The Amarillo Wranglers split the weekend series against the Shreveport Mud Bugs this past weekend at the Budweiser Bullpen.

Amarillo came up short 3-0 Friday’s series opener, however, came back strong to gain a 4-3 victory Saturday night to salvage a series split.

Amarillo (18-23-2-2, 40 points) currently sits in eighth place in the North American Hockey League’s South Division, five points out of the final playoff spot. There are 15 games left in the regular season with six of those being at home.

Amarillo will continue its home stand with the New Mexico Ice Wolves on Friday and Saturday.

Friday’s game

Fresh off a split weekend against the Oklahoma Warriors, the Amarillo Wranglers were in search of some much needed points. The Shreveport Mud Bugs were also looking for some much-needed points to retain their current playoff spot of sixth place in the Southern Division.

Going into Friday night’s affair, Amarillo had dominated the Mud Bugs with a record of 4-0, outscoring Shreveport 17-7 throughout the four games played this season.

The first period of this very chippy game saw some outstanding goaltending from both goalies. Shreveport goalie Tyler Hodges, playing in his 31st game of the season, was looking for his 14th victory of this season. On the other end of the ice, newly acquired Amarillo goalie Casimir Weckstrom, playing in just his seventh game for the Wranglers, was looking for his 4th victory of the season. Both goalies stood stout as neither team scored in the first period.

Within the first 30 seconds of the second period, the Mud Bugs found pay dirt as forward Ryan Baert scored an unassisted goal, giving Shreveport a 1-0 lead. Strong goalie play would be the theme of the second period as neither team scored again and the Mud Bugs took a 1-0 lead into the final intermission. 

At the 8:39 mark of the third period, Shreveport’s William Alexis Trembkay got the bounce he needed as the puck found the back of the net, increasing the Mud Bugs lead to 2-0. With Amarillo‘s goalie pulled and sitting on the bench, Shreveport was able to hit an empty net. That ended this game 3–0.

Saturday’s game

With just 16 games left to play in the regular season, there was not much room for error as the Amarillo Wranglers hit the ice needing two points to keep their playoff hopes alive. With Friday night’s game in the rearview mirror, Amarillo goalie Weckstrom looked to rebound from a very cumbersome and unlucky turn of events that occurred the night before. Weckstrom was perfect in the first period, playing like a two-ton brick wall. Recent Tufts college commit Jake Boulanger received a blue line pass from linemate Alfonse Gentler at the 6:56 mark of the first period, giving Amarillo the 1-0 lead going into the first intermission.

Shreveport started the scoring off quickly within 30 seconds of the second period, tying this nailbiter up. Just 10 seconds later, the Mud Bugs scored again, giving Shreveport the 2-1 lead. With just over three minutes left in the second period and in the penalty kill, Wranglers defenseman Yury Karatai got behind the Mud Bugs blue liner, scoring his first shorthanded goal in the North American Hockey League. This game remained tied going into the final intermission.

With their backs to the wall, Amarillo forward and hot stick handler Caden Hegarty received a bullet pass from newly announced associate captain Ty Izadi to slap the back of the net and give Amarillo the 3-2 lead on this power-play goal. At the 7:22 mark of the third period, Shreveport’s Duke Ehrhard found some loose change in front of the net and poked the puck past Amarillo goalie Weckstrom, tying this classic physical and chippy southern division matchup 3-3. With the large and rambunctious Amarillo crowd, this remainder of this period was scoreless and went into overtime.

The five minute overtime saw both goalies playing immensely well. This overtime period, what some people call the most exciting time in hockey, remained scoreless. A shootout was in play.

Ty Izadi took the puck at the red line and skated confidently right, then left, faked a right hand shot, backhanded the left hander into the back of the net to beat one of the best goalies in the NAHL Mano a Mano, ending the shootout and giving Amarillo the victory 4–3.

Amarillo goalie Casimir Weckstrom played beautifully, saving 36-of-39 shots, giving him a 4-2 record.

Trades and New Captains

Fan favorite and much loved Amarillo Wrangler Jacob Miller was traded to the Wisconsin Windigo.

Miller spent three seasons in Amarillo playing 138 games, scoring 19 goals with 49 points. Earlier this season the Wranglers announced Miller as its captain for the 2025-2026 season. Miller was a leader on and off the ice with his complete immersion into the Amarillo community by way of his hands in the dirt mentality. Jacob will be missed in the Amarillo hockey space and community endeavors. We at Press Pass Sports wish Jacob Miller good luck with his new team.

The Amarillo Wranglers announced their final captain lineup for the season.

Associate Captain Daniel Rassega has been promoted to Captain. Rassega leads a team in three major categories: goals (18), assists (29) and points (47). 

Center and playmaker Ty Izadi was announced Associate Captain. Izadi is in his second season with the Amarillo Wranglers. Thus far in the 25/26 season, he has 14 goals and 29 assists, with a total of 33 points. His unconscious confidence enhances his leadership abilities.

Forward and grinder Mason Lupo is also in his second season with Amarillo. He is a natural born leader on and off the ice. His blue collar approach and his  un-dying tenacity lends it self quite well in his new Associate Captain role. Lupo has 4 goals and 9 assists, with a total of 13 points for this season.

Defenseman Landon Poe has played 31 games for the Amarillo Wranglers and stands at a menacing 6’9” on skates. Poe is the rare exception of an intimidating large presence on the ice that can skate circles around his competition. His size, body play, speed and knowledge of hockey makes him a true leader on the ice and a natural for the Associate Captain position.

Editor’s Note

Please listen for Tommy Tee‘s weekly recap of Amarillo Wranglers hockey on the “Drive at Five” with Lance Lahnert every Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m. exclusively on 710-AM KGNC.