CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The Corpus Christi IceRays (31-24-5) were led by their veteran skaters to a 4-2 win over the Amarillo Bulls (25-30-4) on Saturday night from the American Bank Center. Their record is the best in junior franchise history as they head into their second appearance in the Robertson Cup Playoffs.
The IceRays started with five 20-year-olds on their starting lineup, and they pushed the IceRays ahead 1-0 just 30 seconds into the contest with forward Tanner Lomsnes batting in a loose puck outside of the Amarillo crease. The pressure continued stretching into the midway mark of the frame, and at 10:04 forward Nic LaBurn found a pass in the slot to double the IceRays lead, 2-0. Less than a minute later at 10:45, Lomsnes added his second of the night getting a nice pass into the slot from forward Wes Michaud, giving the IceRays a 3-0 lead.
After a scoreless second period despite multiple chances by both teams, the Bulls got on the board, 3-1, early in the third period at 2:10 with a shot by forward Will Harrison from the right circle. The IceRays found an answer just over a minute later at 3:26, when Michaud and Lomsnes connected to find forward Connor Kelly with a wide open goal to stretch back to a three-goal lead, 4-1. IceRays defenseman dropped the gloves in a league-high eighth fight against Bulls defenseman Ben Jentsch at 5:34, which ended each of their nights. The Bulls tacked on a final strike at 18:41 from forward Luke Novak to move the scoreline to its final, 4-2.
IceRays goaltender Luke Pickar (9-7-2) earned the win, turning aside 22 of 24 shots against, while Bulls netminder Jacob Weatherly (9-17-3) grabbed the loss, stopping 30 of 34 shots. The IceRays close out their home schedule with a 23-7-0 record, their best mark in junior franchise history. The IceRays head to the Robertson Cup Playoffs on Friday, April 3 at 7:05 p.m. to begin a best-of-three set against the Wenatchee Wild from the American Bank Center. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on SportsRadio Corpus Christi (KSIX 1230AM) and FASTHockey.com.
Tickets for the 2015 Robertson Cup Playoffs go on sale starting Monday, March 30 at 12:00 p.m. Tickets are available at www.Ticketmaster.com, theAmerican Bank Center Box Office, and by calling the IceRays Front Office at 361-814-PUCK. Stay current with the latest team news by visiting www.goicerays.com. In addition, stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays), YouTube (IceRays TV), Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays), and Vine (@goicerays).
