OKLAHOMA CITY–The Oklahoma Warriors extended their win streak to six with a weekend sweep over the Odessa Jackalopes.
The Warriors defeated Odessa 5-2 and 5-1 on Friday and Saturday, respectively, at Blazers Ice Centre.
Drew Sutton opened the series with a historic goal less than four minutes into Friday’s game. With his 37th career goal, Sutton passes William Lawson-Body as the Warriors’ all-time leading scorer in franchise history. Sutton recorded two goals and five points over the weekend.
With Friday’s game tied late in the second period, Max Vig sniped a wrist shot from the left circle to give Oklahoma a 3-2 lead it never relinquished. A strong third period yielded goals from Carter Sproule and Kaden Nelson en route to a 5-2 win.
On Saturday, the Warriors failed to score in the first period despite 21 shots on goal, setting the tone for the night. The game belonged to Louie Kamienski, a 19-year-old forward playing just his third game with the team and in the North American Hockey League. Kamienski scored early in the second period, then twice more in the third, for a hat-trick. After accomplishing the uncommon feat of scoring your first three career goals in the same game, the NAHL named Kamienski first star of the week in the south division.
Nathan Rickey and Geno McEnery also scored in the 5-1 victory. McEnery, acquired in a trade from the Janesville Jets, scored his first goal as a Warrior in just his second game with the team.
The team wore camo-patterned orange jerseys for Military Appreciation weekend with proceeds benefitting Soldier On. The live jersey auction was the Warriors’ most successful yet with most jerseys leading to bidding wars.
With the four-point weekend, Oklahoma still controls fifth position in the south division standings and is seven points back of fourth. The top six teams qualify for the Robertson Cup playoffs. The results meant a shakeup in the Austin Hose Hoser Cup standings, too. The Warriors now trail Amarillo by just two points for the lead in the inaugural rivalry series.
The Warriors travel to Odessa for a rematch with the Jackalopes next. The next home games at Blazers Ice Centre are on Friday, February 9 and Saturday, February 10 against the Lone Star Brahmas. Puck drop is at 7:15 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets at www.okwarriors.com/tickets anytime. Tickets will also be available at the box office at 6:00 p.m. on game night.
