CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The Corpus Christi IceRays (24-14-5) allowed three power play goals in their loss to the Lone Star Brahmas (28-10-5) on Saturday night from the American Bank Center. The IceRays snap a 12-game win streak at home as well as a five-game winning streak overall. The IceRays were welcomed by 6,965 fans for the game, the largest crowd of the season.
The Brahmas struck first at 4:09 of the first period with forward Roman Uchyn converting on a give-and-go with forward Peter Kessel to give Lone Star the lead, 1-0. The IceRays tied the game, 1-1, at 10:14 with strong work by forward Nic LaBurn in the offensive zone to find forward Frankie Melton, who flew into the slot for a tap-in. One more came across for the Brahmas following a roughing call on IceRays forward Ryan Cusin that allowed forward Oskar Andren to net the power play goal at 14:05 and take back the lead, 2-1.
Another Cusin penalty gave the Brahmas the chance to convert in the second period, and they did just that at 8:13 with Uchyn’s second goal of the night to push ahead, 3-1. Just 31 second later, LaBurn found an answer for the IceRays at 8:44 to draw back within one, 3-2. Just before the midway mark, Brahmas forward Ludvig Larsson poked in a shot at 9:54 to increase the lead, 4-2. Soon after, IceRays defenseman Travis Howe dropped the gloves, giving him multiple penalties and the end of his night. That ensuing power play gave the Brahmas their final goal of the night and Andren’s second at 11:28 to make it a three-goal lead, 5-2. A scrum at the end of the second period sent five players into the penalty box for 10-minute misconducts and gave the Brahmas a four-minute power play to start the final period.
After the IceRays killed off the penalty, forward Matt Colford popped home a loose puck at 4:52 to breathe life back into the IceRays and cut the lead to two, 5-3. The push in the final period was not enough as the IceRays eventually fell 5-3. Brahmas netminder Alex Kupsky (12-4-2) earned the win, stopping 23 of 26 shots, while IceRays goaltender Luke Pickar (7-6-2) picked up the loss, turning away 29 of 34 shots against.
The IceRays head back on the road on Friday, February 13 to begin a two-game set against the Amarillo Bulls at 7:05 p.m. from the Amarillo Civic Center. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on SportsRadio Corpus Christi and FASTHockey.com Call the front office at 361-814-7825 for season and individual ticket details or check out the pricing and seating chart online at www.goicerays.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), YouTube (IceRays TV), Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays), and Vine (@goicerays).
