WATCH: Rhinos Sweep Sabers to Start Season 9-0 [VIDEO]
Take a clean sweep and multiply it by three. The El Paso Rhinos are off to a 9-0 start, downing the San Diego Sabers 9-1 Sunday for their third straight series sweep.
The Rhinos dominated a young and depleted Sabers team on the weekend, allowing only two goals in three games while pouring in 33.
The season is still new, but it looks as if El Paso's special teams are special again. The Rhinos lead the Western States Hockey League with seven short-handed goals – scoring two just 15 seconds apart Sunday – and their power play has converted opportunities into goals 39 percent of the time, good for second in the league behind fellow Mid-Western Division foes, Oklahoma City.
The offensive fireworks surely pleased the home fans all weekend long. One of the Rhinos' biggest promotions is "Hot Diggity-Dog". If the hosts score eight goals in any game, hot dogs are discounted to $1 for the rest of the game.
It's safe to say fans' appetite for Quintero's Red Rockets was sated after Sunday.
Defenseman Lukas Moravsky opened the scoring at 10:51 of the first period. As the Sabers chased Ian McCollum into the corner, McCollum dropped the puck back to Moravsky, all alone in the high slot.
Moravsky skated in on Sabers goalie Ben Greenlee and picked his spot -- high, stick-side -- and snapped it home.
The Slovakian D-man would score again and assisted on a third to take First Star of the Game honors on the night.
Another highlight-reel goal was scored by El Pasoan Ty Erramouspe in the second period.
The first of the Rhinos' two short-handed goals, Erramouspe hugged the boards on the right wing to skate by Saber's defenseman Ryan Conover and wristed a laser-guided shot from deep in the right corner that beat Greenlee over his left shoulder and under the bar at 14:15 of the second period.
El Paso will take on the Superior RoughRiders in its second homestand this weekend. The RoughRiders are on a three-game winning streak and sit third in the WSHL's Mountain Division with 20 points, right behind co-leaders, the Ogden Mustangs and the Colorado Eagles.
Face-off Friday and Saturday will be at 7 p.m. MDT, Sunday at 4:30 p.m. For tickets and information, call 915.479.PUCK (7825) or go to elpasorhinos.com.