ICERAYS WEEKLY

Oct 19, 2014

The IceRays Weekly is a weekly recap and preview of IceRays news, games, and more. The IceRays Weekly will be released every Monday during the 2014-15 season.

LAST WEEK…

Friday, October 17: Topeka RoadRunners 3, IceRays 4 (OT)
Shots: RoadRunners 46, IceRays 29
PP: RoadRunners 0-for-2, IceRays 2-for-4

The Corpus Christi IceRays claimed their first overtime win of the season, 4-3, against the Topeka RoadRunners from the American Bank Center. This marks the second win by the IceRays over the RoadRunners in franchise history.

Defenseman Trevor Heuser scored the first of the game at 18:24 of the first period. After two unanswered goals by Topeka defenseman Will Scherer (5:42, 2nd) and forward Tyler Irvine (10:34, 2nd), the IceRays scored two power play goals to tie the game and later take the lead, 3-2. Defenseman Anthony Cortese knocked in the game-tying goal at 17:34 of the second period and forward Tanner Lomsnes earned the lead at 6:54 of the third period.

Topeka defenseman Shaun Brennan tied the game at 19:29 of the third period to force overtime, but IceRays forward Wes Michaud helped to claim the victory with his overtime game-winning goal at 2:26 of overtime. IceRays goaltender Andrew Lindgren (5-1-2) claimed the victory, turning aside a season-high 43 saves on 46 shots, while Topeka goaltender Drew Vogler (4-1-1) earned the loss, saving 25 of 29 shots.

 

Saturday, October 18: Topeka RoadRunners 5, IceRays 2
Shots: RoadRunners 51, IceRays 30
PP: RoadRunners 1-for-6, IceRays 0-for-3

The IceRays closed out their season series with the Topeka RoadRunners on a losing note, falling 5-2 at the American Bank Center. The team finishes out the series with a 1-2-1 record, dropping the fifth-straight season series against Topeka.

The IceRays scored two goals in the second period and were otherwise left off the score sheet. Defenseman Logan Gestro claimed his second of the season at 10:33 to bring the game within one, 2-1, while helping forward Regan Cavanagh earn his first-career North American Hockey League assist and forward Mason Krueger to his first point of the season. Forward Jack Jenson brought the game witin two, 4-2, later in the period at 16:30 for his first goal of the season.

Topeka forwards Sam Rennaker (8:04, 1st), Daniel Rzavsky (11:20, 1st), Sly Sutter (13:29, 2nd0, and Luka Maver (9:25, 3rd) all claimed goals for the RoadRunners, and defenseman Daniel Brickley (PPG)(11:41, 2nd) also earned a tally in the 5-2 victory for Topeka.

IceRays goaltender Andrew Lindgren (5-2-2) lost the back end of the weekend series, stopping a season-high 46 of 51 shots faced, while RoadRunners netminder Drew Vogler (5-1-1) rebounded with a win, saving 28 of 30 shots.

THIS WEEK…

Friday, October 24 @ Amarillo Bulls – 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, October 25
@ Amarillo Bulls – 7:05 p.m.

The Corpus Christi IceRays head back into hostile territory as they travel north to faceoff against the Amarillo Bulls. Over their last four seasons, the IceRays own a 10-29-1 record in regular season games with a 1-3-0 record in postseason play (2012-13 season). The last win the IceRays have on Amarillo ice was on Feb. 23, 2013 in a 5-1 victory. The last win overall against the Bulls came the following Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 in a 4-1 win at the American Bank Center.

The Amarillo Bulls split last weekend's matchup against the Lone Star Brahmas from the Amarillo Civic Center, winning 2-1 on Friday and losing 7-2 on Saturday. The foward line of Cody Gylling, Rusian Rahkmatov and Kasper Emauelsson connected for two points each (all on the power play) to lead the way for the Bulls on the weekend. Anton Martinsson started both games in net for the Bulls, saving 28 of 29 in Friday's win but only stopping 30 of 37 in Saturday's loss.

With the IceRays splitting last weekend, they remain in third place in the South Division with a 6-3-3 record and 15 points, trailing the Wichita Falls Wildcats by only one point with two more games played. On the flipside, the Amarillo Bulls have struggled to climb out of the basement of the division, staling at a 3-6-2 record with eight points. They're tied with Odessa Jackalopes and Wenatchee Wild for the bottom spot in a gridlocked lower tier.

ICERAYS BITS…

Forward Nic LaBurn will return to the lineup after serving his two-game suspension for an obscene gesture. Also coming into the lineup is defenseman Pierre Crinon, who will arrive with the team this week and travel to Amarillo looking to make his IceRays debut.

On the injury front, defenseman Travis Howe is probable for this weekend's series after suffering a dislocated hand in Lone Star, keeping him out of their bout with Topeka. Forward Connor Kelly returned to the lineup Saturday night after leaving Friday's game early with a lower body injury but remains probable for this weekend.

As it has all season long, the penalty kill remains a highlight for this IceRays squad, sitting third in the NAHL at 57-for-64 (89.06%) following last weekend's 7-for-8 effort. They trail only the Minot Minotaurs (95.56%) and the Austin Bruins (91.38%) for the top spots in the league.

IN THE COMMUNITY…

Stinger Ray will be appearing with the Corpus Christi Area Realtors on Saturday, October 25 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at their office on the corner of Everhart Road and McArdle Street. The IceRays will be raffling off a few items for the event that takes place from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

– Go IceRays –