CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – Forward Brad Power recorded a five-point night as the Corpus Christi IceRays (23-15-1-3) cruised to a 6-2 win over the Topeka RoadRunners (15-27-4-1) on Thursday night from the American Bank Center. The win ties a junior franchise record for consecutive wins.
The IceRays started hot in the first period and jumped out early with a trio of goals in the opening period. On their first power play of the night, IceRays forward Mason Krueger jammed home a rebound in front of the net at 7:27 to take a 1-0 lead. The top unit came in five-on-five and quickly tacked on two more in less than a minute span starting at 11:07 when Krueger found forward Josh Tripp open in the left circle for a one-time shot to double the lead, 2-0. At 11:43, IceRays forward Brad Power was led up the left wing and sniped a shot from the left circle to triple the lead at 3-0.
After an even showing in the first half of the second period, the IceRays added another to their unanswered stretch at 14:35 when forward David Thomson tapped in a loose puck re-directed in the slot by Power to move ahead 4-0. After a fight between IceRays forward Brendan Miller and RoadRunners forward Jeff Makowski, the RoadRunners broke the goose egg. At 17:39, forward Marshall Bowery tapped in a one-time shot to answer at 4-1.
The scoring continued into the third period at 6:58, and IceRays forward Nathan Bryer was fed on the back door by defenseman Logan Gestro across the zone to move the lead back to four, 5-1. Another RoadRunners answer came less than two minutes later thanks to defenseman Jake Rosenbaum from the right point at 8:31 to draw within three, 5-2. As the RoadRunners unraveled late, the first 5-on-3 power play goal of the season came for the IceRays at 14:07 from defenseman Cody Fleckenstein and a slap shot from the high slot, which closed the scoring at 6-2.
IceRays netminder Tomáš Vomáčka (13-11-2) earned the win, stopping 29 of 31 shots faced. RoadRunners goaltender (7-11-3) picked up the loss, turning away eight of 11 shots in 11:43 minutes, while Ben Churchfield halted 19 of 22 shots in 48:16 minutes of relief. The IceRays close their season series with the RoadRunners on Friday, Feb. 17 at 7:05 p.m. from the American Bank Center on Winter Texan Night, presented by CCRV. Tickets are available at the American Bank Center Box Office and Ticketmaster.com. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on SportsJuice.com, Hockey TV and 87.7FM.
Join the IceRays in their push for the 2017 Robertson Cup Playoffs and pick up an 8-game or reduced season ticket plan! Reserve yours by contacting the IceRays Front Office at 361-814-PUCK. In addition, stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays), YouTube (IceRays TV), Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays), Snapchat (@goicerays), and Periscope (@goicerays).
