CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – Forbes Ploszaj stopped 32 of 34 shots and Wes Michaud scored his second goal of the year but it wasn’t enough on Wednesday night as the Odessa Jackalopes defeated the Corpus Christi IceRays 3-1 inside the American Bank Center.
Much like Tuesday night, Odessa came out with two great scoring chances in the first shift but Forbes Ploszaj was ready in net for the IceRays denying all 12 chances in the opening frame. The ‘Jacks converted the only goal in period one as Jason Lem fumbled the puck at the right point, Joey Palumbo went around him and had a two-on-one rush with Caleb O’Brien the only IceRays defender back. Palumbo fired a wrister from the left wing circle and beat Ploszaj on the glove side for a 1-0 lead 12:29 into the game.
In the second period the IceRays answered back with a goal of their own to tie the game up. Jake Durflinger hit Wes Michaud with a pass in the neutral zone. Michaud broke down the right wing wall and at the top of the slot fired a wrist shot right by Odessa goaltender Yoshihiro Kuroiwa at 5:35 of the middle frame to tie the game up 1-1. The goal was Michaud’s second of the year and fourth point overall.
Alex Alger came down the ice on a two-on-two rush with Landen Letwin defending him. Letwin tripped and fell, allowing Alger to break in with a great scoring chance and he converted going top shelf on Forbes Ploszaj to give Odessa a 2-1 lead, unassisted at 6:44 of the third period.
The ‘Jacks sealed the win with just one second left in the game as Leo Lumm tapped the puck into the empty net for a 3-1 lead and that was the final.
The IceRays are on the road this weekend as they take on the Odessa Jackalopes Friday and Saturday night at the Ector County Coliseum. Puck drops at 7:17PM, coverage begins at 7:00PM with the IceRays Pregame Show on 91.1FM KSGR, ksgr.org, 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)
