IceRays hold off Rhinos for first win at home
Corpus Christi, Texas – Second verse, not like the first.
After a tough 3-2 loss to the El Paso Rhinos on Friday, the Corpus Christi IceRays bounced back in style.
The IceRays jumped on top early and built a 3-0 lead, holding off the Rhinos in a 4-3 victory Saturday night at the American Bank Center.
It was the fourth one-goal game in six games for the IceRays, and their first in the win column.
“Obviously it was huge. We wanted it last night for our fans and for us too, for the players who wanted it,” IceRays head coach Sylvain Cloutier said. “They found a way tonight and played more of a complete game. We’re proud of them.”
Stepan Kuznetsov netted a pair of goals for the IceRays (2-4) while Cody Kempf and Jack Linton each added a goal.
Mason LeBel and Ryan Gingher scored for El Paso (5-3).
The IceRays were the aggressors in the shots-on-goal category, 41-31.
“It was huge. I mean, it was something we were looking for,” IceRays defenseman Samuel Belanger said. “We were up there a few times at the showcase and there were a few games we could have capitalized on, and yesterday we didn’t play a full 60. Today we cashed in by playing a full 60 and all the boys bought in.”
Kuznetsov tallied his second goal of the season at 1:36 of the first period from Nils Forselius and Mathieu Bourgault to give the IceRays an early 1-0.
Kempf lit the lamp at 3:03 off an assist by Bourgault, his third of the season to make it 2-0 IceRays.
Corpus Christi took a 3-0 lead on an unassisted goal by Linton at 8:06.
LeBel put El Paso on the board on a powerplay goal at 10:47.
Less than four minutes later, Tory Lund scored his third of the season at 14:32 to cut the IceRays lead to 3-2.
Kuznetsov got his second goal of the game and third of the season off the third assist of the night by Bourgault at 3:43 of the third for some much-needed insurance.
“We expect Kuznetsov to produce for us, and he’s a big key of our offense,” Cloutier said. “It’s nice to see him break out here at home and he brought the crowd off their feet there on the last goal. It was a good game and a good team win.”
Gingher made things a bit interesting with his first goal of the season at 19:27, but the IceRays closed out the game for their first win on home ice.
“We talked about after the game, we said now we’re 1-1 in our division and that’s what matters,” Cloutier said. “We’ve got to split every weekend or sweep. There’s no nothing less. That’s our goal every weekend and they achieved part of our goal this weekend.”
The IceRays will play on the road at the Amarillo Wranglers Friday and Saturday night at 7:15 p.m. CT.
The Wranglers were off this week after going 3-1 at the NAHL Showcase.
“They’re well coached and it’s a tough building to go in,” Cloutier said. “They’re going to come out hard there. Hopefully we can go in and take care of business.”
You can watch the game on NAHLTV.com.
Tickets on Sale:
Single game tickets for IceRays home games are on sale now on Ticketmaster.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 also still on sale.
For information, please contact Michelle Evans at 361-814-7825, Ext. 104.
