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 4: IceRays 3, Amarillo Bulls 0
Shots: IceRays 46, Bulls 41
PP: IceRays 0-for-1, Bulls 0-for-2
The Corpus Christi IceRays (7-6-1-2) recorded three goals and got the help of a 41-save performance to shut out the Amarillo Bulls (6-7-4-0) 3-0 on Friday night at the Amarillo Civic Center.
Both sides stayed even through the first half of the game until three goals in the second period changed the forecast starting with IceRays forward David Thomson (13:02 2nd) to jump ahead 1-0. IceRays forward Mason Krueger (14:15 2nd) doubled the score, 2-0, with a rebound stuff, and IceRays forward David Baskerville (14:42 3rd) re-directed a shot from the left point to move ahead 3-0 while holding the Bulls in the third period.
IceRays netminder Chad Veltri (1-0-0) earned a 41-save shutout in his NAHL debut, while Bulls goaltender Nikita Babintsev (5-5-0) halted 43 of 46 shots in the loss.
Saturday, November 5: IceRays 3, Amarillo Bulls 1
Shots: IceRays 38, Bulls 38
PP: IceRays 0-for-2, Bulls 1-for-4
The Corpus Christi IceRays (8-6-1-2) scored three-unanswered goals en route to a 3-1 win over the Amarillo Bulls (6-8-4-0) on Saturday night at the Amarillo Civic Center.
Bulls forward George Mika (PP, 8:01 1st) cashed in for the game’s opening goal and what would become the lone goal for the Bulls on the weekend to take an early 1-0 lead. The IceRays came back in the second and third periods starting with forward Cole Filler (0:55 2nd) on a one-time shot to tie the game, 1-1. IceRays forward Mason Krueger (14:26 3rd) broke the game open in the final frame to edge ahead, 2-1, before forward Brad Power (EN, 19:49 3rd) sealed the 3-1 victory with a final tally.
IceRays netminder Camden Burggrabe (3-0-1) halted 37 of 38 shots in the victory, while Bulls goaltender Nikita Babintsev (5-6-0) turned aside 35 of 37 shots in the loss.
THIS WEEK…
Friday, November 11 @ Lone Star Brahmas – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 12 @ Lone Star Brahmas – 7:30 p.m.
The Corpus Christi IceRays open their 11-game season series with the Lone Star Brahmas this weekend from the NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills, Texas. The IceRays had trouble keeping up with the Brahmas last season, finishing with a 4-6-2 record through 12 games while only winning on the road on Mar. 19, 2016 in a 2-1 overtime victory, their last meeting against each other. Over the last three seasons, the IceRays own a 12-12-4 record against the Brahmas including going 3-8-3 at the NYTEX Sports Centre.
The Lone Star Brahmas saw their winning streak snapped last weekend against the Topeka RoadRunners, falling 3-2 on Friday night but winning 3-2 in overtime on Saturday night at the NYTEX Sports Centre. Forward Peter Kessel (3 goals) and defenseman Simon Loof (3 assists) led the Brahmas in points with three points between both games as two of five Brahmas players with multi-point weekends though the only ones with a multi-point game (Saturday). Forward Just Addamo (2 goals) also picked up a multi-goal weekend. Goaltender Alec Calvaruso stopped 25 of 28 shots in Friday’s loss, while netminder Erik Gordon halted 17 of 19 shots in Saturday’s win.
South Division Outlook:
The Lone Star Brahmas saw their eight-game win streak come to an end last weekend by the hands of the Topeka RoadRunners, who claimed three of a possible four points on the road to climb the standings. The Corpus Christi IceRays also had a successful road weekend, sweeping the Amarillo Bulls to jump to a share of second place. The Shreveport Mudbugs, Wichita Falls Wildcats and Odessa Jackalopes were all idle.
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT | L10 |
| LONE STAR BRAHMAS | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 29 | .806 | 9-1-0-0 |
| SHREVEPORT MUDBUGS | 15 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 19 | .633 | 6-3-0-1 |
| CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS | 17 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 19 | .559 | 6-3-1-0 |
| WICHITA FALLS WILDCATS | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 16 | .571 | 5-5-0-0 |
| AMARILLO BULLS | 18 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 | .444 | 1-6-3-0 |
| TOPEKA ROADRUNNERS | 19 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 16 | .421 | 3-5-1-1 |
| ODESSA JACKALOPES | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 14 | .438 | 3-6-0-1 |
ICERAYS BITS…
For the first time in junior franchise history, the IceRays earned a road sweep of the Amarillo Bulls at the Amarillo Civic Center last weekend. Heading into the weekend, the IceRays had only won their first game of the two-game weekend twice before: Feb. 13, 2015 (5-3 W) and Feb. 19, 2016 (4-2 W). In the ensuing games, the IceRays fell 5-2 and 5-3, respectively. The IceRays now have 11 wins in seven seasons at the Amarillo Civic Center with five of those coming in the last three years.
After a shaky start to his NAHL career, goaltender Camden Burggrabe has put up three-straight strong performances between the pipes over his last two weekends. The 19-year-old comes into the upcoming weekend with three-straight wins and just three goals allowed in those games, halting 76 of 79 shots (.962) while boasting a 1.00 goals-against average. Burggrabe becomes the sixth goaltender in junior franchise history to earn at least a three-game win streak, joining Pheonix Copley (’10-’11), Anthony Stolarz (’11-’12) (5-game and 4-game), Hayden Stewart (’12-’13), Andrew Lindgren (’14-’15) (4-game and 3-game) and Graham Hunt (’15-’16) (5-game).
IceRays captain Mason Krueger has been on fire since signing his commitment to Army West Point for next season. The 20-year-old has goals in each of his last four games since October 28 and points in five-straight games over his last two weekends, amassing five goals and three assists for eight points. Krueger already owns the franchise record for a goal-scoring streak set at six games between the end of last season and the start of this year (Mar. 26, 2016 – Sep. 15, 2016). He leads the team in points (18) and shares the lead in assists (11) while breaking into the top-20 among NAHL players in scoring for the first time in his career. Krueger also sits 5th in IceRays junior franchise history in goals (28), 7th in points (62), and now tied for 9th in assists (34).
