Corpus Christi, Texas – On a night where the goals kept on coming, a strong finish proved vital for the Corpus Christi IceRays.
Tied at 5-5 heading into the third period, the IceRays got the goals they needed and then some and at the same time played the defense necessary to gain an 8-5 victory over the Amarillo Wranglers Saturday night in Amarillo.
Dylan Jensen netted his first goal of the season at 3:34 of the third period for what proved to be the game-winner.
Nils Forselius scored his second goal of the game and fifth of the season at 7:40 and Pierson Sobush closed out the scoring with his second of the night at fourth of the season at 13:26 as the IceRays sealed the win.
“We showed a lot of pushback and it was nice to see,” IceRays head coach Sylvain Cloutier said. “
Luca Fasciano and Max Tedestedt and Zakhar Polshakov also had goals for Corpus Christi (3-4-1SOL).
“We put big Tedestedt in the lineup and he goes down on his first shift and buries it under the bar,” Cloutier said. “It’s nice to see a young kid who’s been working hard since training camp get rewarded tonight for all his hard work.”
Ben Ivey had a pair of goals for Amarillo (4-1), while Jack Ivey, Topi Puikkonen and Alex Papaspryopoulios added goals.
Fasciano got Corpus Christi on the board at 2:43 of the first period with his first goal of the year.
Tedestedt got his first goal to tie the game at 2-2 at 7:54.
“It was a big win, a statement win,” Tedestedt said. “We just held our heads high and didn’t get too down on ourselves when we were losing, and we were just motivated to keep on going. We had to come out of the weekend with at least two points and that was just the main focus and pushed everyone.”
Down 3-2, Forselius knotted the game up at 3 at 17:42.
After Papaspryopoulios gave Amarillo a 4-3 advantage at 5:45 of the second period, the IceRays got a pair of goals less than a minute apart on tallies by Sobush at 11:16 and Polshakov at 12:08 to take a 5-4 lead.
“Zakhar is a big addition to our team,” Cloutier said.
But that lead only lasted 33 seconds as Ben Ivey tied the game at 12:41 to head into the third period tied at 5-5.
The IceRays netted three power-play goals which was music to Cloutier’s ears.
“That was the key, we got our power play working tonight,” Cloutier said.
The IceRays will host the Oklahoma Warriors next Saturday and Sunday, October 6 and 7 at 7:05 p.m. CT.
The IceRays and Warriors already played once in the preseason, but this time around it will be at the American Bank Center.
“Oklahoma’s got a really good team and off to a good start,” Cloutier said. “They know how to win and we need to push back and make sure we play hard and stay disciplined, and I’m sure it’s going to be a physical weekend.”
You can watch the games on NAHLTV.com and catch it on Brewster Street Radio.
