PREVIEW: ICERAYS @ JACKALOPES (GAME #50)

Mar 5, 2016

CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS

@

ODESSA JACKALOPES

Saturday, March 5 at 7:05 P.M.

Game #50 • NAHL Game #544 • Series: COR leads 5-2-2
Ector County Coliseum • Odessa, TX
Radio: SportsRadio Corpus Christi (KSIX 1230AM) • Video: FASTHockey.com

Mobile: TuneIn Radio Twitter: @goicerays

Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. with Countdown To Faceoff

Tonight’s Game: The IceRays close out their four-game stretch and two-game weekend set against the Odessa Jackalopes from the Ector County Coliseum.

Head-To-Head: The IceRays have claimed three-straight games at the Ector County Coliseum and edged ahead of the Jackalopes in the season series at 5-2-2. The IceRays also bump ahead of the franchise series in the Permian Basin, moving to 15-11-3 while holding a commanding lead overall since 2011-12: 34-15-4 record

Last Game: The IceRays overpowered the Jackalopes with a 6-2 win on Friday night at the Ector County Coliseum. IceRays forward Stevie Bryant (1:49 1st) opened the contest with an early goal to give the road side a 1-0 lead. Jackalopes forward Derek Brown (PP, 7:58 1st) tied the game before the IceRays pushed ahead. IceRays forward Andy McGlynn (9:26 1st) grabbed the lead back at 2-1 followed by an awkward angle goal by forward Carter Johnson (10:31 1st) and the second by Bryant (12:17 1st) to push ahead to a 4-1 lead through one period. IceRays forward Brad Power (11:23 2nd) quadrupled the lead, 5-1, as the only tally in the middle frame followed by the final marker by the IceRays coming from forward Brendan Miller (3:48 3rd). Jackalopes forward Matthew Rypien (7:21 3rd) got on the board to end the IceRays run, however the scoreline remained at 6-2 through the close of the contest. IceRays goaltender Dryden McKay saved 24 of 26 shots in the win. Jackalopes netminder Jon Flakne stopped 10 of 14 shots in 12:19 minutes while picking up the loss, and goalie Dean Shatzer turned aside 18 of 20 shots in 47:21 minutes of relief.

Pump Up The Jams: The six-goal effort by the IceRays is tied for the strongest offensive output during the 2015-16 season. Overall, the IceRays have scored five goals or more five times through their 49-game schedule and for the first time in 15 games (Jan. 15 @ LSB, 5-2 W). The four-goal differential is also tied for the largest margin of victory since their 6-2 win over Amarillo on December 19 to kick off their five-game win streak crossing into the New Year.

Finding Nirvana: IceRays forward Andy McGlynn broke through a long goal drought and a stretch without many points. Last night’s goal was his first in 25 games dating back to December 3 against the Jackalopes in a two-goal night at the Ector County Coliseum. Following that, he had recorded just four points over his previous 20 games following a three-game point streak from Dec. 18 through Dec. 29. He now has five multi-point games.

Line ‘Em Up: The three-man forward line of Stevie Bryant, Toby Kircher and Andy McGlynn made a strong, positive impact on last night’s victory. The line contributed directly to three of the team’s six goals with Bryant earning a three-point night (2+1=3) and his first of that nature in his NAHL career and McGlynn grabbing another multi-point game. All three were a minimum plus-3 rating with Kircher going plus-4 by the end of the evening. Bryant now hit double-digit points with four goals and six assists, Kircher’s assist marks him one shy of double-digit helpers, and McGlynn stands in fifth in points (23).

Keep ‘Em Coming: The IceRays power play unit continues to consistently produce goals when having the man-advantage, and with last night’s power play goal the team extends their current streak to eight-straight games with at least one goal in that situation. The IceRays have scored 10 goals on 42 chances (23.81%) in that span while raising from 20th in the NAHL to as high as 14th in total percentage for the season. The IceRays are over 15.00% for just the fifth game this season, and before tonight’s fourth-straight game above this mark, the only other game they entered around this point was on Sep. 25 against Springfield, which was the fifth game of the season.

Home Cooking: Last night’s loss was the first at the Ector County Coliseum by the Jackalopes in over a month. The team spent much of February on a six-game road trip but were perfect in their last four games dating back to January 30 against the Lone Star Brahmas with the other three wins against the top-seeded Wichita Falls Wildcats. Throughout their season, home cooking has been a strong point for the Jackalopes, owning a 12-9-3 record with their only true slip coming through November and December during their dip in overall performance, going 3-5-2 in ten games during that two-month span. Since then, the Jackalopes are 5-3-0 in the second half of the season.

South Division Standings:
x-Wichita Falls Wildcats (37-9-4, 78 PTS)
x-Lone Star Brahmas (31-11-7, 71 PTS)
Topeka RoadRunners (28-20-1, 57 PTS)
Odessa Jackalopes (21-22-4, 46 PTS)
Corpus Christi IceRays (20-23-6, 46 PTS)
Amarillo Bulls (11-34-4, 26 PTS)

Next Game: The IceRays return to the American Bank Center on Friday, March 11 to begin a two-game weekend set against the Wichita Falls Wildcats at 7:11 p.m. Tickets are available at www.Ticketmaster.com, the American Bank Center Box Office, and the IceRays Front Office. Coverage begins at 6:55 p.m. on SportsJuice.com, FASTHockey.com, and 87.7FM in-arena.