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, February 10: Odessa Jackalopes 2, IceRays 5
Shots: Jackalopes 28, IceRays 45
PP: Jackalopes 1-for-4, IceRays 2-for-10
The Corpus Christi IceRays (21-15-1-3) began their eight-game home stand with a strong 5-2 win over the Odessa Jackalopes (16-21-4-0) on Friday night at the American Bank Center.
IceRays forward Larry Jungwirth (1:39 1st) started the scoring on a takeaway for an early 1-0 lead, but Jackalopes forward Chase Thudium (6:12 1st) answered on a turnover in the IceRays zone to tie the game at 1-1. Less than a minute later, another turnover resulted in another tally, this time for IceRays forward Jayson DiMizio (7:04 1st) to take back the lead before an answer late by Jackalopes forward Ludwig Stenlund (PP, 19:37 1st) to knot the game at 2-2 after one period. The IceRays pushed through in the final two periods starting with forward Nathan Bryer (PP, 8:45 2nd) to take back the lead, 3-2. Two more came across in the third period from forward Cole Filler (12:24 3rd) and Bryer (PP, 14:38 3rd) for his second power play tally of the night and the final 5-2 victory.
IceRays netminder Camden Burggrabe (8-4-1) halted 27 of 29 shots in the win, and Jackalopes goaltender Jonny Hogue (9-11-1) turned down 40 of 45 shots in the loss.
Saturday, February 11: Odessa Jackalopes 1, IceRays 4
Shots: Jackalopes 26, IceRays 40
PP: Jackalopes 1-for-4, IceRays 0-for-3
The Corpus Christi IceRays (22-15-1-3) scored four-unanswered in the final two periods to take a 4-1 win over the Odessa Jackalopes (16-22-4-0) on Saturday night from the American Bank Center.
Jackalopes forward Rowan Savidant (PP, 15:40 1st) slotted the game’s first goal from the point to take a 1-0 lead before the IceRays pushed through the remaining four goals starting in the second period. Forward Brad Power (8:34 2nd) sniped a shot from the left circle that tied the game, 1-1. He later fed defenseman Logan Gestro (4:48 3rd) in the offensive zone to jump ahead 2-1 on the eventual game-winner. Forward David Thomson (15:53 3rd) stashed in a late insurance goal, and defenseman Cody Fleckenstein (EN, 18:48 3rd) secured the 4-1 win with a home run pass from his own crease.
IceRays goaltender Chad Veltri (2-0-0) stopped 25 of 26 shots in the win, while Jackalopes netminder Jon Flakne (7-11-2) halted 36 of 39 shots in the loss.
THIS WEEK…
Thursday, February 16 vs. Topeka RoadRunners – 7:05 p.m.
Friday, February 17vs. Topeka RoadRunners – 7:05 p.m.
The Corpus Christi IceRays welcome the Topeka RoadRunners to the American Bank Center for their only home meeting of the season to close the season series. The IceRays have earned points in all three meetings this season, going 2-0-1 in a three-day set on October 6-8 in Topeka while outscoring the RoadRunners 14-11. The IceRays can win the season series outright with one win this weekend. They’ve won five of their last seven meetings overall and went 3-0-1 at home last year. The IceRays are 9-19-5 overall in the franchise series with a 3-9-3 record at the American Bank Center.
PROMOTIONS:
The IceRays open the weekend with a Winning Weekday Game. Fans can purchase buy-one, get-one free tickets through the American Bank Center Box Office for any seat inside the arena, including Platinum seating. This offer is only through the box office.
Friday night is CCRV’s Winter Texan Night with Christus Spohn Health Systems. All “Winter Texans” can receive free tickets by stopping at CCRV located off IH-37 in Corpus Christi. The game is also a Tride Rideshare Frosty Friday with $1 beer and soda as well as $5 off all fares to and from the arena when using promo code “icerays” on the Tride Passenger app. The IceRays Post-Game Skate, presented by Braselton Homes, will follow on Friday night.
The Topeka RoadRunners played two transplanted home games in Cedar Rapids, Iowa against the Springfield Jr. Blues, winning 4-3 on Friday night but falling 2-1 in overtime on Saturday night. Forwards Nick Granowicz (1+1=2) and Alexei Statsenko (1+1=2) as well as defenseman Ryan Dickinson (0+2=2) were the only three players to earn multi-point weekends with Statsenko the lone player to record points in each game, but 11 different players earned points through the weekend. Goaltender Ryan Snowden started in both games, stopping 19 of 22 on Friday and 27 of 29 on Saturday to help grab three points.
South Division Outlook:
The Lone Star Brahmas saw their 14-game win streak home to a halt last weekend when the Shreveport Mudbugs swept the South Division leaders on the road, causing the first home sweep of the Brahmas and first two-loss stretch at home. The Wichita Falls Wildcats were bested by the Amarillo Bulls on the road, falling 4-3 in overtime on Friday followed by a 6-3 loss on Saturday. With the Corpus Christi IceRays sweeping the Odessa Jackalopes at home, they maintain their 10-point lead for fourth place while coming within three points of second place. The Topeka RoadRunners continue to stay in the playoff hunt with a three-point weekend against the Springfield Jr. Blues in the lone non-divisional game.
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT | L10 |
| LONE STAR BRAHMAS | 46 | 35 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 71 | .722 | 8-2-0-0 |
| SHREVEPORT MUDBUGS | 41 | 24 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 51 | .622 | 5-3-1-1 |
| WICHITA FALLS WILDCATS | 42 | 23 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 51 | .607 | 2-7-0-1 |
| CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS | 41 | 22 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 48 | .585 | 8-2-0-0 |
| AMARILLO BULLS | 43 | 15 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 38 | .442 | 4-5-0-1 |
| ODESSA JACKALOPES | 42 | 16 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 36 | .429 | 3-7-0-0 |
| TOPEKA ROADRUNNERS | 46 | 15 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 35 | .380 | 4-4-2-0 |
ICERAYS NEWS…
Four IceRays were selected on Friday to the 2017 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament on February 27-28 in Plymouth, Mich. Defenseman Logan Gestro as well as forwards Larry Jungwirth and Brad Power were named to Team South to fill the three team representatives listed, and goaltender Tomáš Vomáčka was named to the NAHL Selects by NHL Central Scouting. All four players will play two games in front of NHL and NCAA scouts in the league’s “all-star” game.
ICERAYS BITS…
The IceRays have won five-straight games following Saturday’s win, marking the longest win streak of the season. During that span, the IceRays have outscored their opponents 20-10 and scored four or more goals in four of those five games with the lone outlier on February 3 (2-1 W @ SHR). The stretch breaks the four-game streak earned on December 17 through January 12 and ties the second-longest winning streak in junior franchise history. The longest streak (6 games) was set on Oct. 8, 2011 to Nov. 4, 2011.
IceRays center David Thomson has started to re-find his scoring stroke during the third quarter of the season but especially in his recent run. He’s recorded points in five-straight games and goals in three of those five, notching seven points (3+4=7) over that span as well as eight points over his last seven contests. His 16th goal of the season on Saturday not only pushes him to the top of the team leaderboard in that category but also a share of 9th in junior franchise history, joining Ryan Cusin (2014-15) and Carter Johnson (2015-16) on the all-time list.
