Corpus Christi, Texas – The road can be a lonely place at times.
For the Corpus Christi IceRays, the 14-day road venture has been anything but lonely.
The team earned three out of four points with a 3-2 road victory over the Shreveport Mudbugs October on 13 and earned a point in a 3-2 overtime loss on October 14.
Before last week’s games and prior to the IceRays two-game series at the New Mexico Ice Wolves Friday and Saturday, it’s been all about team bonding and growth.
Among the activities such as a team hike, the IceRays took it to the bowling alley to show off their skills in a different sport.
Silva Lanes in Albuquerque, New Mexico was the site Wednesday, but the activity needed another element before it could begin. The guys needed to dress the part, or at least, just dress up.
From a dinosaur outfit, to workers, to even a banana, the IceRays hit the lanes in full costume.
“I think it was pretty neat actually when everybody walked out wearing their stuff and you just started laughing, that guys’ got that on and Stepan Kuznetsov’s got a dress on” IceRays defenseman Connor Brust said. “It was just pretty funny.”
NAHL South Star of the Week Vilgot Holm got the admiration of his teammates with his prowess on the lanes with a 167 in one of the three games.
“I think it was a great afternoon overall going out bowling as a team and doing some team bonding,” IceRays head coach Sylvain Cloutier said. “Everyone bought into going to the store and buying some costumes, and even the whole staff was dressed up so it was a lot of fun.”
Anthony Cafarelli also got praise for his costume choice, a banana suit.
“We were walking around the mall and took the guys to find something funny for bowling and go whatever direction that wanted, and we happened to stumble across a store that had a couple of funky onesies and I figured why not take the banana,” Cafarelli said. “It brings us together a lot as we practice really competitive against each other so getting out of the hotel and doing things and having fun is good for the group.”
Cafarelli’s costume did not go unnoticed by his teammates.
“The funniest part about that event was ‘Caff’ dressing as a banana, it was hilarious,” defenseman Karl Persman said. “The suit was too small for him, and it was really funny.”
Brust was surprised by Cafarelli’s dress choice.
“Cafarelli in a full banana suit, I didn’t really expect that,” Brust said.
Persman simply donned a hat, a yellow hat with feathers.
“I just bought a funny hat, I don’t even know what it was, just a funny hat,” Persman said.
Brust wore a “funny” shirt and enjoyed the event, posting scores of 139, 117 and 110, and broke down the proceedings.
“There’s a few guys, a couple of the Europeans, it was funny seeing them trying to bowl,” Brust said. “Even beyond the Europeans, some guys could bowl, and some guys couldn’t. And there were a few surprises like ‘Marksy’ (goaltender Bryant Marks), he was pretty good.
Persman chimed back at Brust’s comments.
“Brust shared his views because I think he was a little mad just because we were a little better than him,” Persman joked.
All in all, Persman performed better than he expected having now bowled in a while.
“I thought I was going to be real bad, but I actually got 120 on one round so I guess it’s decent,” Persman said. “Vilgot got 167 on one of the rounds, so that was pretty impressive.”
Brust added his thoughts on Holm.
“Vilgot couldn’t hold the ball, but he could throw strikes every time,” Brust said. “He had one of the highest scores.”
IceRays forward Pierson Sobush had a good round as well.
“First round was rough, but the second, I actually bowled top in our group with a 166,” Sobush said. “It was nice to see all the boys get together and dress up and goof around a little bit and it made it a little extra fun.”
The IceRays will be back to business on the ice against the New Mexico Ice Wolves Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. CDT.
You can watch this weekend’s games on NAHLTV.com and can also catch them on Brewster Street Radio.
For more info on the IceRays visit oicerays.com.
