CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Shreveport Mudbugs skated to a 3-1 win Friday over the Corpus Christi IceRays at American Bank Center. Sam Miller, Jacob Smith and Gio Procopio scored for the Mudbugs (14-7-0-0, 28 pts.), who moved past the IceRays (11-10-2-3, 27 pts.) in the South Division standings.
Erik Bargholtz scored Corpus Christi’s lone goal. Cal Sandquist made 29 saves.
Miller opened the scoring with a shot from the slot at 16:58 of the first period.
The Mudbugs doubled their lead in the second period when Smith knocked the puck in on the glove side from the edge of the crease.
Bargholtz got the IceRays on the board with just over three minutes remaining in the second period, firing a shot from just above the right circle.
Following a 4-on-4 stint in the third period, Procopio exited the box, skated to the top of the crease and scored to put the Mudbugs back up by a pair.
Shreveport limited Corpus Christi to just five shots in the third period, and outshot the IceRays 32-24 in the game. Neither team scored on a combined five power-play opportunities. Shreveport’s Maison Balboa made 23 saves.
The two teams rematch Saturday in the IceRays’ 12th annual Stars & Stripes Night presented by Whataburger and Moda Midstream. Free tickets are available at the Box Office for active military, veterans and first responders with valid ID.
Tickets for all 2019-20 IceRays home games are on sale now at the American Bank Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets. IceRays games can be heard live on Sports Radio Corpus Christi 1230 AM-95.1 FM-96.1 FM (KSIX-AM/FM) and mixlr.com/icerays, and can be viewed on HockeyTV (HD iPPV). For more information on the IceRays, or to purchase tickets, visit goicerays.com or call 361-814-PUCK (7825). Stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays) and Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays).
