RAYS’ REPORT #16: ANOTHER SPLIT, ROAD TRIP ENDS IN TOPEKA

Jan 28, 2013

The Corpus Christi IceRays went into Odessa for the second time this year and came out with two points after rebounding for a 6-2 win on Saturday after a comeback fell short Friday night 4-3.  Beau Walker recorded five points on the weekend as the Rays’ pulled out to a seven point lead over Wichita Falls.  This weekend Corpus Christi heads to Topeka to finish out the eight game road trip.  It’s the first time the IceRays have seen the Roadrunners since the home opening weekend. 

GAME #41 – 1-25-13: Corpus Christi 3-4 OdessaLawrence Cornellier scored two goals and assisted two more, while goaltender Nick Deery stopped 35 of 38 shots as the Odessa Jackalopes won their second game at home ice defeating the Corpus Christi IceRays 4-3.  The scoring started just 34 seconds into the game after a Lawrence Cornellier shot, Taylor Portner fired the rebound and beat Hayden Stewart for a 1-0 Jacks’ lead.  Anthony Olguin scooped up a loose puck in the slot and wristed it by Stewart to give Odessa a 2-0 advantage at 8:15 of the second period.  Corpus Christi split the lead in half courtesy of Brandon Smith who took a wrister that hit the stick of goaltender Nick Deery and went into the net assisted by Luke McDiarmid and Brandon Berkley at 12:31 of the middle frame.  Lawrence Cornellier and Beau Walker combined for all the scoring in the final period.  Cornellier gave the Jackalopes a 3-1 lead 7:06 into the third and then at 9:55 added another while on the power-play to put Odessa ahead 4-1.  Walker then took over for Corpus Christi starting at 10:29 of the third.  Eric Purcell took a shot that came right out to Walker who found a hole in Nick Deery pulling the Rays’ two goals away from tying the contest.  The IceRays came within one goal when Emil Romig forced a turnover and fed Beau Walker for a tap in goal with 4:22 left in the game to make it interesting.  A late rush was held off by the Jackalopes who notched their 6th win of the season.  Hayden Stewart put aside 24 of 28 in the loss.

GAME #42 – 1-26-13: Corpus Christi 6-2 Odessa Luke McDiarmid scored his first NAHL goal and Beau Walker picked up three points as the IceRays took down Odessa 6-2 inside the Ector County Coliseum on Saturday night.  Rudy Sulmonte scored 3:43 into the game on a great pass from Mike Economos while on the man advantage to put the Rays’ up 1-0.  Just ten seconds later, Luke McDiarmid scored his first goal in the NAHL to put Corpus Christi ahead 2-0 with an assist from Brandon Berkley.  With a power-play goal and an even strength goal, Emil Romig beat Nick Deery on a two-on-one short-handed rush at 8:50 of the first period unassisted moving the IceRays up 3-0.  In the second frame, Wayland Williams took a pass from Eric Purcell and rifled a shot over the left shoulder of newly inserted goaltender Erick Majerle just 3:46 in giving Corpus Christi a 4-0 lead.  Odessa started a comeback courtesy of Taylor Portner who fired a shot behind Ben Myers at 15:11 to pull the Jackalopes within three goals.  Just 49 seconds later, Matt Volonnino wristed a shot from the left wing circle and beat Myers on the short-side with assists to Matthieu Audet and Corey Hoffman to split the lead in half 4-2.  In the final period, Rudy Sulmonte walked around the defender and hit a wide open Beau Walker for a tap-in goal, his 5th of the year moving the lead out 5-2.  Brandon Smith tacked on an empty net goal with three seconds left in the game assisted by Walker as Corpus Christi won 6-2.  Ben Myers stopped 19 of 21 shots in the win, his 8th.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

Wednesday, February 6th @ 7:05PM vs. Odessa Jackalopes
Dollar Night – $1 Hotdogs & $1 Soda!

Friday, February 7th @ 7:05PM vs. Odessa Jackalopes
Frosty Friday – Half off 20oz beer & 24oz Soda!
Pink The Rink Night – Presented by Radiology & Imaging, CC Disposal, Western Steel, and Cash Flow Experts
           – First 1,000 fans get FREE pink jersey courtesy of Radiology & Imaging!
           – Exhibition Game: Ex-IceRays vs.  CC Firefighters
           – Jersey Auction following the game!

