ICERAYS FALL TO KILLER BEES, 3-1

Dec 31, 2014

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The Corpus Christi IceRays (16-11-4) were not able to overcome a first period deficit as they fell to the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 3-1 on Thursday night from State Farm Arena. The IceRays now drop to 0-9-4 on the road this season.

For the third-straight game, a power play goal in the first period puts the IceRays behind their opponent. At 11:13, Killer Bees forward Anthony Croston threw a shot toward net that was initially blocked by IceRays defenseman Trevor Heuser. However, the puck bounced off the defenseman and by IceRays netminder Andrew Lindgren to give the Killer Bees a 1-0 lead. Later in the frame, newly-acquired forward Andrew Scofield recorded his first NAHL goal after throwing a live rebound into the open net to give the Killer Bees a 2-0 lead at 16:58.

The IceRays had three chances on the power play in the second period to attempt to cut the lead in half, but on all three attempts the road side could not convert. The best attempt to gain a goal came toward the end of the period when defenseman Anthony Cortese hit square on the right post.

The IceRays came strong out of the gates in the third period and were able to tack on a goal. Forward Connor Kelly initially attempted a shot from the right circle, and after the save by Killer Bees netminder Nick Schmit bounced to the near side, forward Franky Melton slapped home the second chance to cut the lead in half, 2-1, at 0:38. Both teams would have a number of chances in the third period, but Killer Bees forward Dean Balsamo put the game away, 3-1, with a sliding goal at 17:09 of the period.

Schmit (4-8-2) earned the win for the Killer Bees, turning aside 23 of 24 shots faced, and Lindgren (12-7-2) picked up the loss while saving 25 of 28 shots. The IceRays finish their two-game set against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees on Friday, January 2 at 7:30 p.m. from State Farm Arena. Coverage begins at 7:15 p.m. with Countdown to Faceoff on SportsRadio Corpus Christi and FASTHockey.com.

Call the front office at 361-814-7825 for season and individual ticket details or check out the pricing and seating chart online at www.goicerays.com. 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).