PREVIEW: ICERAYS @ BULLS (GAME #12)

Oct 17, 2015

CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS

at

AMARILLO BULLS

Saturday, October 17 at 7:05 P.M.

Game #12 • NAHL Game #120 • Series: COR leads 2-1-0
Amarillo Civic Center • Amarillo, TX
Video: FASTHockey.com • Twitter: @goicerays

Coverage begins at 6:55 p.m. with Countdown To Faceoff

Tonight’s Game: The IceRays close out their first trip to the Texas Panhandle to play against the Amarillo Bulls from the Amarillo Civic Center.

Head-To-Head: The IceRays still hold a 2-1-0 lead in the season series with one quarter of the head-to-head schedule complete. The IceRays are now 6-4-1 over their last two seasons against the Bulls and 17-36-2 all-time over the last six seasons. In Amarillo, the IceRays hold a 7-17-1 record.

Last Night: The IceRays allowed five-unanswered and fell 5-2 to the Bulls on Friday night. IceRays forward Andy McGlynn (PP, 9:29 1st) opened the scoring and gave the road side a 1-0 lead. The Bulls came back and scored five-answered in through most of the contest. Forwards Nicholas Bohatiuk (14:47 1st) and Brady Crabtree (18:39 1st) notched the first two for Amarillo to give them a 2-1 lead, Bohatiuk (9:52 2nd) recorded his first two-goal game and gave the Bulls a 3-1 lead in the second, and forwards George Mika (11:31 3rd) and Michael Forman (16:13 3rd) stretched the lead to 5-1 before IceRays forward Drake Lindsay (19:02 3rd) broke the scoring run late in the game. Anton Martinsson earned the win, stopping 39 of 41 shots. Graham Hunt played 29:552 minutes and saved 19 of 22 shots, while Dryden McKay stopped 14 of 16 shots in 30:08 minutes of relief.

Skid Row: The IceRays have now dropped each of their last three games, their longest losing streak of the season. During that span, the team has been outscored 16-4 and have allowed four goals or more in each of those games. In addition, five-on-five has been the sore spot recently. Out of the 16 goals allowed in their last three games, 11 have come on even-strength including all five goals last night.

Net Troubles: Last night was also the first time that Head Coach John Becanic has pulled one of his two netminders during the middle of the game. During their three-game skid, Graham Hunt has allowed seven goals in 89:43 minutes, and Dryden McKay has given up nine goals in 90:08 minutes. Each netminder has seen their goals-against balloon to season-highs: Hunt from 2.02 to 2.75 and McKay from 2.44 to 3.39.

Pulling Positives: Special teams had a successful night for the IceRays. The power play has now scored goals in three of their last four games despite going without a two-goal output so far, going 3-for-20 (15.00%). They’ve also scored power play goals in each game against the Bulls in which they were given an opportunity, going 2-for-7 (28.57%). The penalty kill earned a rebound from last weekend’s performance, shutting down the Bulls and stopping a two-game, two goals-allowed stretch. Last night was the seventh time the IceRays have shut down opponents. In three games against the Bulls, the IceRays are a perfect 9-for-9.

Wild Wings: Two emerging point producers in the IceRays lineup have come on opposite wings and now play with each other. Forwards Drake Lindsay and Andy McGlynn have combined to produce 35.19% of the team’s point production, recording 19 of the total 54 points. Both players lead the team in power play points with four each (McGlynn: 2+2; Lindsay: 0+4), assists (Lindsay: 9; McGlynn: 6), and overall points (Lindsay: 10; McGlynn: 9).

Bounced Back: The Amarillo Bulls broke the longest losing streak in junior franchise history last night with their impressive win over the IceRays. The win is their first since opening night on Sep. 12 against Odessa (6-3 W) and breaks a nine-game winless drought, during which the team went 0-7-2 and gave up 32 goals (3.56 per game) while only scoring 15 goals (1.67 per game). The team only scored three goals or more once (Sep. 24 @ MNW, 3-1 L) and were held to one goal four times though never shut out. The win also aids to rebound from a 15-3 outscoring against Lone Star last weekend.

Impact Skaters: Both sides have one strong force in point production through three games between each others. IceRays forward Andy McGlynn has scored points in each game, recording one goal and four assists for five points. He also leads all skaters in assists and points for both teams in this matchup. On the other side, forward Joey Molinaro has continued to be a difference maker for the Bulls this season, scoring two goals and two assists for four points including two assists last night. Molinaro leads the Bulls in all major scoring categories with five goals and six assists for 11 points thus far through 11 games.

South Division Standings:
Wichita Falls Wildcats (8-1-1, 17 PTS)
Topeka RoadRunners (7-6-0, 14 PTS)
Lone Star Brahmas (6-1-2, 14 PTS)
Odessa Jackalopes (5-4-0, 10 PTS)

Corpus Christi IceRays (4-7-0, 8 PTS)
Amarillo Bulls (2-7-2, 6 PTS)

Next Game: The IceRays head back home on Thursday, October 22 to begin a two-game set against the Topeka RoadRunners on Pink In The Rink Weekend at the American Bank Center. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com, the American Bank Center Box Office, or by calling 361-814-PUCK.