Corpus Christi, Texas – Fresh off a bye week, the Corpus Christi IceRays came out refreshed and focused against a tough opponent.
Some timely scoring and outstanding goaltending were the difference in a 4-2 victory over the Oklahoma Warriors Friday night in front of a crowd of over 4,300 on Stars & Stripes night Friday night at the American Bank Center.
The IceRays snapped a two-game losing skid and beat the Warriors for the first time since late in the 2021-22 season.
“We needed it,” IceRays head coach Sylvain Cloutier said. “We played well against Oklahoma after struggling at home a couple weeks ago.”
Corpus Christi improved to 6-9-1, 1SOL for 14 points and moved into a tie for eighth place in the NAHL South Division with the Odessa Jackalopes.
Oklahoma is 9-5-3, 1SOL for 22 points and dropped to fifth place in the division.
Gage Parillo and Dylan Jensen got goals for Corpus Christi while Anthony Cafarelli added a pair of empty-net goals.
William Ahlrik and Nathan Rickey scored for Oklahoma.
Parillo netted his second goal of the season six minutes into the first period off assists by Cafarelli and Karl Persman to get the IceRays offense going.
“I think it’s my job on the team this year to get the guys going right away,” Parillo said. “We’ve had slow starts and my mindset is to work hard and pick my teammates up to get the momentum on our side. Tonight’s game showed that we can play with any team in our division.”
Oklahoma tied the game at 1-1 on Ahlrik’s fourth of the season late in the first period.
Jensen re-gave the IceRays the lead with his fourth of the year from Billy Biedermann and Tyler Samodral in the second period.
Cafarelli netted his ninth goal of the season with the empty net to give Corpus Christi a 3-1 lead in the third period.
Oklahoma made things interesting in the final minute on Rickey’s third goal of the season, but Cafarelli scored his second of the game and 10th of the season with an empty net in the final seconds.
“We’ve not had much luck with this team in the past and I think the win tonight kind of showed we can beat any team,” Parillo said.
The IceRays and Warriors will go at it again on Saturday Night at 7:05.
“Tomorrow’s going to be a lot of hard work,” Parillo said. “They’re very sound in their systems and move up the ice quick so we have to forecheck hard and when we forecheck hard, there’s not a team in our division that can play with us.”
You can watch the game on NAHLTV.com and can also catch it on Brewster Street Radio.
For more info on the IceRays visit goicerays.com.
