FRISCO, TX – The Corpus Christi IceRays got out to a 1-0 lead just 4:03 into the game however the Texas Tornado put up six straight goals en route to a 6-1 victory on Friday night inside the Dr Pepper Arena.
The scoring started just 4:03 into the game as Mike Economos pushed the puck out of the defensive zone right to Brandon Smith who picked up the puck at center ice and fed Ryan McNeely with a pass just inside the blue line. McNeely wristed his 2nd goal since joining the IceRays over the shoulder of goaltender Aaron Davis for a 1-0 lead.
The Tornado came back on the power-play while Brandon Smith sat in the box for tripping to pull the game even 1-1. Nick Neville fed Michael Hoy with a pass at the point and Hoy’s shot beat Hayden Stewart through a screen at 5:25 with assists from Nick Neville and Jackson Leef.
In the second period Max Shuart picked up his third goal of the series after a missed breakaway opportunity by Eric Purcell. Shuart took a pass from Justin Greenberg and the puck hop off his stick in the slot, however, regained possession and ripped a shot by Hayden Stewart for his 7th goal in nine games for Texas who then led 2-1 after 40min.
The third period was all Texas and started just 46 seconds off the stick of Jackson Leef on a rebound to put the Tornado ahead 3-1 quickly in the final frame.
Jason Eddy made it 4-1 when Anthony Mousseau took a shot from the point that went off Eddy and trickled behind Hayden Stewart at 5:38 for a three goal advantage.
The Tornado continued the scoring spree in the final period when the puck popped out of a scrum in front of Hayden Stewart that landed onto the stick of Mitchell McPherson at 9:13 of the third with assists to CJ Reuschlein and Jason Eddy and Texas led 5-1.
Andrew Mayer picked up the sixth unanswered goal for the Tornado at 9:44 of the third period banking the puck off an IceRays defender and into the net that ended Hayden Stewart’s night and Ben Myers replaced him.
Stewart stopped 23 of 29 shots and Myers denied all seven shots he faced after coming into the game.
The IceRays are on the road Tuesday and Wednesday in Odessa. Puck drops at 7:05PM, coverage begins at 6:50PM with the IceRays Pregame Show on 91.1FM KSGR, ustream.com, ksgr.org, and fasthockey.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), and the team’s Youtube channel ICERAYS TV (@goicerays)
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