RAYS’ REPORT #21: SEASON COMES DOWN TO FINAL WEEKEND

Mar 26, 2013

The IceRays played four games in six days this past week going 2-2-0, sweeping Odessa and dropping two close games at the hands of the Amarillo Bulls.  With that, the season for the Corpus Christi IceRays will once again come down to the final two home games of the regular season against Odessa this Friday and Saturday.  This past Saturday night, the IceRays mounted a comeback but fell 4-2 to the Bulls.  Sunday afternoon the teams combined for eight goals in the second period and a late strike propelled Amarillo to a 5-4 victory.

GAME #55 – 3-19-13: Corpus Christi 8-1 Odessa – Odessa got on the board a little over midway through the first period courtesy of Anthony Olguin who wired a wrist shot over the glove of goaltender Ben Myers at 9:11 to put the Jackalopes ahead 1-0.  The goal was Olguin’s 12th of the year.  Assists were credited to Matthieu Audet and Dylan Campbell.  Corpus Christi responded while short-handed as Charles Baldwin forced a turnover on the right wing boards.  Off the interception, Baldwin walked the puck to the slot and buried his 9th of the year and 2nd in three games beating Jacks’ netminder Nick Deery unassisted at 13:41 of period one to tie the game 1-1.  It didn’t take long for the IceRays to strike in the second period.  Just 57 seconds in, Jalen Schulz took a shot from the right point that was stop initially by Nick Deery however Rudy Sulmonte pounded home the rebound, his 23rd of the year to put Corpus Christi ahead 2-1.  The other assist was credited to Mike EconomosBrandon Smith put the Rays’ up two goals with one of the easier goals he will ever score in his career.  Andrew Paras let a shot go from the right point that caromed off of Smith’s upper body and behind Nick Deery, into the net for his 12th of the season at 10:21 to put Corpus Christi up 3-1.  In the final period Corpus Christi scored five goals starting with Charles Baldwin’s second short-handed goal of the night after taking a great pass from Joe Ginley just 2:13 into the third giving the IceRays a 4-1 lead.  Beau Walker and Eric Purcell each scored just 14 seconds apart to put Corpus Christi ahead 6-1.  Walker scored his 7th of the year assisted by Rudy Sulmonte at 11:16 while Purcell tallied his 13th at 11:30 with the lone assist going to Walker.  Grant Hutton gave Corpus Christi a 7-1 lead with a rocket from the right point that went over the right shoulder of goaltender Nick Deery at 12:36 of the third period.  The goal was Hutton’s 2nd of the season.  The final goal of the night came off the stick of Eric Purcell who picked up his second of the period putting the IceRays out to an 8-1 lead with assists from Mike Economos and Ryan Chiasson at 16:28 of the third.  Ben Myers stopped 25 of 26 shots in the win including denying Ben Campbell on a penalty-shot late in regulation.

GAME #56 – 3-20-13: Corpus Christi 5-3 Odessa – Corpus Christi got off to the start they needed after Hayden Stewart denied two chances, Luke McDiarmid fed Rudy Sulmonte with a pass in the right wing circle.  Sulmonte let a wrister go that beat Erick Majerle over the shoulder at 10:49 of the first period to give the IceRays a 1-0 lead.  Emil Romig picked up his 13th goal of the year sending the puck to the front of the net from the right wing boards that caromed off a skate and found a way through the legs of Majerle for a 2-0 lead at 12:46 of the opening period.  The lone assist was credited to Ryan Chiasson.  After missing 17 games with a leg injury, Perry D’Arrisso converted in his first game back.  Emil Romig took the puck on the left wing boards and hit D’Arrisso in front of the net who buried his 18th of the year at 13:32 of the first with the other assist going to Rudy Sulmonte.  After the goal Odessa replaced Erick Majerle with Nick Deery between the pipes.  In the second period the IceRays pulled out to a 4-0 lead when Grant Hutton let a rocket go from the left point that beat Nick Deery between the legs at 3:33 of the period assisted by Brandon Smith.  The Jackalopes began a comeback with two straight goals in the second.  John Feemster took a shot from the right point that found the back of the net at 5:07 of the middle frame.  It was Feemster’s second goal of the year assisted by Matt Volonnino and Mike Mezzano.  Odessa split the lead in half moments later on the power-play as Perry D’Arrisso sat in the box.  Chris Taff took a shot from the left point that was deflected by Dylan Campbell at 5:49 of the second period with the other assist going to Stephen Inman.  After two periods the shots were even at 31 aside.  In the third period with only 2:37 left in the game Taylor Portner brought Odessa within a goal picking up his 9th of the year deflecting a shot by Hayden Stewart assisted by Dylan Campbell and Anthony Olguin.  Corpus Christi held after Andrew Paras picked up an empty net goal, unassisted, with 1:18 left in the game to seal a 5-3 victory.  Hayden Stewart stopped 17 of 18 shots in the third period and denied 46 of 49 total attempts in the win.

