The IceRays Weekly is a weekly recap and preview of IceRays news, games and more. The IceRays Weekly will be released every Monday during the 2016-17 season.
LAST WEEK…
Friday, December 9: IceRays 1, Lone Star Brahmas 4
Shots: IceRays 22, Brahmas 42
PP: IceRays 0-for-2, Brahmas 2-for-4
The Corpus Christi IceRays (10-13-1-2) scored early but couldn’t hold the lead in a 4-1 loss to the Lone Star Brahmas (21-7-1-0) on Friday night from the NYTEX Sports Centre.
IceRays forward David Baskerville (7:23 1st) started the scoring with a re-direction from a Conor Yawney shot to give the road side a 1-0 lead. The Brahmas came back in the second period with an answer from forward Carson Kelley (PP, 11:22 2nd) pushing the puck through the IceRays netminder to tie the game, 1-1. A controversial goal by Brahmas forward Julian Biondo (15:20 2nd) gave the home side a 2-1 lead after it appeared the goal was stopped before it crossed the line. The Brahmas added two more in the third period from defenseman Simon Loof (PP, 3:30 3rd) and forward Hunter Stanley (EN, 18:52 3rd) to take home the 4-1 win.
Brahmas goaltender Alec Calvaruso (10-4-0) halted 21 of 22 shots in the win, while IceRays netminder Tomáš Vomáčka (5-10-1) turned away 38 of 41 shots in the loss.
Saturday, December 10: IceRays 6, Lone Star Brahmas 1
Shots: IceRays 32, Brahmas 27
PP: IceRays 0-for-4, Brahmas 1-for-6
The Corpus Christi IceRays (11-13-1-2) offense came alive to the tune of six goals in a 6-1 win over the Lone Star Brahmas (21-8-1-0) on Saturday night from the NYTEX Sports Centre.
IceRays defenseman Tucker White (5:48 1st) scored his first NAHL goal on a deflection off a Brahmas defenseman to give the road side a 1-0 lead followed by a breakaway goal from forward Andy McGlynn (10:00 1st) coming out of the penalty box and a shorthanded goal by forward Brad Power (SH, 17:50 1st) off a takeaway from the Brahmas goaltender to triple the lead, 3-0. Brahmas forward Aiden Spellacy (PP, 18:32 1st) scored on the same power play to get on the board, 3-1. The IceRays spread the lead with three more goals throughout the game including a 4-on-4 goal from center David Thomson (13:51 2nd) and two more turnover goals in the third period from center Mason Krueger (2:53 3rd) and forward Nathan Bryer (14:49 3rd) to take a commanding 6-1 win.
IceRays netminder Tomáš Vomáčka (6-10-1) stopped 26 of 27 shots in the win. Brahmas goaltender Erik Gordon (11-2-0) halted 7 of 10 shots in 17:42 minutes picking up the loss, and Alec Calvaruso turned away 19 of 22 shots in 42:09 minutes of relief.
THIS WEEK…
Friday, December 16 @ Shreveport Mudbugs – 7:11 p.m.
Saturday, December 17 @ Shreveport Mudbugs – 7:11 p.m.
The Corpus Christi IceRays make their first trip to George’s Pond at Hirsch Coliseum for the first time in junior franchise history to take on the Shreveport Mudbugs. The IceRays and Mudbugs rekindled their franchise series at the American Bank Center to close October, and the IceRays picked up wins in two of three including a shutout victory in their first meeting on October 27. The IceRays and Mudbugs did play two preseason games in Shreveport, and the Mudbugs claimed both games on home ice. The IceRays are 23-26-4 in 52 all-time games including the WPHL and CHL franchise series.
Prior to a weekend off last week, the Shreveport Mudbugs continued their five-game homestand with back-to-back wins over the Amarillo Bulls, winning 4-2 on December 2 and 3-2 in overtime on December 3 from George’s Pond at Hirsch Coliseum. Forward Croix Evingson (1+3=4) led the way and had a three-point night on Saturday, factoring in with two assists and the game-winning goal in overtime. Forwards Frankie Melton (2+1=3), Steven Mather (2+0=2), Gueorgui Feduolov (1+1=2) and Jordan Fader (0+2=2) all picked up multi-point weekend with Mather and Melton adding in a multi-point game. Goaltender John Roberts earned NAHL South Star of the Week for his two-win performance, stopping 71 of 75 shots through both games.
South Division Outlook:
A log jam of sorts has developed in the bottom half of the South Division as teams begin to bring in more points. The Lone Star Brahmas hit the midway point of the season last weekend during their home split with the Corpus Christi IceRays, who maintain the tie-breaker in a share of the final playoff spot. The Wichita Falls Wildcats closed the gap on the Brahmas to just four points thanks to a five-point week as part of their three-in-three road set against the Odessa Jackalopes. The Amarillo Bulls and Topeka RoadRunners split their weekend set in the Panhandle, and the Shreveport Mudbugs stayed idle with a weekend off. The gap from third to fourth is now only six points, but the spread from fourth to seventh is just two points.
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT | L10 |
| LONE STAR BRAHMAS | 30 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 43 | .717 | 5-5-0-0 |
| WICHITA FALLS WILDCATS | 27 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 39 | .722 | 8-1-1-0 |
| SHREVEPORT MUDBUGS | 23 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 31 | .674 | 7-3-0-0 |
| CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS | 27 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 25 | .463 | 3-7-0-0 |
| TOPEKA ROADRUNNERS | 28 | 11 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 25 | .446 | 4-4-2-0 |
| ODESSA JACKALOPES | 26 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 24 | .462 | 3-3-4-0 |
| AMARILLO BULLS | 28 | 8 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 23 | .411 | 2-5-3-0 |
ICERAYS BITS…
The IceRays scored six goals for just the second time this season as part of Saturday’s win against the Brahmas. The only other occurrence came on October 8 in Topeka during a 7-6 overtime loss to the RoadRunners, and the most recent win marks the first victory while scoring five goals or more this season. All previous 10 wins came with either three or four goals scored in a game. The last six-goal game prior to this season was Dec. 19, 2015 in a 6-2 win in Amarillo.
The offensive output on Saturday was the best result at the NYTEX Sports Centre since the start of the junior franchise in 2013-14. Prior to Saturday, the only two games in which the IceRays scored three or more goals in Brahmaland came on Feb. 28, 2014 (4-2 W) and Jan. 15, 2016 (5-2 W), and it’s just the fourth road win in the franchise series and the third in the last two years.
