SHREVEPORT, La. – The Oklahoma Warriors scored six unanswered goals to beat the Shreveport Mudbugs 6-3 in come-from-behind fashion for the second game in a row at Hirsch Coliseum Saturday.
Shreveport found the back of the net three times in the first period and took a 3-0 lead into the intermission, setting the stage for the Warriors’ comeback.
Oklahoma took advantage of an early powerplay opportunity when Cole Teleki and Brendan Williams set up Max Dronen for his seventh of the season 2:56 into the frame. Two minutes and 44 seconds later, Mikko Liukkonen recorded his first point with the team in just his second game. Liukkonen started a play up ice to Kaden Nelson, who gained the zone along the near-side wall. Nelson floated the puck to William Ahlrik busting into the zone, and Ahlrik skated uncontested down the slot to fire in his fifth of the season at 5:40. Blaise Miller would get the 3-3 goal at the 13:44 mark by slamming in an Owen Dyer send in from the point for his first of the game. The Warriors offense continued to shine in the middle frame and added two more goals before the horn. Garrett Horsager shot a puck off William Lawson-Body in front of the net, and the captain gave his team its first lead of the night with one minute and 49 seconds left in the period. After winning an O-zone draw to Joey Delgreco, Drew Sutton went to the net and waited for Delgreco’s rebound to come to him. Sutton whacked away and got the puck past the goal line with 41 seconds remaining in the period to give the Warriors a 5-3 lead heading into the third.
Miller added an empty-net goal from Dronen in the dying minutes of the third period for the sixth straight Oklahoma goal.
The Warriors are back in action Friday and Saturday, January 20 and 21 for 7:15 p.m. puck drops against the El Paso Rhinos at Blazers Ice Centre in Oklahoma City. The Warriors are hosting their Military Appreciation Weekend and will wear specialty jerseys that will be available for purchase through a live auction following Saturday’s game.