HIDALGO, TX – Connor Pelkey scored the eventual game winner in the first period and Nick Schmit stopped all 21 shots he faced as the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees shutout the Corpus Christi IceRays 3-0 on Sunday afternoon inside State Farm Arena.
The IceRays came out firing and had three great chances to start the game but Nick Schmit denied all the chances that Corpus Christi put on net. Those saves gave the Killer Bees momentum and it showed.
Just like they did last night, Rio Grande Valley got on the board first courtesy of a defenseman. After several shots were denied by goaltender Forbes Ploszaj, the puck came out to the right point and Connor Pelkey let go a shot low and through a screen in front of the net. The puck found a way through that screen and beat Ploszaj for a 1-0 lead at the 7:20 mark of the first period of play. Assists were handed out to Aleksi Luhtalampi and Jared Dedenbach.
Corpus Christi had relentless pressure in the second period at certain times but could not find the scoring touch. Rio Grande Valley took advantage of a failed scoring opportunity to turn it into a goal of their own. After several chances were denied by Nick Schmit, the Killer Bees brought the puck down ice creating a great chance. Marcus Ericsson trailed the rush and picked up the puck in the high slot, walking it in to the hash marks letting go a hard wrist shot that beat Forbes Ploszaj top shelf for a 2-0 Rio Grande Valley advantage with Luhtalampi adding his second assist of the night and Anthony Croston with the other.
Late in the final period of play, RJ Burns added to the lead with a wrist shot right in front of the net for a 3-0 lead with only 1:47 left in the game assisted by Ben Greiner and that was the final goal of the night as the Killer Bees shutout Corpus Christi 3-0 heading into the final weekend of play.
Forbes Ploszaj stopped 31 of 34 shots he faced on the night.
The IceRays return home for the final two games of the year against Rio Grande Valley on Friday and Saturday night. Puck drops at 7:05PM, coverage begins at 6:50PM with the IceRays Pregame Show on sportsjuice.com, ustream.com, and fasthockey.com.
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)
