Corpus Christi, Texas – A break is always refreshing. Taking advantage of the break is equally invigorating.
Following the holiday break, the Corpus Christi IceRays were back on the ice and battled for 60 minutes against the Odessa Jackalopes.
The battle was fruitful as the IceRays got something they hadn’t gotten in a while, a victory, and a hard-earned one at that, 3-2 over the Jackalopes Friday night at the American Bank Center.
Stepan Kuznetsov put Corpus Christi up for good in the third period as the IceRays snapped a five-game losing streak to improve to 10-18-1, 2 OTL for 23 points, in eighth place in the NAHL South Division Standings.
“This was a huge two points for us, we needed it,” IceRays head coach Sylvain Cloutier said. “We deserved better than losing five in a row, but tonight we got rewarded by the hockey gods.”
Anthony Cafarelli and Mathieu Bourgault each added goals as the IceRays improved to 3-7-0, 1 SOL in their last 11 contests.
Theodore Manlove and Riley Rosenthal both scored goals for Odessa, which fell to 13-13-2, 2 SOL for 30 points and remained tied with the Oklahoma Warriors for sixth place.
Cafarelli got the scoring started with his team-leading 12th goal of the season from Billy Biedermann and Pierson Sobush at 4:35 of the first period.
Odessa tied it at 1-1 on Manlove’s sixth goal of the season at 12:47.
“We started off really well the first ten minutes and were like controlling the game and then we took a penalty that kind of gave them some momentum,” Cloutier said.
Bourgault re-gave the IceRays the lead early in the second period on his sixth goal of the season from Kuznetsov and Zakhar Polshakov 58 seconds into the frame.
The Jackalopes answered quickly on Rosenthal’s first goal at 2:41 and the game was tied at 2-2 after two periods.
Kuznetsov got the only tally in the third period, his ninth goal of the season at 13:17 and the IceRays would hold off a Jackalope comeback bid.
Odessa outshot the IceRays 32-23, including 11-7 in the third period as Bryant Marks stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced to collect the victory and improve to 6-8-0, 1 SOL on the year.
Marks came up with a huge save late in the game after the Jackalopes pulled goaltender Quintin Sigurdson.
“Marks made a huge save at the end when they pulled their goalie, point blank shot in the slot,” Cloutier said. “We gotta give him credit, but overall we were blocking shots and doing the little things tonight which was nice to see.”
Both teams faltered on the power play with Corpus Christi going 0-for-5 and Odessa 0-for-3.
Forward Michael Valdez made his debut for the IceRays Friday and made a good impression.
“He was our second-round pick in the offseason and brought that energy and speed and was blocking shots and doing all the little things, so hopefully that can be contagious and keep going in our room,” Cloutier said.
The IceRays will host the Jackalopes again Saturday night at 7:05 at the American Bank Center.
“We had a meeting after the game and talked about what we need to do,” Cloutier said. “If we go 6-4 in every 10-game segment, we should make the playoffs.”
You can watch the game on NAHLTV.com and hear it on Brewster Street Radio.
For more info on the IceRays visit goicerays.com.
