ICERAYS WEEKLY – NOVEMBER 28, 2016

Nov 28, 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 2016-17 season.

 

LAST WEEK…

Friday, November 25: Amarillo Bulls 1, IceRays 4
Shots: Bulls 30, IceRays 38
PP: Bulls 1-for-5, IceRays 0-for-3

The Corpus Christi IceRays (10-9-1-2) powered ahead with control and possession in their 4-1 win over the Amarillo Bulls (6-11-6-0) on Friday night at the American Bank Center.

IceRays center Cole Filler (12:40 1st; 7:31 2nd) cashed in two different times for the home side to not only get them the lead but double it, 2-0. The second goal started a string of three-straight IceRays goals coming on odd-man rushes followed up by forward Cole Gammer (18:44 2nd) to triple the lead, 3-0, on a 3-on-1 rush. IceRays center David Thomson (9:09 3rd) earned his own 2-on-1 goal to spread to a 4-0 lead before Bulls forward Kosta Likourezos (PP, 10:00 3rd) broke the seal and the shutout bid and move the score to its resting place, 4-1.

IceRays netminder Camden Burggrabe (4-1-1) halted 29 of 30 shots in the win, while Bulls goaltender Kyle Madore (1-3-4) stopped 34 of 38 shots in the loss.

Saturday, November 26: Amarillo Bulls 5, IceRays 2
Shots: Bulls 29, IceRays 42
PP: Bulls 2-for-5, IceRays 0-for-4

The Corpus Christi IceRays (10-10-1-2) couldn’t overcome multiple hurdles in their 5-2 loss to the Amarillo Bulls (7-11-6-0) on Saturday night at the American Bank Center.

Bulls forward Brendan Walkom (PP, 10:59 1st) got the scoring started to take a 1-0 lead before the IceRays answered back less than a minute later thanks to defenseman Cody Fleckenstein (11:43 1st) to tie the game, 1-1. IceRays forward Jayson DiMizio (5:16 2nd) gave the home side a brief 2-1 lead before the Bulls came back with two quick goals from forward Jake Nitche (8:20 2nd) and defenseman Bray Crowder (8:46 2nd) to take a 3-2 lead. The Bulls added two more insurance goals in the third period thanks to forwards Luke Edgerton (13:45 3rd) and Kosta Likourezos (PP, 18:33 3rd) to bring the final to 5-2.

Bulls goaltender Nikita Babintsev (6-8-2) stopped 40 of 42 shots in the win, while IceRays netminder Camden Burggrabe (4-2-1) halted 24 of 29 shots in the loss.

 

THIS WEEK…

Saturday, December 3 vs. Wichita Falls Wildcats – 7:05 p.m.
Sunday, December 4 vs. Wichita Falls Wildcats – 3:05 p.m.

The Corpus Christi IceRays welcome the Wichita Falls Wildcats to the American Bank Center for the first time this season in a rare Saturday-Sunday weekend set. The IceRays met the Wildcats in the opening weekend of the 2016-17 season, and the Wildcats took two of three games while the IceRays grabbed an overtime win on game one. While the IceRays own an even 15-14-1 record through six seasons at the American Bank Center in the franchise series, the Wildcats have taken a majority of the total games, forcing the IceRays to a 21-34-6 record.

Promotions:
SATURDAY: The IceRays open the two-game weekend with City-County Night, presented by Citgo. Employees from the city of Corpus Christi as well as Nueces County have received ticket vouchers inviting them to the game as a thank you for the work they do for the Corpus Christi community. Saturday is also a Corpus Christi Caller-Times Family 4-Pack Night with four tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas for just $48.
SUNDAY: The IceRays close the weekend with a Sunday Funday at the American Bank Center. The IceRays and the arena will offer special concessions prices and deals including $1 hot dogs, popcorn and sodas throughout the game.

The Wichita Falls Wildcats took part in their second-straight three-game week, taking a 5-4 win against the Lone Star Brahmas from the NYTEX Sports Centre on Wednesday night followed by 4-2 and 4-3 wins against the Odessa Jackalopes from the Kay Yeager Coliseum on Friday and Saturday. 15 different players cashed in with points over the weekend led by forward Ryan Burnett (1+5=6), who was one of three players to grab points in all three games including defenseman Seamus Donahue (1+3=4) and forward Nick Rosa (1+3=4). Forward C.J. Walker (2+2=4) also tapped in with a four-point week. Goaltender Jared Dempsey played all three games over the week, earning a perfect 3-0-0 record with a 3.00 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage as well as an assist on Friday.

South Division Outlook:
The rest of the South Division has begun to catch up to the Lone Star Brahmas, who have now lost three of their last four games thanks to a loss to the Wichita Falls Wildcats prior to Thanksgiving and a split home-and-home weekend against the Shreveport Mudbugs. The Wildcats closed their week with a clean sweep of the Odessa Jackalopes, though they picked up a point in an overtime loss on Saturday. The Amarillo Bulls ended their 12-game losing skid on Saturday against the Corpus Christi IceRays, who split their home weekend against Amarillo. The Topeka RoadRunners played the Springfield Jr. Blues in two non-divisional games and lost both contests.

TEAM GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT L10
LONE STAR BRAHMAS 26 19 6 1 0 39 .750 6-4-0-0
WICHITA FALLS WILDCATS 22 14 6 2 0 30 .682 9-1-0-0
SHREVEPORT MUDBUGS 21 13 7 0 1 27 .643 6-4-0-0
CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS 23 10 10 1 2 23 .500 5-5-0-0
AMARILLO BULLS 24 7 11 6 0 20 .417 1-5-4-0
TOPEKA ROADRUNNERS 24 8 13 2 1 19 .396 2-5-2-1
ODESSA JACKALOPES 21 8 11 2 0 18 .429 1-7-2-0

 


ICERAYS BITS…

The IceRays closed out November making no changes to their total point percentage but stayed at .500 with a 4-4-0-0 record through eight games. During the month, the IceRays only played the Lone Star Brahmas and Amarillo Bulls and came up with opposite results. The IceRays went 1-3-0-0 against the Brahmas while being outscored 9-6 and obtaining their lone win on November 19 at home. On the other hand, the IceRays went 3-1-0-0 against the Bulls and outscored them 12-7 while only losing on Saturday night. The IceRays now have four wins in each of their last two months of play with 17 of 23 points.

Heading into December, the IceRays will be tested by the top three teams in the South Division starting with the Wichita Falls Wildcats at home followed by back-to-back road weekends against the Lone Star Brahmas and Shreveport Mudbugs with one more mid-week set after the holidays at home against Shreveport. The IceRays have a combined 2-5-0-0 record against the Wildcats and Brahmas but have yet to play the Mudbugs this season.
IN THE COMMUNITY

The IceRays will be helping out H-E-B and KIII-TV on Friday, Dec. 2 as part of the Share Your Christmas Food Drive at the Alameda and Roberts H-E-B location. Various players, staff members and Stinger Ray will be making appearances throughout the day between 9:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. helping to solicit donations for the Food Bank of Corpus Christi. Last year, the event raised $39,000 and runs through December 4.

#REDRISING –