Corpus Christi, Texas – The Corpus Christi IceRays battled throughout Saturday, but the defending NAHL champion Oklahoma Warriors came up with four unanswered goals to snap a 2-2 tie to nab a 6-2 victory Saturday night at the American Bank Center.
The IceRays answered the bell twice after the Warriors took a 1-0 and 2-1 lead on a night that saw Corpus Christi outshoot the Oklahoma 39-31.
Anthony Cafarelli and Pierson Sobush scored goals for the IceRays (3-6-0, 1SOL).
Carter Sproule, Hunter Allen, Kaden Nelson, Jaxon Grosdidier, Sebastian Speck and Nathan Rickey tallied goals for Oklahoma (7-3-0, second in the South Division with 14 points).
Unlike Friday, Oklahoma threw the first punch, taking a 1-0 lead on Sproule’s goal at 9:50.
The IceRays bounced back when Cafarelli netted his fifth goal of the season at 17:02.
Allen gave Oklahoma a 2-1 lead at 3:58 of the second period, but Sobush lit the lamp with his fifth goal of the year to tie the game at 2-2 at 12:02.
Cafarelli, Sobush and Anthony Cafarelli are tied for the team lead with five goals apiece.
“You know, we were the better team, the most part of the game,” IceRays head coach Sylvain Cloutier said. “They showed us what it takes to be a winning hockey team. Credit to them. We’ve got to re-focus on next week.”
Oklahoma gained the momentum on a late goal by Nelson, his seventh of the season at 19:24 on the power play and the Warriors took a 3-2 lead after two periods.
The Warriors put the game away in the first 11 minutes of the third period on goals by Grosdidier at 4:08, Speck at 7:49 and a power play goal by Rickey at 10:49.
Corpus Christi concluded the weekend in eighth place in the South Division with seven points, eight points behind the Lone Star Brahmas.
The IceRays will play their next four games on the road, starting with a pair at the Shreveport Mudbugs Friday, October 13 and Saturday, October 14 at 7:11 p.m. CDT.
The team will then play at the New Mexico Ice Wolves, Friday, October 20 and Saturday, October 21.
“It’s a good time to get on the road after you had two tough losses and now we get to practice at home Monday and then get there on Tuesday and won’t be back until October 23,” Cloutier said. “We’ll do some bonding and get to know each other more. We played really well on the road, so we’re excited.”
Shreveport is 6-3-0 with a SOL and in third place with 13 points.
“They’re a good team and we have to grab a point,” Cloutier said.
You can watch the games on NAHLTV.com and catch them on Brewster Street Radio.
