ICERAYS WEEKLY – OCTOBER 31, 2016

Oct 31, 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…

Thursday, October 27: Shreveport Mudbugs 0, IceRays 3
Shots: Mudbugs 20, IceRays 35
PP: Mudbugs 0-for-3, IceRays 0-for-0

The Corpus Christi IceRays (5-5-1-2) started the three-game weekend set with a 3-0 shutout win over the Shreveport Mudbugs (8-4-0-1) on Thursday morning at the American Bank Center.

IceRays forward Josh Tripp (10:26 1st) started the scoring with a one-time goal from David Thomson to take a 1-0 lead. A takeaway and wraparound by IceRays defenseman Cody Fleckenstein (14:32 1st) doubled the lead, 2-0, for the first of two insurance goals. IceRays forward Brad Power (EN, SH, 18:37 3rd) provided the final insurance goal with the netminder pulled to take the 3-0 win.

IceRays netminder Camden Burggrabe (1-0-1) earned the shutout with 20 saves, while Mudbugs goaltender John Roberts (4-2-0) halted 32 of 34 shots in the loss.

Friday, October 28: Shreveport Mudbugs 5, IceRays 4
Shots: Mudbugs 30, IceRays 26
PP: Mudbugs 3-for-6, IceRays 3-for-6

The Corpus Christi IceRays (5-6-1-2) comeback bid was squandered in a 5-4 loss to the Shreveport Mudbugs (9-4-0-1) on Friday night at the American Bank Center.

IceRays forwards Josh Tripp (PP, 13:35 1st) and Brendan Miller (PP, 2:33 2nd) began what would become a special teams game with the opening two goals to jump ahead to a 2-0 lead. The Mudbugs answered back with four-unanswered goals in the second period starting with forwards Frankie Melton (PP, 8:40 2nd) and Erik Zohovs (PP, 13:08 2nd) on the man-advantage to tie the game, 2-2. Melton (15:32 2nd) scored the game’s first even strength goal to nudge ahead, 3-2, followed by defenseman Kristaps Jakobsons (PP, 17:02 2nd) following suit to double the lead heading into intermission. IceRays captain Mason Krueger (6:41 3rd; PP, 16:22 3rd) brought the home side back even, 4-4, with two-straight goals, but Melton (19:23 3rd) re-directed a shot in the final minute to complete the hat-trick and the 5-4 Mudbugs win.

Mudbugs goaltender Dyllan Lubbesmeyer (4-2-0) saved 22 of 26 shots in the win, while IceRays netminder Tomáš Vomáčka (4-6-1) halted 25 of 30 shots in the loss.

Saturday, October 29: Shreveport Mudbugs 2, IceRays 3
Shots: Mudbugs 21, IceRays 34
PP: Mudbugs 1-for-4, IceRays 0-for-2

The Corpus Christi IceRays (6-6-1-2) scored three goals in the third period to take down the Shreveport Mudbugs (9-5-0-1) 3-2 on Saturday night at the American Bank Center.

Mudbugs forwards Georgui Feduolov (PP, 16:26 1st) opened the scoring and gave the road side the first goal of the game in the season series early on. The IceRays came back in the second period to take the reigns starting with forward Mason Krueger (5:21 2nd) to tie the game and forward David Thomson (7:49 2nd) to take the 2-1 lead on a rebound play. The Mudbugs tied the game, 2-2, after a shot from forward Erik Zohovs (10:51 2nd) before IceRays forward David Baskerville (13:01 2nd) scored this first NAHL goal that proved to be the game-winner in a 3-2 victory.

IceRays netminder Camden Burggrabe (2-0-1) earned the victory, halting 19 of 21 shots faced, while Mudbugs goalie John Roberts (4-3-0) stopped 31 of 34 shots in the loss.

 

 

THIS WEEK…

Friday, November 4 @ Amarillo Bulls – 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, November 5 @ Amarillo Bulls – 7:05 p.m.

The Corpus Christi IceRays begin the month of November on the road with a two-game weekend set against the Amarillo Bulls from the Amarillo Civic Center. The IceRays and Bulls open their season series and one of two weekends against each other in November. Last season, the two teams split the season series with six wins each and 6-5-1 records overall with the Bulls grabbing four of six on home ice. The Bulls have owned the franchise series dating back to 2010-11, keeping the IceRays to a 21-40-3 record all-time and a 9-19-2 record at the Amarillo Civic Center.

The Amarillo Bulls grabbed two points on home ice last weekend in heartbreaking fashion, falling 5-4 in overtime on Friday and Saturday night to the Wichita Falls Wildcats at the Amarillo Civic Center. Veteran forward George Mika helped push the Bulls to two points with four goals on the weekend along with forward Kosta Likourezos, who grabbed five assists in two games. Two more players earned multi-point weekends: forwards Hayden Broomhead (2+1=3) and Charlie Singerhouse (1+1=2). Goaltender Kyle Madore played both games this weekend, halting 72 of 81 shots.

South Division Outlook:
The Lone Star Brahmas continue to roll, now standing at an eight-game win streak thanks to their road sweep of the Odessa Jackalopes with 4-1, 4-1 and 4-0 wins in a three-game weekend set and spreading their gap in the division to eight points. Though the Shreveport Mudbugs scooted ahead to second place, the Corpus Christi IceRays earned four of six points in a three-game weekend to vault within one point of third place. The Wichita Falls Wildcats grabbed a full four points with two overtime wins against the Amarillo Bulls and are now even in third place. The Topeka RoadRunners fell to the bottom on their idle weekend.

TEAM GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT L10
LONE STAR BRAHMAS 16 13 2 1 0 27 .844 9-1-0-0
SHREVEPORT MUDBUGS 15 9 5 0 1 19 .633 6-3-0-1
WICHITA FALLS WILDCATS 14 7 5 2 0 16 .571 5-5-0-0
AMARILLO BULLS 16 6 6 4 0 16 .500 2-4-4-0
CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS 15 6 6 1 2 14 .500 4-4-1-1
ODESSA JACKALOPES 16 7 9 0 0 14 .438 4-6-0-0
TOPEKA ROADRUNNERS 17 6 10 0 1 13 .382 3-6-0-1


ICERAYS BITS…

Saturday’s game marked the quarter-pole of the 2016-17 season, and the IceRays are tightly nestled in the South Division just outside of a playoff position at 15 points. This year marks just the third time in seven seasons the IceRays have earned more than five wins, joining the 2011-12 (9 wins) and 2014-15 (6 wins) rosters in that designation. They’re also above their average point total for the franchise through 15 games, which now sits at 14.29 points. The IceRays have one off-weekend at Christmas in the second quarter and hit the midway mark of the year on December 28.

The IceRays closed October on a positive note, winning their second three-game series of the month and four of six points. In eight games, the IceRays finished with a 4-3-1-0 record with eight points while staying just outside playoff positioning. The team won two of the three weekend sets including getting two wins in each of their two three-game weekends. After two off-weekends in October, the IceRays head into November without a break, playing all four weekends against the cattle teams: Amarillo Bulls and Lone Star Brahmas.

Four different IceRays come out of the three-game weekend with point streaks heading into November, all leading point scorers. Captain Mason Krueger recorded three goals and four points to earn his first three-game streak of the year, forward Josh Tripp‘s two-goal, four-point weekend gives him his second point streak following a five-game streak crossing into October, and center David Thomson has his first streak with three points in three games. Forward Brad Power currently owns a five-game point streak, picking up six points in that span and sharing the team lead for the season. All four players are atop the team in points: Krueger (14), Power (13), Thomson (12) and Tripp (11).

#REDRISING –