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Eyes on the Prize

January 20, 2003 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Corpus Christi IceRays News Release


Rayz Take Three Out of Four To Tie Lubbock For Final Playoff Seed

Corpus Christi- WEEK RECORD: 3-1 SEASON RECORD: 20-18-1 3rd SOUTHEAST

RAYZ REWIND: Despite being battered, bruised, and fatigued, the Rayz overcame all obstacles and took 3 out of 4 games this week to climb into a tie with the Lubbock Cotton Kings for the 4th and final playoff spot in the Southern Conference.

Looming as the toughest week of the season with 4 games in 6 nights, the Rayz began the week with a trip to Amarillo to face off against the Gorillas for the first time this season. In the thin air of the Cal Farley Coliseum, Amarillo jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 8:28 of the 1st period on Scott Wray's deflection by goalie Brent Belecki (Calgary, ALB) and never looked back. While Belecki reverted back to old form after a couple of tough outings against El Paso and Laredo, his counterpart Steve Debus was just a little better that night stopping all 33 Rayz' shots for his 3rd shutout of the season. Ben Gustavson and Brian Pellerin added goals for Amarillo in the 2nd period and the Gorillas went on to win 3-0. Belecki made 28 saves but took his 15th loss of the season. The Rayz continued to struggle on the power play going 0-5.

There was little time for reflection though as the Rayz traveled to Albuquerque the following night for "Frank Bowl I" against the New Mexico Scorpions. Since W.D. Frank had assumed control of the Rayz back on December 10th, the team was only at .500 going 7-7-1 over 15 games. However, this was the most anticipated game of the year as both of Frank's teams would go head-to-head for the only time this season. The game began with a good omen for the Rayz: a power play goal that snapped a 3-game drought on the man advantage. Shaun Fairweather (London, ONT) put home David Bourque's (Gloucester, ONT) rebound by Luciano Caravaggio at 2:17 of the 1st period on the power play to give the Rayz the early 1-0 lead. The Rayz would increase their lead to two goals in the 2nd when Russell Hogue (LaSalle, MB) left the puck in the right-wing circle for Chad Nelson (Cranbrook, BC) and Nelson fired a slap shot that beat Caravaggio in between the pads at 4:07 of the period. Caravaggio would be replaced in favor of Scott Myers, but Brent Belecki was outstanding for the Rayz. Belecki turned aside all 17 Scorpion shots in the1st period that seemed to deflate the spirits of New Mexico. The Scorpions would cut the Rayz lead in half midway through the 2nd when Ben Gorewich drove home Fred Mattersdorfer's rebound by Belecki at 10:15 on the power play making it a 2-1 game. However the Rayz would come right back early in the 3rd when Ken Richardson (Peace Rivar, ALB) deflected John Sicinski's (Mississauga, ONT) pass by Myers at 7:35 on the power play to give the Rayz a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish. Jason Carriere (Winnipeg, MB) capped off the scoring with his first goal of the season, a shorthanded empty-netter at 18:57 to give the Rayz a 4-1 win. Belecki stopped 35 shots for his 16th win of the year and the Rayz power play reverted to old form going 2-4 on the night.

The Rayz forged ahead on Friday, just 28 hours after returning from Albuquerque for a home match-up with the San Angelo Saints. After Saints goalie Scott Reid had surrendered just 2 goals against the Rayz in the last 2 games, Al Sims' bunch was happy to see New York Rangers prospect Bryce Wandler in between the pipes to start the game. The Rayz took advantage of Wandler's mistakes right from the start. Ken Richardson opened the scoring just :36 seconds into the contest when his shot from the right circle popped off Wandler's blocker and trickled behind him into the net for an early 1-0 lead. The Rayz would increase their lead to 2-0 later in the period when Richardson flipped a pass to Cosmo Dupaul (Pointe Claire, PQ) streaking down the right-wing boards, and Dupaul beat Wandler top shelf shorthanded at 15:59. 2:06 seconds later, Mike Tilson (Pickering, ONT) on the power play fired a one-time drive that beat Wandler glove-side at 8:05 to give the Rayz a 3-0 lead heading into the 1st intermission. In the 2nd period, the Rayz struck early again when Richardson deflected Jason Carriere's pass from the left corner by Wandler at 2:33 to make it 4-0. Richardson then capped it off with his 3rd goal of the night taking a drop pass from David Bourque and slipping the puck by Wandler at 15:08 of the 2nd to give the Rayz a 5-0 advantage. San Angelo would break Brent Beleck's shutout in the 3rd period, but Belecki was once again a wall turning aside 35 of 36 shots for his 17th win of the season. The Rayz put 43 shots on Wandler and were 1-5 on the power play.

