GAME PREVIEW #53: @ TEXAS TORNADO

Mar 13, 2013

LEAGUE GAME #647
ROAD GAME #27
TEAM GAME #53

TEXAS TORNADO (34-18-1, 69pts, 3RD – South Division)

VS.

CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS (23-23-6, 52pts, 5TH – South Division)

Dr Pepper Arena – Frisco, TX

THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2013 – 7:30PM

    Referee: Anthony Falette    Linesmen: William Kingdon & Kevin Madden

TONIGHT’S GAME … For the first time since the beginning of the year, the Corpus Christi IceRays find themselves sitting outside the playoffs looking in after Wichita Falls picked up yet another victory over the Odessa Jackalopes last night in a 3-0 shutout.  The IceRays now have two games in hand over the Wildcats with eight games to go in the regular season.  The Texas Tornado host Corpus Christi tonight for the first of two games.  Texas ended an eight game losing streak with a sweep of the Odessa Jackalopes last weekend.  Corpus Christi looks to re-take fourth place over in the South Division but must keep the Tornado off the power-play, which is ranked 2nd in the NAHL and need to figure out the top ranked PK in the league when given the opportunity. 

TONIGHT’S BROADCASTS… Listen LIVE tonight beginning at 7:15PM on 91.1FM KSGR, ustream.com, ksgr.org.  Video is available on fasthockey.com for a small cost.

THE SERIES… Tonight’s game is the 11th of 12 meetings between the IceRays and Tornado this season.   
            – IceRays record vs. TEX: 1-9-0

AVERTING DISASTER… The IceRays avoided the one thing that could not happen this past weekend when they scored three goals in the final period to win in a shootout over Wichita Falls and split the weekend.

LEAP-FROGGING… The Wildcats played the Odessa Jackalopes again last night for a mid-week battle and won 3-0 to hop over the IceRays for 4th place.  The two teams have the same points however, Wichita Falls has a better head-to-head percentage.

KEY INJURIES… The IceRays remain without Perry D’Arrisso and Trevor Heuser for tonight’s game.   

PLAYOFF RACE… Corpus Christi is now 1pt behind of Wichita Falls for the final playoff spot in the South Division.  The IceRays and Cats’ both have 50pts but Wichita Falls has won more head-to-head matchups against Corpus Christi.

AROUND THE SOUTH DIVISION…

TEAM

GP

W

L

OTL

PTS

PCT

GF

GA

PIM

HOME

AWAY

yAmarillo

54

40

7

7

87

.806

218

106

1138

22-2-4

18-5-3

xTopeka

53

33

14

6

72

.679

161

130

1251

14-9-4

19-5-2

xTexas

53

34

18

1

69

.651

199

143

990

15-10-1

19-8-0

Wichita Falls

54

24

26

4

52

.481

167

182

825

11-13-2

13-13-2

Corpus Christi

52

23

23

6

52

.500

156

172

1229

11-14-1

12-9-5

Odessa

52

6

43

3

15

.144

104

258

1065

2-22-2

4-21-1

CORPUS CHRISTI’S VS. NAHL:
AMARILLO: 5-5-0
TEXAS: 1-9-0
TOPEKA: 1-3-0
WICHITA FALLS: 2-3-3
ODESSA: 7-1-0
FAIRBANKS: 1-1-2
KENAI RIVER: 4-0-0

ICERAYS LEADERS:
GOALS: Rudy Sulmonte – 22
ASSISTS: Emil Romig – 30
POINTS: Rudy Sulmonte – 51
PLUS/MINUS: Andrew Paras – +7
PENALTY MINUTES: Mike Economos – 122min
SHOTS: Rudy Sulmonte – 170
WINS: Ben Myers – 11
GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE: Ben Myers – 2.93
SAVE PERCENTAGE: Hayden Stewart – .913

COMMITMENTS

2013-2014
Beau Walker – Wisconsin-Stevens Point (D3 – NCHA)
Dmitry Ermakov – Norwich University (D3 – ECAC East)
Mike Economos – Plymouth State University (D3 – MASCAC)
Zachary Lindsay – UMass Boston (D3 – ECAC East)
Ian McGilvrey – Plymouth State University (D3 – MASCAC)

2014-2015
Matthew Weis – Ohio State University

ALUMNI REPORT

NCAA D-I…
            – Michael Benedict (Niagara University) – (6G, 3A) – 30GP
            – Frank Misuraca (U. of Alabama-Huntsville) – (2g, 4a) – 20GP
            – Pheonix Copley (Michigan Tech) – (7-14-1, 3.19GAA, .899%) – 22GP
            – Mychal Monteith (Mercyhurst) – (0g, 2a) – 20GP
            – Colton Saucerman (Northeastern) – (3g, 8a) – 31GP

NCAA D-III…
           
– Greg Chapman (St. Mary’s U.) – (0g, 1a) – 19GP
            – Luc Neitenbach (Worcester State) – (0g, 0a) – 15GP
            – Jake Diamond (Wentworth College) – (0g, 0a) – 8GP
            – Kevin Crowe (Wentworth College) – (10g, 11a) – 27GP
            – Derrek Schartz (Tufts University) – (2g, 1a) – 16GP
            – Josh Obregon (Johnson & Wales U.) – (12g, 11a) – 27GP
            – Anton Olsson (Lawrence College) – (0-1, 6.00GAA, .838%)
            – Navarone Copley (St. Mary’s U.) – (0g, 0a) – 9GP
            – Jonathan Sdao (Colby College) – (4g, 4a) – 23GP

USHL…
            Matthew Weis (Green Bay Gamblers) – (10g, 20a) – 46GP
            Danny Fetzer (Chicago Steel) – (5g, 6a) – 42GP
            – Roman Uchyn (Des Moines) – (4g, 6a) – 26GP

QMJHL…
            – Phil Pietroniro (Shawinigan) – (6g, 5a) – 40GP

OHL…
            – Anthony Stolarz (London) – (11-3-2 / 2.31GAA / .920%) – 19GP

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

Saturday, March 16th 12:00PM – 2:00PM
USO STREET HOCKEY CHALLENGE – Presented by CPL Retail Energy & the Corpus Christi IceRays
GET FREE TICKET – Bring THREE dry goods items to the event and get a FREE ticket to the March 29th game!

Saturday, March 23rd vs. Amarillo Bulls @ 7:05PM
FAITH & FAMILY NIGHT – presented by 91.1FM KSGR.
CALLER TIMES 4-PACK NIGHT – 4 TIX, 4 HOTDOGS, 4 SODAS FOR $44

Sunday, March 24th vs. Amarillo Bulls @ 3:05PM
SUNDAY FUNDAY – HALF OFF BEER & SODA

LISTEN TO THE RAYS… All IceRays’ away games will air LIVE on 91.1FM KSGR, ustream.com, ksgr.org with the voice of the Rays, Rob Lippolis.  In addition, all games will be available through the league’s video website, www.fasthockey.com.