Corpus Christi, Texas – The Puck has finally dropped, and the drama has begun…both good and bad.
The Corpus Christi IceRays, a proud member of the North American Hockey League, opened the 2023-24 season in heartbreaking fashion, falling to the Aberdeen Wings 4-3 Wednesday afternoon at the NAHL Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota.
The IceRays, who finished eighth in the NAHL South Division in the 2022-23 season at 11-42-6, 1SOL, and 29 points, jumped out to leads of 1-0 after one period, 2-0 early in the second and 3-2 after two before Aberdeen netted the final two goals, including the game-winner by Jaxson Murray at 13:48 in the third to pull out the victory.
“We came out and were playing our game and I think we kind of got away from that,” IceRays head coach Sylvain Cloutier said. “We weren’t playing to lose, but we weren’t playing the way we were playing. We kind of sat back instead of being aggressive style going at them.”
Nils Forselius, Anthony Cafarelli and Mathieu Bourgault each netted goals for Corpus Christi (0-1).
“We came out pretty good and created a lot and we played well over 60 minutes,” IceRays 6-foot-7 defenseman Karl Persman said. “But we gotta erase some of the mistakes we did and play more patient, so we’ll try to bounce back tomorrow.”
Isak Holmstrom, Logan Gravnik and Simon Pollack tallied the other goals for Aberdeen.
The IceRays had the slight advantage in shots on goal, 32-31.
As was the case in the final two games of preseason, the IceRays came out of the locker room the aggressor with quick skating and solid playmaking which eventually led to the team putting the puck in the net.
Forselius gave the IceRays a 1-0 lead with a goal off a loose puck in front of the Aberdeen net at 10:30 of the opening period.
Cafarelli scored his first of the season off a slapshot in the top of the slot 47 seconds into the second period to continue the solid start for the IceRays.
Holmstrom got the Wings on the board on a power-play goal at 13:20 of the second, but Bourgault came right back on a 3-on-1 break at 16:23 to regain an IceRays two-goal advantage.
But Aberdeen would gain the momentum swing with a late goal by Gravnik at 19:11 and a 3-2 lead heading into the third.
The Wings got the equalizer on Pollock’s first goal of the season with the extra man at 5:36 of the final period and the two teams battled back and forth from there.
“A couple mistakes there, a bad pass and the other one, we don’t clear the front of the net and it hits their stick,” Cloutier said. “Obviously it’s frustrating. It’s a game we should’ve won, and we gifted that one away, but credit to the Wings, they got two points.”
The IceRays will face off against the New Hampshire Mountain Kings Thursday at Noon CT. The Mountain Kings were shut out by the Bismarck Bobcats 2-0 Wednesday.
“We watched them play before us and they’re a well-coached and good hockey team,” Cloutier said. “It’s a quick turnaround and we need to refocus and get ready. We’ve got to get points out of these four games. We lost the opportunity today, now we’ve got another chance tomorrow.”
Persman and the team look to bounce back in the quick turnaround.
“It feels good to get the chance tomorrow again to get out there playing games,” Persman said. “It’s going to be nice and the boys are ready for it.”
You can watch Thursday’s game on NAHLTV.com.
Single game tickets for IceRays home games are going on sale Friday onTicketmaster.com.
Single Game tickets are $38 for Glass, $32 for Lower Bowl, and $26 for Upper Bowl.
Season tickets for the 2023-24 season are still on sale now as well.
For information, please contact Michelle Evans at 361-814-7825, Ext. 104.
