NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas – The Corpus Christi IceRays defeated the Lone Star Brahmas 3-2 via shootout Saturday at NYTEX Sports Centre to record their eighth-consecutive victory, an IceRays’ junior franchise record.
IceRays centers Nicholas Seitz and Jake Stella scored in regulation while Blake Bennett and Kyle Moore recorded shootout goals. Sam Best stopped two of three shootout attempts and finished with 27 saves. Santeri Hartikainen picked up an assist to record at least one point for a ninth-consecutive games.
Following the win, the IceRays (17-11-1-0, 35 pts.) remain tied with Shreveport for second place in the NAHL’s South Division with three games in hand.
At the 10:36 mark of the first period, Seitz scored on a rebound of a Hartikainen shot from the top of the circle.
Kimball Johnson tied the game for the Brahmas, 1-1, with a power-play goal at 17:39 of the second period.
The IceRays regained the lead thanks to a power-play goal from Stella 36 seconds into the third period. However, Lone Star’s Tim Henriksson evened the score with less than five minutes remaining in regulation to force overtime.
Following a scoreless overtime session, the game went to a three-round shootout. Seitz was denied in the first round while Scott Persson scored for the Brahmas. However, Bennett and Moore each scored in rounds two and three, respectively, while Best denied Lone Star’s Matt Guerra and Kimball Johnson, as Corpus Christi recorded its fifth victory of the season against the Brahmas. This was the first of four weekend sets swept by either team so far this season. Corpus Christi and Lone Star will meet four more times this season.
The IceRays continue their season-long, 10-game road trip next weekend with games Dec. 28-29 at the Shreveport Mudbugs. Both games are set for 7:11 PM CT and will be carried on Sportsradio Corpus Christi (1230 AM/95.1 FM/96.1 FM), HockeyTV and Mixlr. For more information, visit goicerays.com/broadcast. Corpus Christi’s next home game at American Bank Center is Friday, Jan. 11, 2019 against the Mudbugs at 7:05 PM CT.
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. Stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays) and Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays).
