HIDALGO, TEXAS – The Corpus Christi IceRays (27-17-5) surged back with five unanswered goals to earn a 6-3 win over the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (21-21-8) on Saturday night from State Farm Arena. The IceRays close out the month of February with a 4-4-0 record and claim their first road win against the Killer Bees this season.
Forward Tanner Lomsnes kicked off the night with the opening goal in the first period. At 8:48, forward Ryan Cusin created a turnover that outlet for a shot by Lomsnes from the slot to give the IceRays a 1-0 lead. Controversy came later in the frame as Killer Bees forward came streaking in on IceRays goaltender Andrew Lindgren, and after the initial shot was stopped down, Bennett ran into Lindgren as the puck slid by the netminder. The officials upheld the initial ruling at 15:08, which tied the game at 1-1.
The Killer Bees were able to push back on the power play twice in the second period. Forward Parker Wood came in on the right side of Lindgren as a trailer for a one-time shot at 4:49 to give the Killer Bees a 2-1 lead. Later in the frame at 13:16, defenseman Gavin Cummings blasted a shot from the blue line to double their lead, 3-1. After a timeout called by IceRays head coach John Becanic, the IceRays came out firing. At 17:04, forward Wes Michaud powered ahead on a breakaway for the second-straight night, sliding the puck under netminder Nick Schmit to draw within one, 3-2. Lomsnes followed that effort at 17:39 with a second-chance play to tie the game, 3-3. After the IceRays earned a power play, Lomsnes finished the hat-trick at 18:14 to push the IceRays ahead, 4-3. It’s the third hat-trick of the season by the IceRays and first time in junior franchise history the IceRays have had three different players earn hat-tricks.
The IceRays came out in the third period and tacked on two more goals before the final horn. Defenseman Travis Howe, who played forward tonight, notched his first goal since the opening game at 3:05 to double the lead, 5-3. Michaud found the back of the net one more time at 7:49 with the help of Lomsnes to claim the 6-3 win. Lomsnes earns the first five-point night (three goals, two assists) since Feb. 7, 2014 when forward Jake Durflinger earned the same scoreline at home.
Lindgren (20-10-5) earned the win, stopping 15 of 18 shots, while Schmit (9-12-4) picked up the loss in a 13-for-19 effort. The IceRays head back to close out their season series against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees on Tuesday, March 3 at 7:05 p.m. from the American Bank Center. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on SportsJuice.com, FASTHockey.com, and 87.7FM in-arena.
Call the front office at 361-814-7825 for season and individual ticket details or check out the pricing and seating chart online at www.goicerays.com. Stay current with the latest team news by visiting www.goicerays.com. In addition, stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays), YouTube (IceRays TV), Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays), and Vine (@goicerays).