GAME #57 – 3-23-13: Corpus Christi 2-4 Amarillo – The Bulls got on the board early into the game off a clean face-off win by Matt Sieckhaus.  The puck went right onto the stick of Tyler Gernhofer who first a wrist shot over the left shoulder of Hayden Stewart just 3:43 into the game for a 1-0 Amarillo lead.  The NAHL leading Bulls took a 2-0 advantage at 12:30 of the first period off of a big scramble in front of the net.  The original shot was denied by Stewart but the rebound went right to Hampus Gustafsson who beat the diving Stewart for a 2-0 lead assisted by Dan McNamara and Ryan Cole.  Another scrum formed in front of goaltender Hayden Stewart and Carter Penzien back-handed the puck through traffic and found a way to the back of the net for his 9th of the year for a 3-0 lead at 3:23 of the middle period with assists to Hampus Gustafsson and Dan McNamara.  Corpus Christi responded with a power-play goal to pull within two goals.  Brandon Smith hit Rudy Sulmonte with a back-door feed deflecting the puck by Paul Berrafato at 12:28 with the other assist going to Wayland Williams.  The goal was Sulmonte’s team leading 23rd of the year and Corpus Christi trailed 3-1.  In the third period the Bulls pulled out to a 4-1 lead with 1:48 left in the game as the puck bounced through a screen right to Clint Carlisle who tapped in an easy 14th goal of the year assisted by Omar Mullan and Mike DavisMike Economos scored his 13th of the season just 19 seconds later as he wired a shot over the shoulder of Paul Berrafato assisted by Ryan Chiasson to split the lead in half however Amarillo hung on for the 4-2 win.  Hayden Stewart denied 35 of 39 shots in the loss.

GAME #58 – 2-24-13: Corpus Christi 4-5 Amarillo – In the first period both teams had several scoring opportunities including a Joe Ginley short-handed breakaway that was denied by Bulls netminder Collin Delia with just seconds remaining in the first.  In the second period the scoring soared as the two teams combined for eight total goals setting a new season high.  It started with Eric Purcell who picked up a loose puck at the top of the circle and tallied his 15th of the year beating Collin Delia at the 2:53 mark.  Amarillo responded with an even-strength goal at 4:04 off the stick of Mike Davis, his 28th on the year with assists to TJ Sherman and Matt Sieckhaus and the score was even at one goal apiece.  Rudy Sulmonte regained the lead for Corpus Christi with his team leading 25th of the year just 52 seconds after the Davis goal.  Sulmonte took a great pass from Nick Monfils at the left wing boards and beat Delia for a 2-1 lead.  Amarillo scored the next two goals to take their first lead of the night first courtesy of Tyler Rostenkowski who wristed a shot by Ben Myers from inside the left wing circle after taking a feed from Hampus Gustafsson 6:29 into the second period to even the score at two.  While the IceRays were on a power-play, Omar Mullan knocked down the puck and went in on a breakaway beating Myers 8:31 into the period, a short-handed goal, and the Bulls led 3-2.  Caleb O’Brien answered with a power-play goal on a scrum in front of the net to tie the game.  The puck was gathered by O’Brien who back-handed a soft shot through the screen that made its way through Delia for his 5th of the year and 3rd as an IceRay.  The seventh combined goal in the period came on a similar play but from Tyler Gernhofer who back-handed through a screen picking up his second goal in as many games at 14:29 and Amarillo pulled out to another lead, their second of the period 4-3.  Just when it looked like the IceRays would go into the 2nd intermission trailing by a goal Emil Romig sent the puck to the front of the net and Rudy Sulmonte got his stick on it beating a sprawling Collin Delia with just 1.6 seconds left in the middle period to tie the game at four all.  The Bulls replaced goaltender Collin Delia to start the third with Paul Berrafato and tallied a late goal by Matt Sieckhaus beating Myers over the shoulder from the right wing circle propelling Amarillo to a 5-4 victory and their first sweep of Corpus Christi all season.  Ben Myers stopped 36 of 41 shots in the loss.  Corpus Christi remains 2pts in front of 5th place Wichita Falls with just two games remaining, both against Odessa this upcoming weekend.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

Friday, March 29th vs. Odessa Jackalopes @ 7:05PM
USO PRESENTATION – Pres. by CPL Retail Energy
FROSTY FRIDAY – Half off beer and soda!

Saturday, March 30th vs. Odessa Jackalopes @ 7:05PM
CALLER TIMES 4-PACK NIGHT – 4 Tix, 4 Hotdogs, 4 Sodas for $44
PACK THE HOUSE NIGHT – Pres. by NPE, CC Harley Davidson, & Katz 21
POST-GAME JERSEY AUCTION
            – Benefits D.A.R.S, St. Jude’s, & Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas

AROUND THE SOUTH DIVISION:

