IceRays Swept by Wildcats, 6-2
January 9, 2016 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Corpus Christi IceRays News Release
WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS - The Corpus Christi IceRays (14-16-3) were marred in the second period and taken down 6-2 by the Wichita Falls Wildcats (27-5-3) on Saturday night at the Kay Yeager Coliseum.
For the first time this season in six attempts, the IceRays scored the game's opening goal. Defenseman Colton Meekhof continued with his four-game scoring streak by plugging in the opening tally at 4:18 to give the IceRays a 1-0 lead. Despite the IceRays soon going on the power play, shorthanded play continued to haunt the road side. Wildcats forward Adam Goodsir takes the puck himself to tie the game, 1-1, at 6:14 playing down a skater. In the late stages of the period, defenseman Michael Bevilacqua rifled a shot from the right wall that found a way through the netminder to take a 2-1 lead at 19:25 for their first lead after a period this season.
The turning point of the game came when IceRays forward Brendan Miller was called for a five-minute major for fighting, putting the Wildcats on a continuous power play. They only converted once, but that goal at 12:16 by forward Jonathan Lazarus tied the game, 2-2. With the IceRays seemingly out of sorts, the Wildcats pressed and disrupted play in front of the IceRays net. Wildcats forward Garrett Van Wyhe poked a second-chance through the crease to take the 3-2 lead at 15:17. Just 31 seconds later at 15:49, Wildcats forward Adam Goodsir found a similar tally to double the lead, 4-2. Less than two minutes after that, Wildcats forward Erich Jaeger grabbed his first of the night with another rebound goal at 17:08 to move to a 5-2 lead.
The IceRays started the third period with a 5-on-3 power play but could not convert on the attempt. In the final seconds, Lazarus found his second with a re-direction toward the backdoor of the IceRays net to pick up the final goal at 19:57 for a 6-2 defeat of the IceRays. Wildcats netminder Justin Kapelmaster (20-3-1) earned the win, stopping 29 of 31 shots, while IceRays goaltender Dryden McKay (5-7-1) saved 32 of 38 shots in the loss. The IceRays enter their final weekend of the six-game road trip on Friday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. to begin the first trip to the NYTEX Sportscentre against the Lone Star Brahmas. Coverage begins at 7:15 p.m. on SportsRadio Corpus Christi (KSIX 1230AM) and FASTHockey.
North American Hockey League Stories from January 9, 2016
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- Cats Sink Rays on Military Appreciation Night - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- IceRays Swept by Wildcats, 6-2 - Corpus Christi IceRays
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