Sports stats



NAHL Corpus Christi IceRays

IceRays Close 2015-16 Season with 5-2 Loss to Wildcats

April 8, 2016 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Corpus Christi IceRays News Release


WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS - The Corpus Christi IceRays (25-29-6) were eliminated from playoff contention in their final game of the 2015-16 regular season with a 5-2 loss to the Wichita Falls Wildcats (44-11-5) on Friday night at the Kay Yeager Coliseum. The IceRays also finish their season series with the Wildcats holding a 3-9-0 record.

Energized by a large crowd, the Wildcats wasted no time in gaining control of the game and putting the IceRays on their heels. Wildcats forward Austin Albrecht punched a shot into an open net after receiving a pass off the end boards at 4:23 to take an early 1-0 lead. Less than one minute later at 5:06, Wildcats defenseman Matt Hines took a chance from outside the right circle and knuckled the puck through traffic to double the lead, 2-0. After being outshot 5-1 in the opening six minutes, the IceRays came back to outpace the Wildcats 10-2 for the rest of the frame, but at 19:03 Wildcats forward Nick Bowman scored his first North American Hockey League (NAHL) goal to triple the lead, 3-0, heading into the first intermission.

The Wildcats took back control of offensive advantages in the second period with a lot of rough and chippy play from both sides. The lone tally in the middle frame came on special teams but with the opposite team on the man-advantage. At 4:01, Wildcats forward Trent Dillinger shuffled his way into the offensive end and wristed a shot from the low slot to quadruple the lead, 4-0.

The IceRays made the game interesting with a pair of goals in the third period and put pressure back on the Wildcats. At 3:56, IceRays forward Jimmy O'Brien found a loose puck with the opposing netminder scrambling and batted it off the netminder's back side to get the first goal, 4-1. A few minutes later at 8:30, IceRays defenseman Cody Lichtenvoort one-timed a shot from the left circle while on a five-on-three power play to cut the deficit in half at 4-2. With the IceRays netminder pulled, Wildcats forward Jonathan Lazarus sealed the win with an empty net goal at 18:47 to take home the 5-2 win. Wildcats netminder Justin Kapelmaster (33-8-3) earned the win, halting 24 of 26 shots, while IceRays netminder Graham Hunt (10-15-4) picked up the loss, stopping 30 of 34 shots.

Check out the Corpus Christi IceRays Statistics

• Discuss this story on the North American Hockey League message board...

North American Hockey League Stories from April 8, 2016


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.

OurSports Central