TEAM

GP

W

L

OTL

PTS

PCT

GF

GA

PIM

HOME

AWAY

zAmarillo

58

44

7

7

95

.819

238

114

1229

24-2-4

20-5-3

xTopeka

58

37

14

7

81

.698

184

143

1331

16-9-5

21-5-2

xTexas

58

36

20

2

74

.638

215

158

1093

16-11-1

20-9-1

Corpus Christi

58

26

26

6

58

.500

179

193

1357

11-16-1

15-10-5

Wichita Falls

58

26

28

4

56

.483

180

194

913

13-13-2

13-15-2

Odessa

58

6

49

3

15

.129

114

294

1216

2-26-2

4-23-1

CORPUS CHRISTI’S RECORD AGAINST OPPONENTS:

AMARILLO: 5-7-0
TEXAS: 1-7-0

TOPEKA: 1-3-0
WICHITA FALLS: 2-3-3
ODESSA: 9-1-0
FAIRBANKS: 1-1-2
KENAI RIVER: 4-0-0

ICERAYS LEADERS:

GOALS: Rudy Sulmonte – 26
ASSISTS: Emil Romig – 35
POINTS: Rudy Sulmonte – 60
PLUS/MINUS: Grant Hutton – +13
PENALTY MINUTES: Brandon Berkley – 132min
SHOTS: Rudy Sulmonte – 189
WINS: Ben Myers & Hayden Stewart – 12
GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE: Ben Myers – 2.92
SAVE PERCENTAGE: Ben Myers & Hayden Stewart – .914

RUNNER-UP…  IceRays (F) Rudy Sulmonte was selected as the runner-up for the South Division Star of the Week.  In four games, Sulmonte tallied eight points consisting of four goals and four assists.

TWO WHILE DOWN…  While short-handed, Charles Baldwin scored two goals in the first of two games against the Odessa Jackalopes last week. 

PACK THE HOUSE NIGHT… The Corpus Christi IceRays host Pack The House night this Saturday vs. Odessa to benefit St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, D.A.R.S, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas!

PLAYOFF PICTURE… The IceRays will make the playoffs Friday night if…
           1.  IceRays win, Wildcats loss
           2.  IceRays OT/Shootout loss, Wildcats regulation loss
           3.  IceRays regulation/OT/shootout win, Wildcats OT/shootout loss

INJURY UPDATE… Trevor Heuser & AJ Jarosz sat out this past weekend’s games with injuries while Perry D’Arrisso returned to the lineup.

COMMITMENTS

2013-2014
Beau Walker – (D3) University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Dmitry Ermakov – (D3) Norwich University
Mike Economos – (D3) Plymouth State University
Ian McGilvrey – (D3) Plymouth State University

Zachary Lindsay – (D3) UMass-Boston

2014-2015
Matthew Weis – (D1) Ohio State University
Tommaso Bucci – (D1) Mercyhurst

ALUMNI REPORT

NCAA D-I…
           – Michael Benedict (Niagara University) – (6G, 3A) – 33GP
           – Frank Misuraca (U. of Alabama-Huntsville) – (2g, 4a) – 20GP
           – Pheonix Copley (Michigan Tech) – (8-15-1, 3.22GAA, .900%) – 24GP
           – Mychal Monteith (Mercyhurst) – (0g, 2a) – 20GP
           – Colton Saucerman (Northeastern) – (3g, 8a) – 31GP

NCAA D-III…
           – Greg Chapman (St. Mary’s U.) – (0g, 1a) – 19GP
           – Luc Neitenbach (Worcester State) – (0g, 0a) – 15GP
            – Jake Diamond (Wentworth College) – (0g, 0a) – 8GP
           – Kevin Crowe (Wentworth College) – (10g, 11a) – 27GP
            – Derrek Schartz (Tufts University) – (2g, 1a) – 16GP
           – Josh Obregon (Johnson & Wales U.) – (12g, 11a) – 27GP
           – Anton Olsson (Lawrence College) – (0-1, 6.00GAA, .838%)
           – Navarone Copley (St. Mary’s U.) – (0g, 0a) – 9GP
           – Jonathan Sdao (Colby College) – (4g, 4a) – 23GP

USHL…
           Matthew Weis (Green Bay Gamblers) – (11g, 23a) – 51GP
            Danny Fetzer (Chicago Steel) – (5g, 6a) – 45GP
           – Roman Uchyn (Des Moines) – (4g, 7a) – 31GP

OHL…
           Anthony Stolarz (London) –
                        Regular Season – (13-3-2, 2.29GAA, .920%) – 23GP
                       Playoff Season – (3-0-0, 1.27GAA, .960%) – 3GP

QMJHL…
           Phil Pietroniro (Shawinigan) – (6g, 5a) – 41GP

WHAT’S ON TAP…  The IceRays are home for the final weekend against the Odessa Jackalopes.  Pregame show starts 15 minutes prior to ALL IceRays home games on sportsjuice.com, the TuneIn Radio APP, ustream.com, and fasthockey.com.  Be sure to get your tickets now by calling the IceRays front office at 361.814.PUCK (7825) or crash the net at www.goicerays.com.

FOLLOW US… Stay current with the latest team news by visiting www.goicerays.com.  In addition stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/corpuschristiicerays), Twitter (@goicerays), and the team’s Youtube channel ICERAYS TV (@goicerays)

“THE NEW ICERAYS…TOMORROW’S STARS”