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December 16, 2002 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Corpus Christi IceRays News Release


The Doug Frank era got off to a rocky start as the IceRays dropped a pair of games this past weekend, losing 5-4 in overtime at home to the Lubbock Cotton Kings and 7-0 at San Angelo.

In the first game since Frank assumed ownership of the team, the IceRays treated a crowd of 3347 at Memorial Coliseum to thrilling hockey for 65 minutes before Jan Melichercik's overtime goal lifted the Cotton Kings to a 5-4 win. Lubbock jumped on the board just :13 seconds into the game when Anthony Donskov put home James Sheehan's rebound by goalie Brent Belecki (Calgary, ALB) for a 1-0 lead. Donskov would strike again, this time taking a feed from Derek Holland on a 2-on-1 and slipping it by Belecki at 3:44 of the 1st period to give Lubbock a 2-0 advantage. The IceRays finally woke up late in the 1st when Lloyd Marks' (Dawson Creek, BC) pass from the corner deflected off Jure Penko's stick and trickled into the net at 18:42 to cut the deficit in half at 2-1 at the end of 20 minutes. In the 2nd period, the IceRays would get the equalizer on the power play as Layne Roland (Vernon, BC) deflected Brett Colborne's (Clearwater, BC) shot from the point through the pads of Penko at 3:32 to tie the score at 2-2. However, Lubbock wasted little time reclaiming the lead as Jeff Dewar on the power play found Julius Halfkenny wide open in front of the net and Halfkenny drove it by the sprawling Belecki at 5:45 to give the Cotton Kings a 3-2 lead. The resilient IceRays would come back and tie the score again just 4:04 seconds later. Again on the power play, John Sicinski (Mississauga, ONT) threaded his way through 3 Cotton Kings defensemen along the endboards and found Roland alone at the top of the crease for an easy one-timer to tie the score at 3-3. As if on cue, Lubbock took their turn in the scoring department when Melichercik took the puck away from Matt Munro (London, ONT) at the point as the IceRays power play was expiring and broke in alone on Belecki and slipped a backhand shot by him at 11:50 to regain the lead again at 4-3. The IceRays would not quit though as Sicinski came in on wraparound from behind the net, and would make good on his second effort at 16:39 to once again tie the score at 4-4 and cap off a wild period of hockey. After a scoreless 3rd period, the teams headed for overtime. The extra frame was playing out towards what would have been the IceRays first shootout of the season until Belecki failed to pounce on a loose puck to his right, and the puck found its way onto the tape of Melichercik who had a wide open net to shoot at with Belecki still down. Melichercik put it home at 4:08 of the overtime to give Lubbock a 5-4 decision.

The IceRays were out-shot 39-31 for the game and were 1-4 on the power play. Despite the loss, the IceRays still came away with a point and were looking to double it on Saturday in San Angelo against a Saints team they had beaten in 3 out of 4 meetings this season. The Saints would have none of it though as they quickly pounced on the IceRays and backup goalie Eddy Skazyk (Lockport, MB) for 3 goals in the 1st period to open up a 3-0 lead at the end of 20 minutes. It would get no better for the Rays as they failed to convert on a power play at the start of the 2nd period, and Troy Mann would find the back of the net at 6:39 to give San Angelo a commanding 4-0 lead heading into the final period. In the 3rd, the IceRays would completely unravel surrendering 3 more goals, two coming :36 seconds between each other. The IceRays also failed to score a goal for the first time this season, as they fell 7-0 at the hands of the Saints. For the game the Rays were held to a season-low 17 shots on goal and were 0-3 on the power play. Scott Reid stopped all 17 IceRay shots for his first professional shutout.

GOOSE EGGS: Saturday's shutout defeat at the hands of the Saints was the first time this season the IceRays have been shutout and the first time since 2/24/02 of last season when the Rays lost 3-0 at Fort Worth. The 7-goal differential was also the highest margin of defeat this season, and the highest since 2/16/02 when the IceRays lost 10-2 at Memphis. Coincidentally, Eddy Skazyk took the loss in net that night too.

HEARTBREAK HOTEL: Six out of the last eight IceRays losses have been by one goal, including Friday's 5-4 overtime loss to Lubbock. The IceRays are 4-7 this season in one-goal games.

JOHNNY ON THE SPOT: IceRays forward John Sicinski is on a tear. Over the last five games, Sicinski leads the team in scoring with 2 goals and 5 assists. Sicinski had a goal and 2 assists Friday night against Lubbock. For the season, Sicinski has a team-leading 12 goals and 11 assists. His 23 points is tied for 2nd on the team in scoring.

WELCOME BACK RYAN: IceRays forward Ryan Prentice made his season debut on Friday vs. Lubbock. Prentice missed the team's first 21 games after suffering a broken jaw during training camp. He came back in style though assisting on Lloyd Marks' goal in the 1st period. Last season Prentice had 6 goals and 18 assists and was 5th on the team with 151 penalty minutes.

LAYNE'S ON HIS GAME: IceRays forward Layne Roland continues to be the most consistent IceRay this season. Roland scored 2 goals and added an assist on Friday vs. Lubbock giving him 12 goals and 16 assists for the season for a team-leading 28 points. Roland has a seven and eight game scoring streak to his credit this season and has scored in 18 out of the team's 23 games.

MEDIA LUNCHEON SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW: The IceRays will hold a media luncheon tomorrow at 12:30PM at the Executive Surf Club in Downtown Corpus Christi. At that time the IceRays are expected to name a new general manager. Head coach Al Sims has served as the team's acting GM since Taylor Hall was relieved of his duties last Tuesday.

MARTINIS ON "ICERAYS MONDAY": "IceRays Monday" continues tonight from 5PM-6PM at The Martini Bar, located at the corners of Everhart and Saratoga in Corpus Christi. The Voice of the IceRays Dan Weiss hosts the show every Monday on ESPN Radio 1230AM KSIX, and is joined by Head Coach Al Sims and several IceRays players. Tonight forwards Ryan Prentice and Lloyd Marks will be Dan's guests at 5:30PM following Coach Sims.

UP NEXT: It will be a championship weekend this Friday and Saturday as the IceRays welcome the defending President Cup champions Memphis Riverkings and President Cup finalists Austin Ice Bats to Memorial Coliseum. Game time for both nights is 7:05PM. All games can be heard on 104.5FM The Octopus with Dan Weiss and Rick Dames, or on the Internet at www.icerays.com and www.sportsjuice.com. Broadcast time begins at 6:30PM each night with the "American Tire and Wheel Pre-game Show."



Central Hockey League Stories from December 16, 2002


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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