Saturday night featured the main event of the week as the Rayz and Lubbock Cotton Kings tangled with 4th place in the Southern Conference on the line. After a scoreless 1st period, the Rayz opened the scoring in the 2nd when John Sicinski deflected Mike Tilson's shot from the point by Jure Penko at 4:09 on the power play for a 1-0 lead. The Rayz made it 2-0 when Russell Hogue put home Chad Nelson's rebound in front of the net at 8:25 of the 2nd. Lubbock would quickly strike back :31 seconds after the Hogue goal when Craig Binns collected the loose puck and slipped it by Belecki at 8:56 to cut the lead in half at 2-1. However, once again the Rayz entire defense was outstanding limiting the Cotton Kings to a season-low 19 shots on net and taking the 2-1 victory. Belecki stopped 18 shots for his 18th win of the season. Penko was a tough-luck loser making a career-high 42 saves. The Rayz were 1-3 on the power play and once again shut out their opponents power play as Lubbock was 0-4 with the man advantage.

RAYZ ARE TIED AGAIN: Lubbock's 4-3 shootout win over Amarillo on Sunday put them back in a tie with the Rayz for 4th place in the Southern Conference. Lubbock also has two games in hand over the Rayz and will face New Mexico and El Paso this weekend.

SALUTE THE PK: The Rayz penalty kill has killed off 21 of their opponents last 22 power play opportunities, an efficiency rate of 95.4% and their best stretch since the opening 2 weeks of the season. The penalty kill has steadily improved over the season and is now 14th in the CHL at 78.8%.

MEAN "D":The Rayz overall team defense is also on the way up, surrendering just 3 goals in the last 3 games. The Rayz defense is 9th in the CHL giving up 3.13 goals per game, 0.03 fewer than the league average of 3.16. The 19 shots on net allowed on Saturday set a season-high for fewest shots on goal in a game. Brent Belecki continues to anchor the defense playing his best hockey of the season. Belecki is 10-6 over his last 16 starts (all consecutive), and has allowed 34 goals (2.12GAA) while turning aside 482 of 516 shots in that span, a save percentage of .934%.

CAPTAINS MY CAPTAINS: Captain Ken Richardson and assistant captain Cosmo Dupaul enjoyed their best scoring nights of the season on Friday. Richardson recorded his 3rd hat-trick of the season against San Angelo and added an assist while Dupaul scored his team-leading 4th shorthanded goal and added 4 assists for his first 5-point game of the season. Richardson has 11 goals and 2 assists in 6 games against the Saints while Dupaul has one-upped his teammate with 3 goals and 11 assists in 7 games against San Angelo. Dupaul also reached a personal milestone with his goal against San Angelo, recording his 200th professional goal.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE LASTING IMPRESSIONS: Prior to the January 3rd game vs. Odessa, the Rayz had surrendered the first goal in 9 out of their last 10 games and were 3-5-1 in those contests. Including that night, the Rayz have turned it around scoring the first goal in 7 out of their last 10 games and have won all 7 of those games. The Rayz are 12-5 this season when scoring first as opposed to 8-13-1 when their opponent scores first.

STREAKS: Cosmo Dupaul has scored in 10 out of the last 16 games...Jaroslav Jabrocky has 13 points (7 goals, 6 assists) in 15 games with the Rayz...John Sicinski has 22 points (7 goals, 15 assists) in the last 23 games...Ryan Prentice has 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) in the last 6 games...Ken Richardson has 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 5 games since his return from a 3-week spell on the Injured Reserve...Jason Carriere has a point in 4 out of the last 6 games.

SEEING STARS: Center/Left Wing Cosmo Dupaul will represent the Rayz at the 2003 CHL All-Star Game this Thursday night at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. Dupaul is the Rayz leading scorer with 12 goals and 26 assists this season. Prior to the game Dupaul will compete in the 2003 Skills Competition. Dupaul will participate in the "Rapid Fire" event shooting against Indianapolis goaltender Shawn Silver, and then will participate in a relay competition with Daryl McArthur of Austin, Michel Periard of Laredo, Chris Grenville of Laredo, Sebastien Thinel of Odessa, and Chris Peach of San Angelo. The 2003 CHL All-Star Game will be broadcasted locally on ESPN Radio 1230 KSIX on Thursday. Broadcast time begins at 7:15PM with the pre-game show with the face-off scheduled for 7:30PM.

MARTINIS ON MONDAY: "Rayz 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 Rayz Dan Weiss hosts the show every Monday on ESPN Radio 1230 KSIX and is joined by Head Coach Al Sims and several Rayz players. Tonight Rick Dames and Scott Howe fill in for Dan and will be joined by Coach Sims and Kenny Goetz.

UP NEXT: The Rayz continue their quest for the first annual "Mayor's Cup" when they battle the Laredo Bucks in a home-and-home series Friday night at Memorial Coliseum and Saturday at the Laredo Entertainment Center. Friday's game begins at 7:05PM while Saturday's affair begins at 7:30PM. All games can be heard on 1045 The Octopus with Dan Weiss and Rick Dames, or on the Internet at www.sportsjuice.com. Broadcast time begins 30 minutes before face-off with the "American Tire and Wheel Pre-Game Show.



Central Hockey League Stories from January 20, 2003


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