CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – The Corpus Christi IceRays (22-7-2) backed by a dominant 3rd period take down the Amarillo Wranglers (13-17-3) in game one of a two game series by a final score of 5-2 at the American Bank Center on Friday night. The IceRays scored three goals in the final 20 minutes including the game winning goal from Forward Carter Krenke. IceRays Goalie Vladislav Bryzgalov had another superb start in between the pipes making 28 saves on 30 shots en route to his seventh win this season.
The 1st period was a sluggish start for both the IceRays and Wranglers, but Amarillo saw the better of play and chances in the opening frame. The Wranglers finished the period with 11 shots and the final one proved to be costly for the IceRays. In a stretch of play where the IceRays and Wranglers were trading chances, Forward Trace Day whipped a pass across the sheet to oncoming Morley Phillips who went bar down to give the Wranglers a 1-0 lead with under a minute to play in the first. That score would hold heading into the dressing room.
The IceRays found a better rhythm in the middle frame in search of an equalizer. Defenseman Max Ranstrom stepped down the wall jump on a loose puck and fired a shot from the bottom of the left circle and some how threaded the shot between the blocker and pad of Goalie Charlie Zolin to pull the IceRays back to level. With some life in their play three minutes later Matthew Green set up Billy Biedermann in the slot for a one timer that was angled past Zolin to give Corpus Christi their first lead of the night at 2-1. The lead would not lost too long however as Day for the Wranglers fired a shot through a screen beating Bryzgalov tying the game at two sending the contest to the 3rd period.
From the jump Corpus Christi looked like a much different team than the first two periods and spent most of their time in the offensive zone. It was just a matter of time before the IceRays pulled through and over eight minutes in Krenke threw a shot past Zolin to give Corpus Christi a 3-2 lead. Moments later, Cooper Conway made a dazzling move into the zone and as he was stumbling beat the Wranglers net-minder with a wrist shot doubling the IceRays lead. Corpus Christi would tack on one more late off the stick of Andrew Hayek for his first career goal in the NAHL and helping lift the IceRays to a 5-2 win.
