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…
Wednesday, December 28: Shreveport Mudbugs 2, IceRays 3
Shots: Mudbugs 28, IceRays 35
PP: Mudbugs 0-for-2, IceRays 1-for-2
The Corpus Christi IceRays (13-13-1-3) scored late and held on to claim a 3-2 win over the Shreveport Mudbugs (16-9-0-1) on Wednesday night from the American Bank Center.
On the team’s first power play, IceRays forward Brad Power (PP, 17:07 1st) tapped in a shot between the goalie’s legs to edge ahead 1-0. The Mudbugs answered back in the second period with two quick goals from center Kieran Durgan (4:26 2nd) on a counter rush and forward Giovanni Carabelli (4:59 2nd) on a re-direction to take a 2-1 lead. IceRays forward Garrett Hallford (6:57 2nd) answered back just a few minutes later against his former team to send the game into the third tied at 2-2. In the final frame, IceRays forward Brendan Miller (9:16 3rd) picked up a loose puck for an open to chance, and the team held on late in the game to earn the 3-2 victory.
IceRays netminder Tomáš Vomáčka (8-10-2) halted 33 of 35 shots in the win, while Mudbugs goaltender Dylan Lubbesmeyer (8-4-0) stopped 25 of 28 shots in the loss.
Thursday, December 29: Shreveport Mudbugs 1, IceRays 3
Shots: Mudbugs 29, IceRays 29
PP: Mudbugs 0-for-2, IceRays 0-for-1
The Corpus Christi IceRays (14-13-1-3) pushed ahead in the third period to earn a 3-1 win over the Shreveport Mudbugs (16-10-0-1) on Thursday night at the American Bank Center.
Late in the first period, an odd bouncing goal by IceRays defenseman Cody Fleckenstein (15:21 1st) from the left point gave the home side a 1-0 lead before Mudbugs forward Geuorgui Feduolov (18:12 1st) knotted the game at 1-1 after finding a loose puck. After an even second period, IceRays forward Garrett Hallford (1:19 3rd) was fed on a 2-on-1 rush for a wide open shot to take a 2-1 lead. IceRays forward Brendan Miller (EN, 19:39 3rd) sealed the 3-1 victory late in the game with the empty net goal.
IceRays goaltender Tomáš Vomáčka (9-10-2) turned aside 28 of 29 shots in the win, while Mudbugs netminder John Roberts (7-6-2) stopped 26 of 28 shots in the loss.
THIS WEEK…
The Corpus Christi IceRays head into their final weekend off of the 2016-17 season while taking their second off-weekend in three weeks. Despite the off-week, the IceRays begin the second half of the season in firm possession of fourth place and a playoff spot with the help of other South Division teams. Thanks to the off-week, the IceRays will have the same games played as Shreveport (third place) and Odessa (sixth place), five games in-hand over Amarillo (fifth place), and four games in-hand over Topeka (seventh place).
South Division Outlook:
The chasm in the South Division has shifted to the top-two and bottom-five teams heading into the New Year.The Shreveport Mudbugs slipped in all three games last week including two against the Corpus Christi IceRays and one against the Lone Star Brahmas, all three on the road. The Wichita Falls Wildcats helped that growing gap from third place with a three-game sweep of the Topeka RoadRunners, causing the gap to grow to 13 points from second to third but decreasing the distance to just one point from third to fourth. The Odessa Jackalopes also took two of three games at home over the Amarillo Bulls to jump to sixth place and one point back of the Bulls.
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT | L10 |
| LONE STAR BRAHMAS | 33 | 24 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 49 | .742 | 6-4-0-0 |
| WICHITA FALLS WILDCATS | 32 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 46 | .719 | 7-1-1-1 |
| SHREVEPORT MUDBUGS | 28 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 33 | .589 | 5-5-0-0 |
| CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS | 31 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 32 | .516 | 5-4-0-1 |
| AMARILLO BULLS | 33 | 11 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 29 | .439 | 5-4-1-0 |
| ODESSA JACKALOPES | 29 | 12 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 28 | .483 | 4-3-3-0 |
| TOPEKA ROADRUNNERS | 33 | 11 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 25 | .379 | 3-7-0-0 |
ICERAYS BITS…
The IceRays closed the 2016 calendar year on a hot streak, claiming wins in four of their last five games, including three-straight wins, as well as points in each of their last five games. Over that span, the team has closed the gap to third place from eight points to just one point while outscoring their opponents 19-8. In fact, opponents have been kept to two goals or fewer in four of five games with the only time outside this window coming in their 3-2 shootout loss.
