GAME PREVIEW #52: VS. WICHITA FALLS WILDCATS

Mar 8, 2013

LEAGUE GAME #634
HOME GAME #26
TEAM GAME #52

WICHITA FALLS WILDCATS (23-26-3, 49pts, 5TH – South Division)

VS.

CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS (22-23-6, 50pts, 4TH – South Division)

AmericanBank Center – Corpus Christi, TX

SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2013 – 7:05PM

  Referee: Walker Holton    Linesmen: William Kingdon & Eli Rivera

TONIGHT’S GAME … Tonight means everything for the IceRays and Wildcats combined as they battle for the final playoff spot in the South with just 9 games to go for Corpus Christi and 8 left for Wichita Falls.  Last night, Evan Cowley stopped all but one shot attempt en route to a 2-1 Cats’ win.  IceRays defenseman Caleb O’Brien scored his second goal in as many games in the loss.  Tonight is the final meeting between the two teams and with a Wildcat win, they will jump over the IceRays and be in 4th place by 1pt.  A Corpus Christi victory will push the IceRays back out to a 3pt lead. 

HOME BROADCASTS… Listen LIVE on sportsjuice.com, the TuneIn Radio APP, and ustream.com.  Video is available on fasthockey.com for a small cost.

THE SERIES… Tonight’s game is the 8th and final  between the IceRays and Cats this season.   
            – IceRays record vs. WF: 1-3-3

O’BRIEN TWO IN A ROW… IceRays defender Caleb O’Brien has been the only goal scorer for Corpus Christi in the past two games.  He put the IceRays on the board in the third period last night against the Wildcats.

MISSED CHANCES… Corpus Christi had several missed opportunities in the final period, including hitting iron to end the second in last night’s loss.

KEY INJURIES… The IceRays remain without Perry D’Arrisso and Trevor Heuser for tonight’s game.   

PLAYOFF RACE… Corpus Christi is now only 1pt ahead of Wichita Falls for the final playoff spot in the South Division.  The IceRays have 50pts while the Cats’ moved to 49pts last night.

AROUND THE SOUTH DIVISION…

 

TEAM

GP

W

L

OTL

PTS

PCT

GF

GA

PIM

HOME

AWAY

xAmarillo

53

39

7

7

85

.802

212

105

1068

21-2-4

18-5-3

xTopeka

52

33

13

6

72

.692

160

124

1156

14-9-4

19-4-2

xTexas

52

33

18

1

67

.644

191

141

980

15-10-1

18-8-0

Corpus Christi

51

22

23

6

50

.490

151

168

1211

10-14-1

12-9-5

Wichita Falls

52

23

26

3

49

.471

160

177

796

11-13-2

12-13-1

Odessa

50

6

41

3

15

.150

102

247

1036

2-20-2

4-21-1

CORPUS CHRISTI’S VS. NAHL:
AMARILLO: 5-5-0
TEXAS: 1-9-0
TOPEKA: 1-3-0
WICHITA FALLS: 1-3-3
ODESSA: 7-1-0
FAIRBANKS: 1-1-2
KENAI RIVER: 4-0-0

ICERAYS LEADERS:
GOALS: Rudy Sulmonte – 21
ASSISTS: Emil Romig – 30
POINTS: Rudy Sulmonte – 50
PLUS/MINUS: Andrew Paras – +6
PENALTY MINUTES: Mike Economos – 122min
SHOTS: Rudy Sulmonte – 165
WINS: Ben Myers & Hayden Stewart – 10
GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE: Ben Myers – 2.89
SAVE PERCENTAGE: Hayden Stewart – .916

COMMITMENTS

2013-2014
– Beau Walker – Wisconsin-Stevens Point (D3 – NCHA)
– Dmitry Ermakov – Norwich University (D3 – ECAC East)
– Mike Economos – Plymouth State University (D3 – MASCAC)

2014-2015
– Matthew Weis – Ohio State University

ALUMNI REPORT

NCAA D-I…
            – Michael Benedict (Niagara University) – (6G, 3A) – 30GP
            – Frank Misuraca (U. of Alabama-Huntsville) – (2g, 4a) – 20GP
            – Pheonix Copley (Michigan Tech) – (7-13-1, 3.10GAA, .903%) – 21GP
            – Mychal Monteith (Mercyhurst) – (0g, 2a) – 20GP
            – Colton Saucerman (Northeastern) – (3g, 8a) – 29GP

NCAA D-III…
            – Greg Chapman (St. Mary’s U.) – (0g, 1a) – 19GP
            – Luc Neitenbach (Worcester State) – (0g, 0a) – 15GP
            – Jake Diamond (Wentworth College) – (0g, 0a) – 8GP
            – Kevin Crowe (Wentworth College) – (10g, 11a) – 27GP
            – Derrek Schartz (Tufts University) – (2g, 1a) – 16GP
            – Josh Obregon (Johnson & Wales U.) – (12g, 11a) – 27GP
            – Anton Olsson (Lawrence College) – (0-1, 6.00GAA, .838%)
            – Navarone Copley (St. Mary’s U.) – (0g, 0a) – 9GP
            – Jonathan Sdao (Colby College) – (4g, 4a) – 23GP

USHL…
            – Matthew Weis (Green Bay Gamblers) – (10g, 20a) – 44GP
            – Danny Fetzer (Chicago Steel) – (5g, 6a) – 41GP
            – Roman Uchyn (Des Moines) – (4g, 5a) – 25GP

QMJHL…
            – Phil Pietroniro (Shawinigan) – (6g, 5a) – 38GP

OHL…
            – Anthony Stolarz (London) – (11-2-2 / 2.18GAA / .924%) – 17GP

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

TONIGHT @ 7:05PM vs. Wichita Falls
Caller Times 4-Pack Night – 4 tickets, 4 hotdogs, 4 sodas for $44!
Grades 4 Blades  – Presented by Grande Communications & TAMUCC ROTC!

LISTEN TO THE RAYS… All IceRays’ home games will air on sportsjuice.com, the TuneIn Radio APP, and ustream.com with the voice of the Rays, Rob Lippolis.  In addition, all games will be available through the league’s video website, www.fasthockey.com.