited to have Wogtech onboard.

“Corey is well respected for his communication skills, adaptability, bringing the best out of players, and developing lifelong relationships with all,” Mahood said. “Players will thrive under his leadership and mentoring.”

Friday’s game 

Amarillo hit the ice to take on the Colorado Grit as they looked to build upon their most recent victory against the El Paso Rhinos.

At the 6:50 mark of the first period Colorado Grit forward Alec Babineau found the back of the net to give Colorado an early 1-0 lead. The Grit scored again towards the end of the second period to give Colorado a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.

The second period saw a determined Amarillo team looking for a bounce back. The Grit scored early in the second period on a power play with a Skewed Geometry driven goal as the puck defied the laws of physics to find the back of the net.

With a 30 lead in the second period the Wranglers seemed to be a team on a mission when, at the 9:50 mark of the second period, Wranglers defenseman sensation Sal Cerrato scored his seventh goal of the season to cut the lead.

Just before the finish of the second period and with 15 seconds left, Amarillo Wrangler and Mesa, Arizona, Native Trace Day took an amazing pass from defenseman Emils Skeltins scored his seventh goal of the season, cutting the Grit’s lead to just one goal.

The third period of this nail-biting hockey game saw a lot of ping-pong action back-and-forth. With penalty minutes limited with both teams in the third period no team was able to score a goal. Amarillo took the loss 3-2.

Saturday’s game 

With a new sheriff in town, head coach Corey Wogtech led the stampede into the Greeley Ice Haus looking to Lasso his first win as a Wrangler.

The first period saw the Colorado Grit grab an early goal when Ben Rokowski lasered one past Amarillo goalie Charlie Zolin, taking a 1-0 lead into the first break.

After some obvious adjustments made by Wogtech and the momentum settling in, Alexander Aleslov rifled one past Grit goalie Peter Sterling, tying this game 1-1.

With his six-shooter clearly loaded, Aleslov emptied his Smith and Wesson to score his second goal within five minutes, giving Amarillo a 2-1 lead, ending this exciting period of hockey.

At the 9:54 mark of the third period, the puck somehow found its way past Amarillo goalie Zolin, tying this game 2-2. With a large and rowdy crowd packing the Greeley Ice Haus, neither team scored for the remainder of this game.

In what some prognosticators call the most exciting overtime in all of sports, this game went to three-on-three hockey for five minutes.

With a defensive clinic on both sides, neither team scored in this exciting and edge-of-your-seat overtime period. In the fourth round of this shootout, Amarillo Wranglers scoring leader Corson Mcguire scored his 10th goal of the season and his second game-winning goal of the season, giving Amarillo this much needed shootout victory.

Amarillo goalie Charlie Zolin captured his early season swagger, giving him his seventh victory of the season by saving 47-of-49 shots in this exhausting clash.

Wrangler news 

Forward Morley Phillips has been announced as captain for the Amarillo Wranglers.

Phillips natural and organic leadership skills have been evident throughout this season, and will he be a strong team leader moving forward throughout this interesting hockey season.

In 24 games Phillips has two goals with eight assists for a total of 11 points.

Amarillo Wrangler forward Grayson Gerhard has been traded to the Corpus Christi IceRays for a draft pick and a tender to be named at a later date.

World Junior Ice Hockey Championship

The 2025 World Junior Ice Hockey championships will be held in Canada starting Dec. 26, running through Jan. 5, of 2025.

The World Juniors is a 20U event organized by the international Ice Hockey Federation. This tournament attracts the highest level of talent in this age category on the planet.

Latvia native and Amarillo Wranglers defenseman Emils Skeltins has the honor to participate in the 2025 World Junior Championships camp with the hopes of making the Latvian national team.

As a child, he and his father would watch the World Juniors Championships on Latvian television with the hopes of one day participating in this prestigious World Championship Tournament.

A devout and patriotic Latvian, Emils Skeltins has had a positive impact on and off the ice in the community of Amarillo.

His patriotic roots run deep as he proudly displays a Latvian flag in his billet home here in Amarillo. We at Press Pass Sports will monitor Skeltins and we’ll keep the Amarillo Wranglers fans updated as to his progress.

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 102.9 FM the Panhandle Sports Star.