ICERAYS POWER TO VICTORY OVER WILDCATS, 7-4

Oct 29, 2014

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The Corpus Christi IceRays rebounded from last weekend’s sweep with a powerful win over the Wichita Falls, 7-4, from the American Bank Center. This is the highest goal total this season for the IceRays, and six different IceRays players record multi-point games.

The Wildcats opened the scoring, 1-0, at 13:37 of the first period on a power play goal by Kevin Charyszyn off a Nate Colwell trip. It wouldn’t take long for the IceRays to answer at 16:44, when defenseman Anthony Cortese fluttered one toward net through traffic to thread the seam left by Wildcats netminder Austin Shaw to even the game, 1-1.

The IceRays surged ahead in the second period and never looked back, putting up four goals in the frame, which is the most in a period thus far. The scoring began at 5:27 when forward Nathan Bryer tucked home a back door feed from forwards Nic LaBurn and Colwell to jump ahead, 2-1. Just 14 seconds later, forward Mason Krueger threw a shot toward net from the left corner through the small seam left by Shaw to earn his first of the year and a two-goal lead, 3-1. It’s the shortest span between two goals this season, with the previous being 24 seconds in Saturday’s loss to Amarillo. Forwards Joe Chitwood and Connor Bucsis were credited with assists. Another was added at 11:13 with a beautiful give-and-go exchange between forwards Ryan Cusin and Wes Michaud, with Cusin tallying his second of the year to spread the gap, 4-1. This is also the shortest gap between three-straight goals this season, clocking in at 5:46. LaBurn would cash in on his third power play goal in his last two games at 12:39 to create the largest lead of the night, 5-1, with assists going to Cortese and Michaud. Finally, an answer from the Wildcats at 16:14 on a second power play goal by Charyszyn and then an Evan Okeley chip by the left shoulder of IceRays goaltender Andrew Lindgren to send the game into the third period, 5-3.

Bucsis continued the hot night for the IceRays offense with his third of the season at 3:24 from Michaud and Chitwood to spread the lead again to three, 6-3. One more answer would come from the Wildcats in forward Austin Albrecht at 12:33 of the third, but the game was put away by an empty net goal by LaBurn at 18:55 to seal the victory, 7-4. Lindgren (6-2-2) bounces back with a win, stopping 29 of 33 shots, and Shaw (6-1-0) earns his first loss of the year, saving 20 of 26 shots.

The IceRays return to action on Friday, October 31 at 7:05 p.m. against the Wichita Falls Wildcats from the American Bank Center for Sticks & Treats presented by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on SportsJuice.com, FASTHockey.com, and on 87.7 FM in-arena.

Call the front office at 361-814-7825 for season and individual ticket details or check out the pricing and seating chart online at www.goicerays.com. Stay current with the latest team news by visiting www.goicerays.com. In addition, stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays), and YouTube (IceRays TV).