ICERAYS COULDN’T MUSTER COMEBACK, LOSING TO THE BULLS, 6-3

Oct 24, 2014

AMARILLO, TEXAS – The Corpus Christi IceRays fought back in the third period, but it wasn’t enough to stage a comeback against the Amarillo Bulls, dropping the back-ender 6-3 from the Amarillo Civic Center. The IceRays have now dropped five of their last six games and haven’t won on the road, dropping to 0-4-4 in that category.

Amarillo garnered the lone tally of the first period in a very clean and quiet frame. After a delayed call was signaled, the Bulls kept pushing and were rewarded at 5:44 thanks to a shot from the far side point by forward Brady Crabtree to open the scoring, 1-0. For the third time this season, the IceRays and their opponent did not record a penalty in the first period of play.

The Bulls blasted the game wide open in the second period. It started at 3:21 of the period with forward Kyle Hartman’s first of the season to double the lead, 2-0. Followin his goal, forward Elijah Barriga added one at 6:35 to spread the lead, 3-0. That would end the night for IceRays goaltender, saving 17 of 20 shots and playing 26:35. Luke PIckar would come in to replace him, but he wasn’t able to stop the bleeding. Bulls forward Paul Vella added his first of the year at 17:36 to spread the lead, 4-0, and forward Cody Gylling backhanded a shorthanded goal by Pickar at 18:42 of the same period to continue the rush, 5-0.

With a five-minute major power play for the IceRays to start the third period, they seized the opportunity. The charge began at 0:35 of the period when forward Nic LaBurn knocked home his third of the year to cut the deficit, 5-1, with forward Ryan Cusin and defenseman Anthony Cortese gaining helpers. Forward Joe Chitwood added another just 24 seconds later unassisted to continue the push, 5-2. After the IceRays went on a five-on-three powerplay, LaBurn added his second of the night from Cusin and Cortese at 2:55 of the same period to shrink the lead to two, 5-3. Despite the strong push, the IceRays couldn’t close the comeback, eventually allowing an emtpy net goal at 19:58 by Adem Arifi to seal the game, 6-3.

Lindgren (5-3-2) picked up the loss on the night, and Pickar finished with eight saves on ten shots. On the other side, Bulls netminder Anton Martinsson (3-2-0) earned the win, stoning 24 of 27 shots against. The IceRays return to the American Bank Center on Thursday, October 30 at 7:05 p.m. against the Wichita Falls Wildcats. Thursday is Twofer Thursday, where fans can buy one ticket and get one free as well as buy one slice of pizza and receive another for free. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. with Countdown to Faceoff on SportsJuice.com, FASTHockey.com, and on 87.7 FM in-arena.

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), and YouTube (IceRays TV).