ICERAYS OPEN HOME SCHEDULE WITH 3-2 WIN

Oct 2, 2015

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The Corpus Christi IceRays (3-4-0) opened their first game of the 2015-16 season at the American Bank Center on Friday night with a 3-2 win over the Amarillo Bulls (1-5-1). The IceRays have now won their last three home openers and five of their six chances in that category.

Scoring started early and often in the contest and favored the home side. At 1:34, forward Carter Johnson worked his way through three different Bulls players in the low slot to find open net and give the IceRays the early 1-0 lead. Less than three minutes later at 3:57, forwards Andy McGlynn and Drake Lindsay bounced one-time passes through the offensive zone to eventually find forward Nathan Bryer down low for his first of the year and a quick 2-0 IceRays lead.

The Bulls would come back in the period at 6:45 when a shot toward net by Bulls forward Joey Molinaro deflected off the skate of IceRays defenseman C.J. Valerian and into the back of the net, cutting the lead down to one, 2-1. Just before the mid-way mark of the period at 9:29, Bulls forward Joey DiBenedetto notched his first of the year and tied the game, 2-2.

In the second, another early goal propelled the IceRays ahead, this time coming off a left point shot by defenseman Michael Bevilacqua at 3:46 to put the IceRays back ahead, 3-2. Despite a large push in the third period by Amarillo and a pulled netminder, the IceRays held off the Bulls to claim their first win at home in as many chances.

IceRays netminder Graham Hunt (2-2-0) earned the win, stopping 22 of 24 shots, while Bulls goaltender Anton Martinsson (1-3-1) grabbed the loss, turning aside 21 of 24 shots. The IceRays close out their home opening weekend on Saturday, October 3 at 7:05 p.m. against the Amarillo Bulls at the American Bank Center for Childhood Cancer Awareness Night. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com or the American Bank Center Box Office.

Contact the IceRays Front Office at 361-814-PUCK or go to www.goicerays.com for details on season tickets along with pricing and seating. In addition, stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays), YouTube (IceRays TV), Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays), Vine (@goicerays), and Periscope (@goicerays).