NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas – Despite a goal from Kyle Moore with 19 seconds remaining, the Corpus Christi IceRays were unable to complete the comeback, falling 3-2 Saturday to the Lone Star Brahmas at NYTEX Sports Centre.
Joey Baez scored twice for the Brahmas, and Seth Eisele made 38 saves. With the win, Lone Star (18-14-2-4, 42 pts.) completed the weekend sweep of the IceRays (20-17-1-0, 41 pts.) to pass Corpus Christi for second place in the South Division.
Baez opened the scoring with a shot over debuting Corpus Christi netminder Keegan Karki’s glove at 11:57 of the first period.
Later in the period, Jake Stella forced a neutral-zone turnover, skated in on the left wing and fired a shot past Eisele to tie the game at 18:03.
The Brahmas regained the lead when Frank Trazzera scored from the left circle at 5:28. Then at 11:57, Baez received a cross-ice pass from Matt Guerra and scored on the power play to make it 3-1 Lone Star.
Karki was pulled late in the game in favor of an extra attacker. Moore, with patience, fired a shot past Eisele with just under 19 seconds left, but the IceRays were unable to score again, falling by one goal.
Corpus Christi outshot Lone Star 40-22 in the game, including 21-4 in the third period. The Brahmas went six-for-six on the penalty kill.
Next up for the IceRays is a three-game set next weekend (Jan. 25-27) against the Amarillo Bulls. Puck drop at American Bank Center is at 7:05 PM CT on Friday and Saturday nights, and 3:05 PM CT on Sunday afternoon. Single game tickets, group tickets and suites for the remainder of the 2018-19 IceRays season are on sale now. Visit goicerays.com or call 361-814-PUCK (7825) for tickets or more information. IceRays games are carried live on Sportsradio Corpus Christi (1230 AM/95.1 FM/96.1 FM), HockeyTV and Mixlr with the pre-game show starting 15 minutes prior to faceoff. For more information, visit goicerays.com/broadcast. Stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays) and Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays).
