Cats Snap IceRays' Five-Game Win Streak
January 8, 2016 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release
The Wildcats had their hands full against a Corpus Christi IceRays team in the midst of a five-game winning streak, but the Cats snapped the Rays' streak with a convincing 6-2 win at the Kay Yeager Coliseum on Friday night.
The tragic loss of Max Reisinger to the Minot Minotauros did not faze the Cats one bit, as they dominated the Rays in the first period. Of the 15 shots fired on-target, the Wildcats had 13 of them. They were challenged by the IceRays' red-hot goaltender Graham Hunt, who had played in every one of the Rays' five straight wins. Hunt stopped all but one shot in the first period, which came off the stick off Adam Goodsir on the power play for his 18th goal of the season.
The second period, on the other hand, was as up-and-down as any period the Wildcats have had. Immediately after killing off a penalty, Drake Lindsay of the Rays scored on a point-blank shot just 1:05 into the second frame. Minutes later, Brendan Miller found the puck on his stick after a fortunate ricochet, and buried it past Justin Kapelmaster to give Corpus Christi its first lead of the game.
Despite outshooting the Rays substantially and trailing on the scoreboard, the Wildcats did not let any sort of frustration mount. Jonny Lazarus scored on a silky power move in which he deked his way around the IceRays' defense and tucked the puck past Hunt to cap off a highlight-reel play. Domantas Cypas scored his first goal as a Wildcat from the top of the circles after being dished a crisp pass from Ben Lown. Goodsir scored his second goal of the night and his team-leading 19th of the season after being set up in the slot by Austin Beaulieu. Just over a minute later, Matt Hines was credited for a goal off an odd-man rush in which Nikita Litviak fired a back-door pass to give the Cats a fourth unanswered goal. Hines' goal would mark the end of the night for Hunt, who was replaced by Dryden McKay.
The Cats never took their foot off the gas pedal after jumping out to a 5-2 lead. They added a third period goal to extend their lead to four after Austin Albrecht batted the puck into the net after a goal-mouth scramble.
Kapelmaster made 17 stops to earn his league-leading 19th win, while Hunt stopped 19 shots in his 9th loss and his first since December 18th.
The Wildcats and IceRays meet again on Saturday, January 9th at the KYC for Military Appreciation Night presented by The Ford House Wichita Falls. All tickets for active and retired military are free with the presentation of a valid military ID. The players' specialty jerseys will also be raffled off after the game; raffle tickets are $2 each and will be available for purchase at the Guest Services Table throughout the game.
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North American Hockey League Stories from January 8, 2016
- Better Late Than Never - Lone Star Brahmas
- Odessa gets outshot 41-14 in heartbreaker, allow 3 power play goals in 3rd - Odessa Jackalopes
- Jr. Blues Fall to Chill - Springfield Jr. Blues
- Cats Snap IceRays' Five-Game Win Streak - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- IceRays Win Streak Ends with 6-2 Loss to Wildcats - Corpus Christi IceRays
- TItans Start off the New Year with Win vs. Rebels - New Jersey Titans
- Fairbanks Tops Tomahawks 4-2 - Johnstown Tomahawks
- Reisinger Traded - Wichita Falls Wildcats
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