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NAHL Corpus Christi IceRays

IceRays Weekly

March 30, 2015 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Corpus Christi IceRays News Release


The IceRays Weekly is a weekly recap and preview of IceRays news, games, and more. The IceRays Weekly will be released every Monday during the 2014-15 season.

LAST WEEK...

Friday, March 27: Amarillo Bulls 5, IceRays 1

Shots: Bulls 34, IceRays 28

PP: Bulls 0-for-4, IceRays 0-for-4

The Corpus Christi IceRays (30-24-5) were outpaced 5-1 by the Amarillo Bulls (25-30-4) on Friday night from the American Bank Center.

The Bulls scored four-straight goals in the first three periods before the IceRays could answer back. Forwards Riley Christensen (7:03 1st), Cody Gylling (11:59 1st; 13:55 2nd), and Will Harrison (3:51 3rd) all struck for Amarillo to jump to a 4-0 lead. IceRays forward Connor Kelly (16:30 3rd) put the IceRays on the board, 4-1, but Harrison (16:57 3rd) tallied right back to put the game away, 5-1.

Bulls goaltender Anton Martinsson (16-13-1) earned the win, stopping 27 of 28 shots, while IceRays netminder Andrew Lindgren (22-17-3) picked up the loss, saving 29 of 34 shots.

Saturday, March 28: Amarillo Bulls 2, IceRays 4

Shots: Bulls 24, IceRays 34

PP: Bulls 0-for-2, IceRays 0-for-1

The Corpus Christi IceRays (31-24-5) closed out the 2014-15 regular season with a 4-2 win over the Amarillo Bulls (25-30-4) on Saturday night from the American Bank Center.

The IceRays tallied three times in the opening period with forwards Tanner Lomsnes (0:30 1st; 10:45 1st) and Nic LaBurn (10:07 1st) combining to give the IceRays a 3-0 lead. The Bulls came around in the third period to get on the board, 3-1, thanks to forward Will Harrison (2:10 3rd) before the IceRays answered back just over a minute later from forward Connor Kelly (3:26 3rd) to stretch back to a three-goal lead, 4-1. Amarillo forward Luke Novak (18:41 3rd) scored late in the third period but couldn't do enough to overcome the 4-2 deficit.

IceRays netminder Luke Pickar (9-7-2) picked up the win, stopping 22 of 24 shots, while Bulls goaltender Jacob Weatherly (9-17-3) grabbed the loss, facing 30 of 34 shots.

THIS WEEK...

Friday, April 3, 2015 vs. Wenatchee Wild - 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, March 28, 2015 vs. Amarillo Bulls - 7:05 p.m.

Monday, April 6, 2015 - Wenatchee Wild - 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)

The Corpus Christi IceRays open the 2015 Robertson Cup Playoffs with a South Division Quarterfinal matchup with the Wenatchee Wild from the American Bank Center. The two sides will play a best-of-three series to determine who moves on to the South Division Semifinals. The IceRays won the season series 4-1-0 over their five-game stretch in the 2014-15 season with their lone loss coming on Jan. 16 in Wenatchee in a 4-1 loss. The IceRays are a perfect 3-0-0 in home games against the Wild and are 4-2-0 in their franchise history. Overall, the IceRays are 21-7-0 in games played at the American Bank Center, while the Wild are 15-14-1 in games played away from Town Toyota Center.

In their last meeting on Jan. 17, the IceRays finished off the weekend with their first road win of the season and first shootout win in two years during a 4-3 victory against the Wild from Town Toyota Center. Wild forward Austin Von Ungern-Sternberg gave the home side an early edge before IceRays forwards Ryan Cusin (PP) and Joe Chitwood gave the IceRays a 2-1 lead midway through the second period. Mitch DeMario drew the Wild even, 2-2, heading into the third period. Just 14 seconds into the third period, IceRays forward Tanner Lomsnes edged the road side ahead, 3-2, but forward Colin Burston evened the score heading into overtime. In the five-round shootout, IceRays defenseman Anthony Cortese scored the lone goal in the second round to give the IceRays the 4-3 win. Andrew Lindgren stopped 25 of 28 shots in the win, while Zach Quinn saved 17 of 20 in the loss.

