ICERAYS WEEKLY

Mar 6, 2016

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 2015-16 season.

LAST WEEK…

Friday, March 4: IceRays 6, Odessa Jackalopes 2
Shots: IceRays 34, Jackalopes 26
PP: IceRays 1-for-6, Jackalopes 1-for-3

The Corpus Christi IceRays (20-23-6) overpowered the Odessa Jackalopes (21-22-4) with a 6-2 win on Friday night at the Ector County Coliseum.

IceRays forward Stevie Bryant (1:49 1st) opened the contest with an early goal to give the road side a 1-0 lead. Jackalopes forward Derek Brown (PP, 7:58 1st) tied the game before the IceRays pushed ahead. IceRays forward Andy McGlynn (9:26 1st) grabbed the lead back at 2-1 followed by an awkward angle goal by forward Carter Johnson (10:31 1st) and the second by Bryant (12:17 1st) to push ahead to a 4-1 lead through one period. IceRays forward Brad Power (11:23 2nd) quadrupled the lead, 5-1, as the only tally in the middle frame followed by the final marker by the IceRays coming from forward Brendan Miller (3:48 3rd). Jackalopes forward Matthew Rypien (7:21 3rd) got on the board to end the IceRays run, however the scoreline remained at 6-2 through the close of the contest.

IceRays goaltender Dryden McKay (10-9-2) saved 24 of 26 shots in the win. Jackalopes netminder Jon Flakne (12-8-2) stopped 10 of 14 shots in 12:19 minutes while picking up the loss, and goalie Dean Shatzer turned aside 18 of 20 shots in 47:21 minutes of relief.

Saturday, March 5: IceRays 3, Odessa Jackalopes 1
Shots: IceRays 28, Jackalopes 28
PP: IceRays 1-for-7, Jackalopes 1-for-6

The Corpus Christi IceRays (21-23-6) held firm to take a 3-1 win over Odessa Jackalopes (21-23-4) and sweep the weekend set on Saturday night at the Ector County Coliseum.

IceRays forward Andy McGlynn (7:50 1st) started the scoring with a slick backhanded shot just in front of the net to take a 1-0 lead. On a late power play in the opening period, IceRays defenseman Cody LIchtenvoort (PP, 17:34 1st) wristed a shot from the left circle to double the lead, 2-0. IceRays forward Brad Power (13:52 2nd) tripled the lead to 3-0 thanks to a jam on a rebound following a 2-on-1 break. Less than one minute later, Jackalopes forward Derek Brown (PP, 14:46 2nd) quelled the road side's three-unanswered streak to draw within two, 3-1. Both sides went scoreless in the final period, and the IceRays came away with the win.

IceRays goaltender Dryden McKay (11-9-2) turned aside 27 of 28 shots in the win, while Jackalopes netminder Dean Shatzer (9-13-3) stopped 25 of 28 shots in the loss.

 

 

THIS WEEK…

Friday, March 11 vs. Wichita Falls Wildcats – 7:11 p.m.
Saturday, March 12 
vs. Wichita Falls Wildcats – 7:11 p.m.

The Corpus Christi IceRays enter their final ten games of the 2015-16 season with a two-game home weekend set against the Wichita Falls Wildcats at the American Bank Center. The Wildcats have owned the season series, recording wins in all six meetings with four of the six coming at their home rink. Both teams will play six times in each of their final ten games of the season with four coming at the American Bank Center as well as rounding out the season with four-straight meetings. The IceRays are 17-29-6 all-time against the Wildcats while going 12-13-1 on home ice.

Prior to their weekend off to begin March, the Wichita Falls Wildcats completed a three-game sweep of the Amarillo Bulls over six days beginning Friday, Feb. 26 and ending Wednesday, Mar. 2 from the Kay Yeager Coliseum, winning 5-3 that Friday, 3-1 the following night and 2-0 last Wednesday. 17 different players earned points for the Wildcats over the three-game span including 13 just in game one, and forward Austin Beaulieu led the way with three goals and was one of three players with a three-point stretch: forwards Austin Albrecht (1+2=3) and Andre Pison (1+2=3). Nine total players also earned multi-point weekends. Netminder Julian Sime stopped 23 of 26 shots to open the stretch that Friday, and goaltender Justin Kapelmaster turned away 52 of 53 shots while earning his fourth shutout of the season on Wednesday.

South Division Recap:
Four of the six teams in the South Division had the weekend off, though the Wichita Falls Wildcats played in a mid-week contest against the Amarillo Bulls and earned a 2-0 shutout win. During the weekend, the Corpus Christi IceRays closed out their four-game stretch against the Odessa Jackalopes with a sweep of the weekend, earning a 6-2 win on Friday and 3-1 win on Saturday to vault back into fourth place by a two-point margin with two more games played than the Jackalopes.

South Division Standings:
x-Wichita Falls Wildcats              37-9-4, 78 points
x-Lone Star Brahmas                     32-11-7, 71 points
Topeka RoadRunners                    28-20-1, 57 points

Corpus Christi IceRays               21-23-6, 48 points
Odessa Jackalopes                        21-23-4, 46 points
Amarillo Bulls                                 11-34-4, 26 points

x – clinched playoff berth

 

 

ICERAYS BITS…

Multiple IceRays are beginning to go on hot streaks following the weekend sweep of Odessa. Forwards Carter Johnson and Brad Power are both on three-game point streaks with Johnson recording four points (2+2=4) and Power gaining a point in each of his last three games (2+1=3) with goals in two-straight. Defenseman Cody Lichtenvoort is also on a three-game point streak with five points (2+3=5) over that time with his first two goals in an IceRays uniform. Forward Regen Cavanagh continues to tear through opponents, owning now an eight-game point streak dating back to February 12, recording four goals and six assists for 10 points with two multi-point games. Cavanagh is now one game shy of tying the junior franchise record for consecutive games with points (9) set by defenseman Anthony Cortese in the 2014-15 season.

IceRays goaltender Dryden McKay continues his strong run in net following another solid weekend to begin March. Since his first game in Odessa on December 3, the 18-year-old has kept opponents to two goals or less in 11 of his last 14 games with 12 of those games as starts. He owns a 8-3-1 record with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage during that 14-game stretch while vaulting to sixth in junior franchise history for wins in a single-season and career by an IceRays goaltender with three wins separating him from both Pheonix Copley ('10-'11) and Hayden Stewart ('12-'13) for fourth in career goalie wins (14).

– Defend The Bend –