NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS – The Corpus Christi IceRays (3-0-1) saw a third period lead vanish and fell 4-3 in overtime to the Lone Star Brahmas (4-0-0) on Friday night at the NYTEX Sports Centre. The Brahmas take a 1-0 series lead in the 2017 South Division Final.
After a scoreless first period, both sides began to open in the second period and break through starting with the home side. At 3:44, Brahmas forward Troy York received a pass from the right wing and slipped a shot from the left circle to open the scoring and give the Brahmas a 1-0 lead. The IceRays came back with three-unanswered in the middle portion to take control of the contest. IceRays forward Brendan Miller forced a turnover below the Brahmas net and found forward David Baskerville for the open shot at 5:01 to tie the game, 1-1. In the back end, IceRays forward Cole Filler sniped a shot from the left circle at 16:19 rushing into the offensive end to take a 2-1 lead. Then, at 17:45, IceRays forward Griffin Loughran converted on a breakaway up the left side to double the lead, 3-1.
The third period swung back into Brahmas favor, and the home side found life at 13:17 when Brahmas forward Austin O’Rourke nestled a shot from the right point to cut the lead to one, 3-2. With the netminder pulled, Brahmas forward Drake Glover found York for a quick one-time shot in front of the net to tie the game, 3-3, at 19:37. In the first three minutes of overtime, Brahmas forward Justin Addamo raced up the right side, scooting by two defensemen and slotted a shot at 2:27 to seal the 4-3 win for the Brahmas.
Brahmas goaltender Max Prawdzik (4-0-0) earned the win, halting 15 of 18 shots, while IceRays netminder Tomáš Vomáčka (3-0-1) picked up the loss, stopping 17 of 21 shots. The IceRays look to rebound for Game 2 of the South Division Final on Saturday, Apr. 29 at 7:30 p.m. from the NYTEX Sports Centre. Coverage begins at 7:15 p.m. on SportsRadio Corpus Christi and Hockey TV.
The IceRays play a neutral site home game on Tuesday, May 2 at 7:15 p.m. from the Dr. Pepper StarCenter in McKinney, Texas. Rise with the IceRays as their quest for the Robertson Cup continues in the South Division Finals, and get ready for next season with a 2017-18 IceRays Season Membership. Call the IceRays at 361-814-PUCK to reserve your seat for next season. In addition, stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays), YouTube (IceRays TV), Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays), Snapchat (@goicerays), and Periscope (@goicerays).
