CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The Corpus Christi IceRays fell behind early and couldn’t recover, falling to the Topeka RoadRunners, 5-2, from the American Bank Center. The IceRays lose the season series, 1-2-1, and still remain winless in season series against Topeka.
The RoadRunners scored the first goal of the game for the 11th time this season out of 14 chances at 8:04 of the first period. Forward Sam Rennaker but back a second chance to give his side the lead, 1-0. Just a few minutes later at 11:20, forward Daniel Rzavsky capitalized on a second-chance following an initial shot by forward Yu Hikosaka to open the lead, 2-0. The IceRays gave up a season-high 17 shots in the first period to their own nine shots.
The IceRays did answer at 10:33 of the second period when defenseman Logan Gestro found some room in the slot and fired it by waiting Topeka netminder Drew Vogler to cut the deficit in half, 2-1. Forward Regan Cavanagh earned his first-career North American Hockey League point with an assist, and co-forward Mason Krueger also added his first IceRays assist. After IceRays forward Ryan Cusin was called for hooking, Topeka scored again at 11:41 by defenseman Daniel Brickley to move the lead back to two, 3-1. The game looked grim after the RoadRunners added another at 13:29 on an unassisted goal by forward Sly Sutter to open the lead again, 4-1. Just before the end of the period, IceRays forward Jack Jenson fired his first goal of the season on a slap shot at 16:30 to cut into the lead 4-2.
The RoadRunners finished things off in the third period with their final goal at 9:25 when forward Luka Maver earned his first of the year with the help of Rzavsky to make the score final, 5-2. Vogler (5-1-1) earned the win, stopping 28 of 30 shots, and IceRays goaltender Andrew Lindgren (5-2-2) came away with the loss, saving a season-high 46 shots on 51 attempts.
The IceRays return to action on Friday, October 24 when they hit the road for a two-game series against the Amarillo Bulls. Coverage begins with Countdown to Faceoff at 6:50 p.m. on the IceRays flagship station, SportsRadio Corpus Christi.
The IceRays return to the American Bank Center on Thursday, October 30 against the Wichita Falls Wildcats. 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), and YouTube (IceRays TV).
