ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Hunter Jones scored two goals and Joey Delgreco recorded three assists in the Oklahoma Warriors back-and-forth game against the New Mexico Ice Wolves Thursday at Outpost Ice Arenas.
The Ice Wolves jumped on top of the Warriors just 28 seconds into the first period, but Oklahoma would then answer with five straight goals. With 7:45 left in the period, Drew Sutton and Delgreco worked to steal a puck in the offensive zone for Rylan Brady, who tied the game 1-1 with his eighth of the season. Sixty-four seconds later, Delgreco and Sutton set up Malte Hasselgren off a d-zone draw, and Hasselgren skated it up ice to fire in his 11th of the season. The Warriors final goal of the opening period with two minutes and 32 seconds left in the frame. Jones busted through the neutral zone on the far side and rifled in a wrist shot off a 2-on-1 with Sutton to increase the Oklahoma lead to 3-1. Delgreco was credited with the lone assist on Jones’ first of the game.
The Warriors began the middle period with two goals just 20 seconds apart, at 5:30 and 5:50. After entering the zone on the near side, Hasselgren sent the puck to the top of the slot for Hunter Allen. Allen then sifted it to William Ahlrik down low on the far-side faceoff circle in the offensive zone, and Ahlrik snuck it into the New Mexico net for his second of the season. Twenty seconds later, Therien Thiesing skated the puck around his own zone before rushing it down the length of the ice and passing a cross-crease feed to Jones for his second of the game. After going up 5-1 off five straight goals, the Warriors would then surrender the games next three goals with two in the second and one early in the third. With 6:13 left in the third period, Max Dronen would drop a pass to Owen Carlile just inside the zone and Carlile sniped the insurance goal in from off the far post to give the Warriors a 6-4 lead. The Ice Wolves would get an extra attacker out and a late powerplay, but Daniel Duris made key saves and Oklahoma held on to win 6-4.
The Warriors will faceoff with the Ice Wolves Friday, December 9, for a 7:30 p.m. Central Time puck drop.