Corpus Christi, Texas – The Corpus Christi IceRays crossed the finish line on their longest stint away from home against the New Mexico Ice Wolves Saturday night at Outpost Ice Arenas in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
And they finished the trip with full intentions of playing a full 60 minutes.
Mission accomplished.
The IceRays quickly answered and equalizer by New Mexico, Stepan Kuznetsov scored two goals and Pierson Sobush added an empty netter to lift Corpus Christi to a 3-1 win over the Ice Wolves.
“It’s been a long road trip, 14 days, but yeah, we got the 60 minutes, and the boys did a great job,” IceRays head coach Sylvain Cloutier said.
Yusaku Ando scored for New Mexico at 1:51 of the third period to tie the game at 1-1
But the night belonged to Kuznetsov and the IceRays tenacious play.
Kuznetsov, who put the IceRays on the board at 18:08 of the second period, got the game-winner just 27 seconds after Ando’s goal at 2:18.
It was his second of the night and third goal in two nights for the IceRays who improved to 5-7-1, 1SOL for 12 points and tied for seventh place in the NAHL South Division with the Colorado Grit and Odessa Jackalopes.
“We had a really good game, tried really hard blocking shots and coming back in our zone,” Kuznetsov said. “Trying to work harder and be more offensive to help the team win. Everybody was dialed in.”
Cloutier knows when Kuznetsov is dialed in, he’s tough.
“Kuznetsov’s that one guy, he’s dangerous,” Cloutier said. “We he figures it out, he probably could be the best player in this league.”
Byant Marks stopped 29 shots for Corpus Christi in his first start since against Oklahoma October 7.
“I didn’t face as many shots as last night, but they did test me a little bit but preparation in practice helps with that stuff,” Marks said.
New Mexico fell to 6-4-2, 1SOL for 15 points, tied for fifth with the Amarillo Wranglers.
Neither team could get a shot behind the red line in the first period, a period that saw the IceRays outshoot the Ice Wolves 12-8.
The IceRays continued the assault on the net in the second period with 20 shots to 10 for New Mexico.
Kuznetsov took a perfect pass from the right circle by Mathieu Bourgault and got a shot past Jackson Fuller with the two-man advantage at 18:08 for his fifth goal of the season to give the IceRays a 1-0 lead.
It was Bourgault’s first assist in his last six games, but his seventh assist in his last 9 games.
The IceRays will return home for four straight games beginning with two against the Lone Star Brahmas, Friday, October 27 and Saturday, October 28 at 7:05 at the American Bank Center
You can watch this Saturday’s game on NAHLTV.com and can also catch it on Brewster Street Radio.
For more info on the IceRays visit goicerays.com.
