NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS – The Corpus Christi IceRays (22-25-6) allowed three-unanswered in the third period en route to a 4-2 loss at the hands of the Lone Star Brahmas (35-11-7) on Friday night at the NYTEX Sports Centre.
The Brahmas took advantage of the home crowd to pounce first in the weekend set. At 1:46, forward Tomas Brejcha received a drop-off pass at the left point, walked into the slot and moved a shot through traffic to take a 1-0 lead. On the first power play for the IceRays, defenseman Colton Meekhof took a shot from the blue line that hit off the netminder and into the net to tie the game, 1-1.
The first five-on-five goal of the night went through for Corpus Christi early in the second period to take their first lead of the weekend. At 4:38, forward Toby Kircher took the puck behind the net on a two-on-one rush and turned it off a Brahmas player and into the net to give the IceRays a 2-1 lead. Both netminders stood firm through the rest of the frame even with point-blank shots from IceRays defenseman Cody Lichtenvoort on a breakaway and IceRays forward Mason Krueger on a turnover as well as Brahmas forward Carson Kelley from the left circle.
On an early power play for the Brahmas in the third period, the game found its way to another deadlock. Brahmas forward Alex Berardinelli slotted a shot from the high slot at 3:25 to tie the game, 2-2. Play remained close and tight until the final portion of the game. At 16:56, Brahmas forward Joseph Berg tapped in a one-time shot from the middle to edge Lone Star ahead 3-2. With the IceRays netminder pulled, Berardinelli scored his second of the night to seal the 4-2 win.
Brahmas netminder Corbin Kaczperski (22-6-2) earned the win, stopping 20 of 22 shots, while IceRays goaltender Dryden McKay (12-11-2) halted 26 of 29 shots in the loss. The IceRays close their season series with the Lone Star Brahmas on Saturday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. from the NYTEX Sports Centre. Coverage begins at 7:15 p.m. on SportsRadio Corpus Christi (KSIX 1230AM) & FASTHockey.com.
The IceRays return to the American Bank Center on Friday, March 25 and open a two-game set against the Odessa Jackalopes. Contact the IceRays Front Office at 361-814-PUCK or go to www.goicerays.com for details on season tickets along with pricing and seating. In addition, stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays), YouTube (IceRays TV), Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays), Vine (@goicerays), and Periscope (@goicerays).
