ICERAYS WEEKLY – SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

Sep 26, 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…

Wednesday, September 21: IceRays 2, Aberdeen Wings 3 (SO)
Shots: IceRays 37, Wings 35
PP: IceRays 0-for-3, Wings 1-for-3

The Corpus Christi IceRays (1-2-0-1) faltered in the third period and fell 3-2 in a shootout to the Aberdeen Wings (1-1-0-0) on Wednesday afternoon at Schwan Super Rink 1.

IceRays defenseman Matt Acciaioli (10:54 1st) opened the scoring with a shot from the right circle to take a 1-0 lead followed by IceRays forward David Thomson (16:39 1st) lofting a rebound on his own shot from outside the crease to double the lead, 2-0. The Wings started back in the second thanks to forward Shawn Knowlton (12:52 2nd) to cut the lead in half, 2-1. A five-on-three power play with a five-minute major penalty against the IceRays allowed Wings forward Kevin Fitzgerald (PP, 11:22 3rd) to tie the game, 2-2, and force overtime. Fitzgerald scored the lone goal in the shootout during the first round to seal the 3-2 win for the Wings.

Arrtu Kulmala (1-1-0) halted 35 of 37 shots in the win, while Tomáš Vomáčka (1-2-1) stopped 32 of 34 shots in the shootout loss.

Thursday, September 22: Minnesota Magicians 3, IceRays 4 (OT)
Shots: Magicians 38, IceRays 36
PP: Magicians 1-for-2, IceRays 1-for-3

IceRays forward Brad Power’s hat-trick helped the Corpus Christi IceRays (2-2-0-1) to a 4-3 overtime win against the Minnesota Magicians (2-1-1-0) on Thursday morning from Schwan Super Rink 4.

IceRays forward Mason Krueger (1:51 1st) began the scoring early to give the IceRays a 1-0 lead followed by the first goal of the day from Power (PP, 13:24 1st) to double the lead, 2-0. The Magicians found their legs in the second and came within one, 2-1, thanks to a takeaway by Nathan Nelsen (15:07 2nd). Magicians forward Nikita Kozyrov (6:11 3rd) evened the scoring, 3-3, early in the final period before Power (10:54 3rd) tacked on his second from a rebound to gain back the 3-2 lead. Magicians forward Tanner Tweten (PP, 13:39 3rd) cashed in on a man-advantage to send the game into overtime tied 3-3. In the final frame, a Krueger turnover led to Power (1:51 OT) scoring his third of the night to grab the win.

Tomáš Vomáčka (2-2-1) stopped 35 of 38 in the win, while David Fessenden (1-0-1) turned away 32 of 36 in the overtime loss.

 

Friday, September 23: Brookings Blizzard 2, IceRays 1
Shots: Blizzard 32, IceRays 34
PP: Blizzard 1-for-6, IceRays 1-for-5

The Corpus Christi IceRays (2-3-0-1) were held off in the third period, falling 2-1 to the Brookings Blizzard (2-0-0-1) on Friday afternoon at Schwan Super Rink 2.

Blizzard forward Paul Cotter (PP, 13:04 1st) opened the scoring up with a 1-0 lead with a shot from the top of the slot before IceRays forward David Thomson (PP, 17:31 1st) evened the scoring, 1-1, with a jam from inside the crease on a 4-on-3 power play. Brookings took back the lead, 2-1, early in the second period when Zach Mitchell (2:26 2nd) snuck a puck past the waiting netminder. Despite outshooting the Blizzard 13-5 in the third period, the IceRays weren’t able to overcome the deficit.

John Boyko (1-0-1) stopped 33 of 34 shots in the win, while Tomáš Vomáčka (2-3-1) halted 30 of 32 shots in the loss.

