Tonight the Ice Wolves went up against the third place out of the South Division, Topeka Pilots. These two teams have only played two games against one another (Nov. 8-9), and the Ice Wolves won both of them. New Mexico is currently on their third-straight weekend away from home ice and still in search of their first win.
New Mexico jumped out to an early lead after Connor Kemp (4) received a cross-crease pass from Michael McCosh, 2:28 into the period. Right before the halfway point of the period, Jackson Wille (6) sent a backhand shot on net that slid right past Guy Blessing. The Pilots cut the lead in half :43 seconds after Kyler Yeo (5) deflected a puck past Henrik Laursen. Topeka scored another one before the end of the period to tie the game at 2-2 after the 20 minutes of play. Topeka out-shot New Mexico 16-6.
In the middle period, New Mexico was able to regain the lead after Tylor Greene sent a backhand shot top shelf on Blessing. It marked Greene’s first NAHL goal and it was just his second NAHL game. Greene had this to say about scoring his first goal, “It feels great. I’m so glad I could help contribute to a big win against Topeka and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” Later in the period, Griffen Sanom (4) roofed a shot above the shoulder of Blessing to once again give New Mexico a two-goal lead (4-2). The second period ended with Topeka having 27 shots and New Mexico had 14.
In the final period of regulation, the Ice Wolves increased their lead to three after Joe Prouty (2) scored 7:24 into the period. Prouty took a shot from below the point that worked its way through traffic and right into the back of the net. With time winding down in the period and while on the powerplay, Topeka pulled Blessing giving them a 6-on4 advantage. Michael Muschitiello (10) took a horizontal shot that ricocheted past Laursen. Silencing the crowd :22 seconds later was Alex Dominique (9) after he scored from the slot. The Ice Wolves skated away with two points and their first win since Jan. 11th versus Kenai (6-5). Topeka ended the game with 41 shots, as for New Mexico they had 21.
The 6-3 win was the fourth time this season that the Ice Wolves scored six goals in a game and the third time they did it this month. Game two is tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. CST and the Ice Wolves will look to earn their third sweep of the season and their second against Topeka.