GAME PREVIEW #36 – AT WENATCHEE WILD

Jan 16, 2015

CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS

at

WENATCHEE WILD

Saturday, January 17 at 9:05 P.M.

NAHL Game #454 • Road Game #16 • Season Series 3-1-0
Town Toyota Center • Wenatchee, Wash.
Radio: SportsRadio Corpus Christi (KSIX) • Mobile: TuneIn Radio

Video: FASTHockey.com • Twitter: @goicerays

Coverage begins at 8:50 p.m. with Countdown To Faceoff
 

Tonight’s Game: The Corpus Christi IceRays finish their season series against the Wenatchee Wild from Town Toyota Center. The Wild are celebrating “Guns & Hoses”, wearing special jerseys to benefit and honor fallen firefighters and police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

Head-To-Head: The IceRays have already claimed the season series against the Wild but dropped their first game against Wenatchee this season, now 3-1-0. Their win on Sep. 19 (2-0 W) at the NAHL Showcase is the only shutout for the IceRays this season. All-time, the IceRays are 3-2-0 against the Wild with Head Coach John Becanic going 4-1-0 in matchups between the two sides (four for COR; one for WEN).

Last Night: The IceRays allowed three special teams goals and a hat trick in their 4-1 loss to the Wild. After allowing a redirected goal credited to Brendan Harris (4:07 2nd) followed by two power play goals by Harris (PP, 14:14 2nd) and Ryan Chiasson (PP, 15:33 2nd), the IceRays were able to answer late in the period when Matt Colford (17:56 2nd) batted in a second chance goal. Harris (SH, 6:55 3rd) finished the hat trick in the third period when down a player. Zach Quinn earned the win, saving 14 of 15 shots, while Luke Pickar dropped the loss, turning away 31 of 25 shots.

Where’s The Win?: The IceRays have reached the halfway mark of their road schedule without a road win for the first time in franchise history, going 0-10-15 through 15 games. The closest team in terms of road record this season is the Odessa Jackalopes at 3-19-3, who also have the active record for road non-wins (19). In the greater scope of hockey, the 1992-93 Ottawa Senators have one of the worst road records to start a season in history, losing 38-straight games.

Falling Behind: Of all road games this season, the IceRays have allowed the first goal in 13 of those 15 games. The only times the IceRays scored first in a road game were on Oct. 24 against Amarillo (5-4 SOL) and Nov. 29 against Rio Grande Valley (5-3 L). Of the five non-regulation losses, four of them were a result of an IceRays comeback after trailing in the game. Only in one game did the IceRays give up a lead to allow overtime (Oct. 24 @ AMA).

Power Outage: The IceRays have been shut out in five-straight games on the power play, blanked in seven of their last eight games, and have gone 1-for-30 (3.33%) over that eight-game span. Since Nic LaBurn’s power play goal on Dec. 27, the IceRays have gone scoreless in their last 23 chances. The penalty kill has also had a few setbacks, allowing a power play goal in six of their last seven games. The IceRays are 16-for-25 (64.00%) since their last perfect performance on Dec. 11.

Shorty Does Mind: After allowing their sixth shorthanded goal of the season last night, the IceRays share third place for most shorthanded goals allowed with the Minnesota Magicians, which is two behind the league lead set by the Bismark Bobcats (8). It was the first let up in eight games since giving up two goals on Dec. 6 in Wichita Falls (8-2 L).

Streaks and Peaks: Two IceRays skaters kick off positive trends through last night’s contest. Forward Matt Colford now has goals in each of his last two games, his first multi-goal streak of the season since scoring three-straight goals from Oct. 24 through Oct. 31 with the Magicians. Defenseman Anthony Cortese picked up an assist on Colford’s goal, giving him his fifth point streak of three games or more this season. On the down side, forwards Ryan Cusin (1+3=4), Griff Jeszka (2+1=3), and Tanner Lomsnes (1+4=5) each ended their respective three-game point streaks.

Brahma Burst: The Wenatchee Wild split their weekend series against the Lone Star Brahmas, losing 6-5 on Friday and winning 3-2 in overtime on Saturday. The Wild had a 3-0 lead on Friday before allowing five goals in the second period but came back in Saturday’s game after trailing 2-0 going into the third period. Forward Dakota Raabe led the Wild on the weekend with four points (3 goals, assist) with defenseman Tyler Rockwell following right behind with three points (goal, 2 assists). Goaltender Zach Quinn picked up both decisions last weekend, saving 9 of 12 in relief on Friday and stopping 19 of 21 shots on Saturday.

Harris(on) Score: For the first time this season, the Wild have registered a hat trick thanks to forward Brendan Harris’ performance last night. It’s his second multi-goal game this season since earning his first points on Oct. 10 against Rio Grande Valley (4-3 OTL). Harris has been on a tear as of late, scoring 10 points over six of his last seven games (four goals, six assists).

South Division Standings:
1 – Topeka RoadRunners (28-8-3, 59 PTS)
2 – Lone Star Brahmas (24-9-3, 51 PTS)
3 – Wichita Falls Wildcats (25-10-0, 50 PTS)
4 – Corpus Christi IceRays (18-12-5, 41 PTS)
5 – Wenatchee Wild (15-17-6, 36 PTS)
6 – Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (14-17-5, 33 PTS)
7 – Amarillo Bulls (14-19-3, 31 PTS)
8 – Odessa Jackalopes (8-25-5, 21 PTS)

Next Game: The IceRays continue their road trip when they travel to northern Texas on Thursday, January 22 at 7:05 p.m. to play the Wichita Falls Wildcats from Kay Yeager Coliseum. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. CST on KSIX 1230AM/96.1FM/103.3FM and FASTHockey.com.