 

Saturday, September 24: IceRays 3, New Jersey Titans 4 (SO)
Shots: IceRays 31, Titans 31
PP: IceRays 0-for-5, Titans 1-for-4

The Corpus Christi IceRays (2-3-0-2) closed the 2016 NAHL Showcase with a 4-3 shootout loss to the New Jersey Titans (3-2-1-0) on Saturday morning from Schwan Super Rink 1.

Titans forward Jordan Kaplan (PP, 7:01 1st) opened the scoring on the team’s first power play to take a 1-0 lead into the middle period before the game opened up. IceRays forwards Nathan Bryer (8:38 2nd) and Josh Tripp (8:49 2nd) took the lead, 2-1, with two goals separated by just 11 seconds before the Titans answered with two more from forward Victor Ostling (16:57 2nd; 17:43 2nd) to take back the lead, 3-2. IceRays forward Jayson DiMizio (19:53 2nd) evened the score, 3-3, on a breakaway from his own zone. In the shootout, IceRays forward Brad Power scored first in the second round before Titans forwards Ostling and Nick Boyagian capitalized in the third and fourth rounds to nudge ahead with the win.

Harrison Feeney (3-1-0) halted 28 of 31 shots in the win, while Conor Klaera (0-0-1), making his NAHL debut in a fill-in role, turned away 27 of 30 shots.

 


THIS WEEK…

The Corpus Christi IceRays enjoy their first off-weekend of the season after opening the first two weeks of the season on the road and playing in seven-straight contests away from the American Bank Center. The IceRays finish their 10-game road trip to start the season with three games next weekend beginning on Thursday in Topeka, Kan.

 

South Division Outlook:
The South Division finished the 2016 NAHL Showcase with a 15-9-2-2 record with only one team finishing below a point-per-game average through the four-day event. The Amarillo Bulls and Lone Star Brahmas each finished with the second-best record throughout the entire league, earning a 3-0-1-0 marking and only falling in one overtime game. The Topeka RoadRunners rebounded from a rocky start with a 3-1-0-0 record last week ahead of three other South Division teams with point-per-game records: the Odessa Jackalopes (2-2-0-0), the Shreveport Mudbugs (2-2-0-0) in their first NAHL Showcase, and the Corpus Christi IceRays (1-1-0-2). The Wichita Falls Wildcats, who have played the most games in the NAHL so far, amassed a 1-3-0-0 record.

TEAM GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT L10
LONE STAR BRAHMAS 5 4 0 1 0 9 .900 4-0-1-0
AMARILLO BULLS 7 4 2 1 0 9 .643 4-2-1-0
WICHITA FALLS WILDCATS 8 3 3 2 0 8 .500 3-3-2-0
ODESSA JACKALOPES 5 3 2 0 0 6 .600 3-2-0-0
TOPEKA ROADRUNNERS 7 3 4 0 0 6 .429 3-4-0-0
CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS 7 2 3 0 2 6 .429 2-3-0-2
SHREVEPORT MUDBUGS 4 2 2 0 0 4 .500 2-2-0-0

 


ICERAYS BITS…

The IceRays completed the 2016 NAHL Showcase with a 1-1-0-2 record, earning a point-per-game throughout the week and seeing three of their four games end in at least overtime. For the first time in junior franchise history, the IceRays played at least three of their four NAHL Showcase games in overtime as well as started the season with four of their first seven games ending in an extra period. The IceRays are now 12-11-0-5 in 28 total NAHL Showcase games over the last seven seasons.

 
IN THE COMMUNITY…

The IceRays will be making a stop at Bahama Buck’s on Saratoga Blvd. beginning at 5:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. to help welcome the new building to the Corpus Christi community. The event is open to the public.

The IceRays will also be participating in the 2016 Corpus Christi Heart Walk on Saturday, Oct. 1 beginning at 8:00 a.m. at Whataburger Field. The IceRays and the American Heart Association are teaming up again this season to promote healthy living and heart health throughout the 2016-17 season ahead of Heart Night on Feb. 25, 2017. Join the IceRays on Saturday in this public event.

 

#REDRISING –