For 2012–13 season, El Paso was moved to the Mountain Conference for one season after an influx of midwestern teams. Regardless of new opponents, the Rhinos still finished the regular season in first place in the conference. The Rhinos would run through the Mountain Conference Playoffs without losing a game to the Phoenix Knights and the Boulder Bison. In the Thorne Cup Championship round robin, the Rhinos would defeat the Bay Area Seals 6-3 and the Fresno Monsters 8–3. However, the Rhinos would lose the semifinal game to the Seals by a score of 7–2. By the end of the 2012–13 season, the Rhinos had broken franchise attendance records for most sold-out crowds in one season, largest crowd in a season, and overall total attendance for the year.