AROUND THE SOUTH DIVISION

TEAM

GP

W

L

OTL

PTS

PCT

GF

GA

PIM

HOME

AWAY

Texas

43

32

10

1

65

.756

170

107

798

15-6-1

17-4-0

Amarillo

40

29

5

6

64

.800

164

85

801

16-1-3

13-4-3

Topeka

41

25

11

5

55

.671

124

96

989

13-7-3

12-4-2

Corpus Christi

42

17

19

6

40

.476

129

146

985

7-12-1

10-7-5

Wichita Falls

40

15

22

3

33

.413

117

142

635

9-9-2

6-13-1

Odessa

40

6

32

2

14

.175

81

195

815

2-15-1

4-17-1

CORPUS CHRISTI’S RECORD AGAINST OPPONENTS:

AMARILLO: 3-3-0
TEXAS: 1-7-0

TOPEKA: 0-2-0
WICHITA FALLS: 1-2-3
ODESSA: 5-1-0
FAIRBANKS: 1-1-2
KENAI RIVER: 4-0-0

ICERAYS LEADERS:

GOALS: Rudy Sulmonte – 19
ASSISTS: Emil Romig – 27
POINTS: Rudy Sulmonte – 42
PLUS/MINUS: Grant Hutton – +6
PENALTY MINUTES: Mike Economos – 111min
SHOTS: Rudy Sulmonte – 142
WINS: Ben Myers – 8
GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE: Ben Myers – 2.99
SAVE PERCENTAGE: Ben Myers – .912

NINE IN FIVE…Beau Walker is currently on a five game point scoring streak.  In that time, he has scored four goals and five assists, including five points this past weekend in Odessa. 

CLIMATE CHANGE…The IceRays have acquired Ryan McNeely from the Fairbanks IceDogs as the trade deadline approaches. 

PLAYOFF RACE…Corpus Christi is now 7pts in front of Wichita Falls after this past weekends’ split with Odessa, and remains in 4th place with 40pts with just 18 games to go.

INJURY BUG…Corpus Christi continues to battle with injuries.  This past weekend, Perry D’Arrisso, Caleb O’Brien, Trevor Heuser, and Charles Baldwin didn’t make the trip due to injuries.

COMMITMENTS

2013-2014
Beau Walker – (D3) University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Dmitry Ermakov – (D3) Norwich University

2014-2015
Matthew Weis – (D1) Ohio State University

ALUMNI REPORT

NCAA D-I…
           – Michael Benedict (Niagara University) – (6G, 3A) – 23GP
           – Frank Misuraca (U. of Alabama-Huntsville) – (2g, 4a) – 16GP
           – Pheonix Copley (Michigan Tech) – (4-8-1, 2.86GAA, .909%) – 13GP
           – Mychal Monteith (Mercyhurst) – (0g, 2a) – 18GP
           – Colton Saucerman (Northeastern) – (1g, 5a) – 19GP

NCAA D-III…
           – Greg Chapman (St. Mary’s U.) – (0g, 1a) – 16GP
           – Luc Neitenbach (Worcester State) – (0g, 0a) – 10GP
            – Kevin Crowe (Wentworth College) – (9g, 5a) – 19GP
            – Derrek Schartz (Tufts University) – (2g, 1a) – 14GP
           – Josh Obregon (Johnson & Wales U.) – (5g, 9a) – 19GP
           – Anton Olsson (Lawrence College) – (0-1, 6.00GAA, .838%)
           – Navarone Copley (St. Mary’s U.) – (0g, 0a) – 9GP
           – Jonathan Sdao (Colby College) – (3g, 4a) – 16GP

USHL…
           Matthew Weis (Green Bay Gamblers) – (8g, 14a) – 32GP
            Danny Fetzer (Chicago Steel) – (2g, 5a) – 30GP
           – Travis Maxwell (Lincoln) – (1g, 4a) – 22GP
           Roman Uchyn (Des Moines) – (4g, 2a) – 15GP

OHL…
           Anthony Stolarz (London) – (3-0-0, 2.30GAA, .919%) – 5GP

QMJHL…
           Phil Pietroniro (Shawinigan) – (4g, 4a) – 25GP

WHAT’S ON TAP…  The IceRays are in Topeka this weekend as they take on the Roadrunners at 7:05PM on Friday and Saturday night.  Pregame show starts 15 minutes prior to ALL IceRays away games on 91.1FM KSGR, ksgr.org, ustream.com, or on the league’s pay-per-view website, www.fasthockey.com.  Be sure to get your tickets now by calling the IceRays front office at 361.814.PUCK (7825) or crash the net at www.goicerays.com.

FOLLOW US…  Stay current with the latest team news by visiting www.goicerays.com.  In addition stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/corpuschristiicerays), Twitter (@goicerays), and the team’s Youtube channel ICERAYS TV (@goicerays)

“THE NEW ICERAYS…TOMORROW’S STARS”