PREVIEW: ICERAYS VS. BRAHMAS (GAME #20)

Nov 18, 2016

CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS VS. LONE STAR BRAHMAS

Friday, November 18 • 7:05 P.M. • American Bank Center • Corpus Christi, TX
NAHL Game #186 • Game #20 • Road Game #8 • Series: LSB leads 2-0-0-0
Radio: SportsJuice.com • Video: Hockey TV • Twitter: @goicerays • In-Arena: 87.7FM

Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. with Countdown To Faceoff

Tonight’s Game: The IceRays and Lone Star Brahmas continue their four-game stretch at the American Bank Center for their first meeting in the Coastal Bend this season.

Head-To-Head: The Brahmas have the first two games of the 11-game series, just outpacing the IceRays 5-2 in goals. Though the IceRays remain 12-14-4 in their fourth season of the franchise series, their home record is stronger than their road side, going 9-4-1 despite owning a 2-3-1 record last season.

Last Game: The IceRays held strong with the Lone Star Brahmas but came up just short in a 2-1 loss on Saturday night at the NYTEX Sports Centre. After a physical, gritty first period, scoring picked up in the second frame thanks to Brahmas defenseman Blake Evennou (PP, 15:08 2nd) on a shot at the blue line to take a 1-0 lead. Brahmas forward Justin Addamo (4:05 3rd) doubled the lead, 2-0, with a second chance shot before the IceRays were able to make a mark, eventually coming from forward Josh Tripp (PP, 7:38 3rd) to cut the lead to 2-1. The Brahmas were turned away on a penalty shot by Carson Kelley (10:51 3rd) but kept their lead and the win. Brahmas goaltender Erik Gordon (9-0-0) stopped 20 of 21 shots in the win, while IceRays netminder Camden Burggrabe (3-1-1) halted 29 of 31 shots in the loss.

Power Up: Saturday night’s game against the Brahmas ended a four-game scoreless streak on the power play with a goal in the third period. It’s the first time since October 28 that the team scored on the man-advantage, breaking a 0-for-10 stretch including the first two periods of Saturday’s game. The IceRays are scoreless on the power play in six of their last eight games with an opportunity, going 4-for-26 (15.38%) in that span.

D To The G: Defense and goaltending has been a strong suit for the IceRays running toward the middle portion of the season. Since returning to the American Bank Center on October 14, the IceRays have kept opponents to three or fewer goals in eight of their last nine games including in five-straight games, conceding an average of 1.89 goals per game. However, the team has conceded 30+ shots in seven of their last nine games while only doing it themselves four times and just outpacing in goals with 2.22 per game.

Military Weekend: The IceRays and Brahmas are playing on Stars & Stripes Weekend for the third-straight season, marking this as an unintentional tradition. The IceRays have opened the weekend with a win in each of the last two seasons after regulation (Nov. 19, 2015: 4-3 OTW; Feb. 6, 2015: 3-2 SOW). However, the Brahmas have taken the other three games, sliding the IceRays to a 2-3-0 record on Stars & Stripes Weekend in the last two years.

Taking Back Tuesday: The Lone Star Brahmas split their back-to-back weekend with a 5-3 win over the Odessa Jackalopes on Tuesday night from the Ector County Coliseum. Brahmas forwards Hunter Stanley (3:48 1st) and Drake Glover (4:02 1st) opened the scoring with two goals separated by 24 seconds thanks to rebounds on rushes to take an early 2-0 lead. Jackalopes forward Zach Heintz (0:36 2nd) answered back for the home side before Brahmas forward David Marabella (2:05 2nd) took the two-goal lead back at 3-1. Heintz (8:49 2nd) earned his second of the night to come within one, 3-2. After Brahmas forward Justin Addamo (2:29 3rd) and Jackalopes forward Chris Donaldson (10:08 3rd) traded goals, Brahmas forward Carson Kelley (EN, 19:50 3rd) sealed the 5-3 win with an empty net goal in the final ten seconds. Brahmas netminder Erik Gordon (10-0-0) stopped 27 of 30 shots in the win, while Jackalopes netminder Jonny Hogue (6-5-1) halted 14 of 18 shots in 22:05 minutes. Jon Flakne stopped eight of nine shots in 37:55 minutes of relief.

Worth Watching: The Brahmas have their own player listed on the NHL Central Scouting Players To Watch for the 2017 NHL Draft in Chicago. Forward Justin Addamo has already garnered attention for his 6-foot-6, 225-pound frame at 18 years old, but his play has picked up over the last couple weeks to stretch into the top-10 among Brahmas in scoring. The French player has goals in each of his last two games and three goals over his last five games. His last two goals have come as game-winners and four of his six total goals this year. Addamo has yet to record a three-game point streak but has two multi-point games so far.

South Division Standings:
Lone Star Brahmas (17-3-1-0, 35 PTS)
Wichita Falls Wildcats (10-5-2-0, 22 PTS)
Shreveport Mudbugs (10-6-0-1, 21 PTS)
Corpus Christi IceRays (8-8-1-2, 19 PTS)
Amarillo Bulls (6-8-6-0, 18 PTS)
Odessa Jackalopes (8-10-1-0, 17 PTS)
Topeka RoadRunners (7-11-1-1, 16 PTS)

Next Game: The IceRays finish up their weekend set against Lone Star Brahmas on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7:05 p.m. from the American Bank Center on Stars & Stripes Night. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on SportsJuice.com, Hockey TV, and 87.7FM in-arena.