WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS – The Corpus Christi IceRays (25-28-6) could not keep up with the Wichita Falls Wildcats (43-11-5), who took down the IceRays 4-1 on Thursday night at the Kay Yeager Coliseum.
The Wildcats took control in a re-match from last weekend and pressed the IceRays early and often. IceRays netminder Dryden McKay kept the road side in the game through the first 20 minutes despite seeing 16 shots in the opening period, but the Wildcats were still able to gain the game’s first goal. At 8:44, Wildcats forward Adam Goodsir nestled the puck by McKay to give the home side a 1-0 lead. The Wildcats almost had a second goal coming shorthanded, but McKay turned away Wildcats forward Aleksi Poikola off a turnover.
The second period proved to be the toughest frame for Corpus Christi and furthered their chances from coming back in the contest. Wildcats forward Andre Pison made a to give the home side a 2-0 lead at 3:00. On their first power play of the frame, Wildcats forward Aleksi Poikola received an open pass after working McKay back and forth in his own crease and buried the shot at 14:23 to triple the lead, 3-0. Less than three minutes later at 16:46, Wildcats forward Nick Rosa fired a shot from the slot through the netminder to move their lead to 4-0 heading into the third period.
The Wildcats continued to own the advantage in offensive opportunities in the third period, but a lot of chippy play kept much of the final frame on special teams. The IceRays were able to hold off the Wildcats for the rest of the contest and took away their shutout bid. At 19:53, IceRays forward Mason Krueger bumped a feed into an open net to gain the lone IceRays goal and move the final scoreline to 4-1.
Wildcats netminder Julian Sime (11-3-2) earned the win, stopping 21 of 22 shots, while McKay (15-14-2) picked up the loss, turning aside 35 of 39 shots. The IceRays close the 2015-16 regular season on Friday, April 8 at 7:05 p.m. against the Wichita Falls Wildcats from the Kay Yeager Coliseum. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on SportsRadio Corpus Christi (KSIX 1230AM) & FASTHockey.com.
Keep up with the IceRays all season and off-season long, and 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).
