TORNADO SHUTDOWN CORPUS CHRISTI IN 5-0 VICTORY

Mar 17, 2011

 

FRISCO, TX- Taylor Herndon scored twice and Jimmy Kruger made 22 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Texas Tornado dominated the Corpus Christi IceRays, 5-0, at the Dr Pepper Arena on Friday night.  With the win Texas moves their record to 34-15-8 (76 points) while Corpus Christi remains winless in March and falls to 18-32-4 (40 points) with the loss.  Texas concludes the season series with a 11-0-1 mark against Corpus Christi.  The IceRays went 1-9-2 against Texas this season.

Seth Blair won his first NAHL fight with a knockout victory over Tom Rizzardo.

The teams combined for three power plays in the first period, but Pheonix Copley and Jimmy Kruger both stood tall to keep the game scoreless.  Copley was a perfect 9-for-9 in the opening twenty minutes while Kruger stopped all six shots which came his way.

Texas tallied twice in the second period, 47 seconds apart, to pull away from the IceRays, 2-0.  First, Taylor Herndon (9) scored from the slot when his wrist shot beat Copley, 12:41 into the period.  Then, 47 seconds later, Jimmy Murray (3) beat Copley from in close to put the Tornado ahead, 2-0.  Corpus Christi tried to gain momentum through two fights immediately following the second tally.  First, Cody Milligan squared off with John Kirtland in a fight that never got started before both fell to the ice.  The second fight went Corpus Christi’s way though as Seth Blair knocked out Tom Rizzardo with one punch.  Shots were 15-7 for Texas.

The Tornado went on to score three more times in the third period.  Herndon (10) scored his second of the night at 3:53 after he was left all alone in front of Copley.  Kirtland (3) snuck a shot through from the point through a screen to make it 4-0 at the 15:42 mark.  Jack Prince capped the scoring at 5-0 and extended his point streak to 10 games in the process, 17:49 into the period, when his shot from the high slot beat Copley.  Final shots were 35-22 for Texas.  Neither team scored on the power play as the IceRays went 0-4 while Texas was 0-5.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

  1. Jimmy Kruger (22 saves, SO)
  2. Taylor Herndon (2-1-3)
  3. John Kirtland (1-0-1)

 

The IceRays continue their last road trip of the season on Saturday March 19th when they meet the Amarillo Bulls at 7:00 PM. Fans can catch the pre-game show on the flagship home of the IceRays, News/Talk 1440 KEYS, www.1440KEYS.com, with the voice of the IceRays, Ryan Holt, beginning at 6:45 PM.  The game will be available online through the league’s pay-per-view website, www.fasthockey.com.  For more information call the Rays’ front office at 361.814.PUCK (7825) or crash the net at www.goicerays.com.

 

                    “THE NEW ICERAYS…TOMORROW’S STARS”