El Paso Rhinos Back Home To Host Phoenix Knights This Weekend

The El Paso Rhinos have almost methodically dominated their Mountain Division of the Western States Hockey League. Under head coach Cory Herman, the Rhinos have a comfortable 13 point division lead heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. They have clinched a playoff birth and will close out their final regular season homestand this weekend against the Phoenix Knights.

"This will be a good weekend of hockey," Coach Herman said earlier this week. "Phoenix is in a playoff race for the fourth and final seed in our division so we need to be prepared for a very desperate team. With the changes they made near the deadline they are having a very good second half of the season."

The Knights defeated third place Cheyenne twice last weekend, and will come to El Paso with plenty of confidence. The team is led by defenseman Jarrod Levos, who has a team-high 40 points in 39 games. However, winger Michael Cummings has had a huge impact in the last few weeks, and has scored 13 goals and registered 10 assists in just 15 games. For the Rhinos, they are led by El Pasoan Mike Rivera, who is tied for 10th in the WSHL with 60 points in 38 games this season.

The teams will face off Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Sierra Providence Events Center. Game times for Friday and Saturday are 7:30pm while Sunday’s game is set for 4:30pm. The Rhinos will be shaving their heads Saturday night in conjunction with St. Baldrick's. Also on Saturday night, the first 500 fans will receive a free Rhinos magnet courtesy of Claude's Sauces.  Single game tickets start as low as five dollars and can be purchased at the Coliseum Box Office or any Ticketmaster location. For more information, call 479-PUCK (7825) or visit www.elpasorhinos.com.