Rhinos fall 5-4 to Ice Bats in Game 3

Friday: Austin Ice Bats 2 @ El Paso Rhinos 6 – Déjà vu strikes! Ice Bats & Rhinos are facing off for the second time in a row this season as we prepare for puck drop here in Rhino Country! Early game is what you can expect with Rhinos pushing Austin’s defense only to be pushed back in a high speed game of tug-of-war. Lucky for us the Ice Bats make a crucial error giving us the man advantage on a power play where Carter Tulpin takes the first goal of the night. Hyero Rivera follows not too far behind with a second goal by the 10:33 mark to make it 2-0, El Paso leading. Arys Peradi takes a goal for the Ice Bats quickly within 30 seconds to put them on the board and for a brief moment the game is within one point. The clock ticks down and with just 30 seconds to go in the first period Donovan Bradford takes one more and Rhinos are up 3-1 headed in to intermission. Aldiyar Irik keeps the momentum going right out the gate in the second and in just 31 seconds makes it 4-1. Ice Bats put up one final offensive where Matthieu Leblanc takes one last goal for them, setting the score at 4-2. Your El Paso Rhinos are still in the game though, and with another power play sets the score at 5-2 thanks to Nikhail Levaniuk. The Final period saw one more goal from Benjamin Green, but with Brayden Macko preventing any further Ice Bats goals we’d secure the victory at 6-2.

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Saturday: Austin Ice Bats 4 @ El Paso Rhinos 7 – The energy is high tonight and the Ice Bats are looking for revenge after last night’s defeat. Arys Perardi is first up tonight for Austin and takes the first goal of the day seven minutes in to the first, but once again the Rhinos are given another Power Play and it is quickly capitalized on. Carter Tulpin showing his skills and sinking the puck in the net to tie the set at 1-1 by the 12:39 mark. Ethan Salter also puts in his two cents and takes back the lead for the Ice Bats, putting them square in the lead with 2-1 by the end of the first. Puck Drops on the second period and both teams come out of the gate swinging. Rhinos surprise us with not one, but two back to back shorthanded goals from Kenneth Cadwallader and Carter Lehmann. Rhinos are now up 3-2 and show no signs of stopping as Tulpin and Lehmann take two more before the period is out. One final period to go in regulation time and Rhinos maintain a 5-2 lead over the Ice Bats, but the game goes on. Rhinos drop a penalty early in the third, giving the Ice Bats an opportunity for a power play which is seized by Luke Fowler, but Nick Nunez won’t let this stand and takes another goal for the Rhinos as payback. Bradford earns yet another for the Rhinos with 9:32 to go in the period and Rhinos are up 7-3. With one last-minute goal from Nash Bryant the final score is Rhinos 7 to Ice Bats 4.

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Sunday: Austin Ice Bats 5 @ El Paso Rhinos 4 – Game #3 is up for grabs tonight; Ice bats looking to take at least one game, and Rhinos aiming for a sweep. Carter Tulpin is definitely a standout player this series and starts us off again tonight with the first goal of the night, and his fourth goal of the weekend. Rhinos are hit with a slashing penalty, ceding a power play to the Ice Bats, and in those two minutes the Ice Bats once again in fashion earn themselves a goal while up a player. Rhinos & Ice Bats are neck and neck getting closer to the halfway point in the first and Kenneth Cadwaller breaks through and snags himself a goal, putting the Rhinos in the lead. Try as they might, neither team is able to score another goal this period and the scoreboard in first intermission reads 2-1, Rhinos leading. The second period saw only a single goal from Cadwallader early on setting the score at 3-1 now with Austin still trailing behind. After one final intermission the Ice Bats return to the ice ready for a war the Rhinos are more than willing to fight. Garret Morris snipes the puck in the net cutting the lead back within one point for Austin, but Donovan Bradford keeps the gap by scoring in kind for the Rhinos. 4-2 now as El Paso leads with less than ten minutes to go, but another penalty is thrown in the mix and the Ice Bats don’t let the chance slip. Two back-to-back power play goals from Mason Manderfield and Georgii Tokarskii bring the game back to a tie, but this was merely preparation for what was to come. The onslaught of Ice Bat attacks finally break the guard and with one final goal from Jared Breunig, Austin would steal the lead from the Rhinos. 5-4 would be the final score and unfortunately Rhinos wouldn’t be able to keep up the defense any more. The buzzer sounds loud with applause from the crowd, and the Ice Bats would take Game #3, standing proud. 

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