The Wenatchee Wild finished out their 2014-15 campaign by picking up five of a possible six points against the Topeka RoadRunners from Town Toyota Center, winning 3-1 on Friday and 4-3 on Saturday while dropping their season finale 3-2 in a shootout. 15 different skaters scored points over the weekend, including team-leading scorer Jake Ahlgren, who registered two goals and one assists. Forwards Mike Coyne and Chris Jones each earned a goal and two assists, and forward Donovan Ott earned three assists in two games, almost doubling his season point total in the process. Goaltender Michael Bullion went 1-0-1 on the weekend, stopping 43 of 46 shots (.935), and netminder Zach Quinn turned away 32 of 35 shots in Saturday's 4-3 win.

Final South Division Standings:

z-Lone Star Brahmas 40-12-8, 88 points

y-Topeka RoadRunners 39-15-6, 84 points

x-Wichita Falls Wildcats 39-16-5, 83 points

x-Corpus Christi IceRays 31-24-5, 67 points

x-Wenatchee Wild 27-25-8, 62 points

x- Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 25-25-10, 60 points

Amarillo Bulls 25-31-4, 54 points

Odessa Jackalopes 15-38-7, 37 points

z - South Division Title

y - First-Round Bye

x - Clinched Playoffs

South Division Quarterfinals:

Wichita Falls Wildcats (3rd) vs. Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (6th)

Games 1 & 2: Thursday & Friday - 7:05 p.m. - Kay Yeager Coliseum

Game 3 (if necessary): Monday - 7:30 p.m. - State Farm Arena

Corpus Christi IceRays (4th) vs. Wenatchee Wild (5th)

Games 1, 2, & 3: Friday, Saturday, & Monday - 7:05 p.m. - American Bank Center

ICERAYS BITS...

The IceRays closed out the 2014-15 season with a 31-24-5 record with 67 points, their best record in junior franchise history. Over the season, the IceRays set team records in most wins, best ending win percentage (.558), best home record (23-7-0), and highest ranking of power play (1) and penalty kill (1). A few individual players reached milestones with forward Connor Kelly reaching 100 NAHL games on Saturday, forward Brad LeLievre hit his 150th NAHL game on March 21, and forward Wes Michaud played his 100th IceRays game on Feb. 20. Two IceRays players also took down team records this season: Wes Michaud now leads in single-season goals (30), single-season assists (43), and single-season points (73); Travis Howe leads in single-season and career penalty minutes (246).

The IceRays are appearing in their second stint in the Robertson Cup Playoffs since joining the NAHL in the 2010-11 season. In their last appearance, the IceRays fell in the South Division Semifinals 3-1 to the Amarillo Bulls in a best-of-five series. After winning the opening game 2-1 at the Amarillo Civic Center, the IceRays were outscored 16-8 over their next three games. In game one, forwards Emil Romig and Brandon Berkley scored goals in the third period after trailing 1-0 through two periods to come away with the win. In game two, Amarillo scored four goals over the first two periods to pull ahead despite two goals by AJ Jarosz in their 6-3 loss. The last two games took place at the American Bank Center, but Rudy Sulmonte's two goals could not help the IceRays come back, falling 5-3. In the decisive game four, the Bulls put up two goals in each of the final two periods to take control and the series with another 5-3 win.

IN THE COMMUNITY...

The IceRays season ticket holder and sponsor party will take place on Wednesday, April 1 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Henry Garrett Ballroom of the American Bank Center. The organization will serve guests and hand out yearly awards in this annual event. This is not open to the public. Information has been distributed to those who can attend.

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